School upgrades cafeteria, food options

TOWNSHEND- Visitors to the Leland & Gray Union Middle & High School cafeteria this fall might notice a new back-to-school style.
This summer when the students went on break, the Seed2Tray team went to work. Food service director Chris Parker wanted to create a fun space for the school community to enjoy their meals for the 2019-2020 school year. First, they gave their kitchens a deep cleaning and lots of coats of paint. Then they turned their focus to the Leland & Gray cafeteria.
Suzanne Paugh  worked with the incoming fifth- and sixth-graders to achieve an industrial-graffiti art feel. The kids were very excited to be a part of such a large project that would impact the school. They created the signs for each station, then painted them before Parker took them back to his woodshop for the finishing touches. The Seed2Tray team worked hard throughout the school year to get to this point. They applied for a mini grant through Food Connects for a new salad bar, generously donated by Entera Catering.
The salad bar allows the team to provide a wider variety of options for students to make delicious salads. Parker also worked hard to ensure that Universal Meals were added to the budget for the 2019-2020 school year for the entire school district.
Now school is here, the time they all worked so hard to prepare for. The best part is that every student in Jamaica Village, Townshend, Leland & Gray, and Newbrook will eat for free.
The Seed2Tray team put in a lot of  hard work to make school meals welcoming and delicious. Be sure to follow them on Instagram at Seed2Tray. Food Connects is an entrepreneurial nonprofit that delivers locally-produced food as well as educational and consulting services aimed at transforming local food systems. The Food Hub aggregates and delivers from over 60 local farms and food producers to over 120 buyers in southeast Vermont, southwest New Hampshire, and western Massachusetts.