Healthy Food for Hungry Kids – Chef Tim Cipriano Takes a Stand
Tim Cipriano calls himself a "lunch lady." That's simplifying things a bit. Actually, he directs one of the most progressive school lunch programs in the country, for New Haven Public Schools (NHPS), which prepares more than 17,000 lunches and 11,000 breakfasts a day for schools across the district. It's a tremendous program that focuses on quality, nutritious food, prepared from scratch, where possible.
Tim is a passionate, articulate and tireless advocate for hunger relief. In his job, he sees directly the effects of hunger on children. He knows the scope and the depth of the problem.
What's Next on Chef Tim's Campaign Schedule?
NH School Food is searching for a mobile kitchen truck. Ideally it is a truck similar to what you would see at a fair or like an ice cream truck but with refrigeration instead of freezers. With refrigeration, Chef Tim would store cold meals that he makes at the central kitchen and pass them out. If it had cooking capacity, Tim would also offer simple, hot meals with a high nutritional value like stir fried protein and veggies.
This Leading Lunch Lady is looking for a vehicle that is new or in very good condition. Ideally he would like it to be white. If not Tim would look to have it custom painted as the goal is to stand out (farm scenes with children as the farmers promoting free meals for kids) in these neighborhoods and make coming to Chef Tim fun and exciting for the kids!
The idea behind this and more info is below:
According to this Leading Lunch Lady, the idea behind the mobile kitchen is to bring the food to the housing projects that are too far of a walk from schools. "We want to be able to feed all the hungry kids regardless of whether or not they can get to a feeding site. We want to bring healthy food DIRECTLY to our kids!!!"
Meals are free to kids 18 and under regardless of income during the summer, and YOU CAN HELP!!
The goal to start is to acquire one mobile unit for New Haven for this year. In the future Chef Tim would like to acquire additional units to supply other areas of CT.
The NHPS Central Kitchen has the capacity to provide summer meals for every hungry kid in CT if needed and he intends to feed them all.
CONTACT: Chef Timothy Cipriano and read his blog.
Chef Timothy Cipriano
Executive Director of Food Services
203-946-8813 Ext. 11
TIMOTHY.CIPRIANO@new-haven.k12.ct.us
Who is this Leading Lunch Lady?
He's the Local Food Dude! Chef Tim, as he is commonly referred to, is Executive Director of Food Services for the New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) in Connecticut. He began this position in July 2008 and immediately started building collaborative partnerships around school food with local organizations such as Yale University, CT Food Bank, and Lockwood Farm in nearby Hamden, Connecticut. One of Tim's most valuable achievements to date has been introducing more fresh, local produce into the school lunch program and working to educate New Haven's urban students about fresh, healthy and great tasting food choices.
Chef Tim Cipriano is one of the most progressive advocates for school lunch reform we have in our arsenal for change. Read his blog. Interested in K-12 School Lunch Branded Concepts Program that will make YOUR school lunch program ROCK????? Let this Local Food Dude help you be successful in your commitment to serving great food to children.
Are you a Hero with a Truck to help Tim Feed Hungry Kids?
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