2020 EDUCATION MAGAZINE

Page 8 2020 Education Magazine LINCOLN DAILY NEWS FEBRUARY 20, 2020 O n Wednesdays after the happy, frenetic rush of lunch is over and quiet sets in again, the cooks at Lincoln Elementary School District 27 (LESD 27) begin the task of preparing scratch-made chicken strips for the following day. They cut 200 pounds of 100% breast meat into four-inch fillets for the nearly 1,200 hungry, growing children who dine in their cafeterias on any given day. Thursday, the cooks run each slice of chicken through a three-step breading process: first, a seasoned flour mixed with onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper; second, an Illinois school meal program at Lincoln Elementary School District #27 achieves high marks in the opening semester First of its kind egg wash; and finally, the breadcrumbs. The finished chicken strips are placed on sheet pans, ready to be baked in the oven until golden brown, and devoured by students in need of a nutritious meal to soak up all the learning for the day. As a Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH) district, creating a healthy school environment is a priority for LESD 27. Lincoln Elementary School District launched a farm to school cafeteria program, ‘Lincoln 27 and Beyond,’ at the start of the 2019-2020 school year in collaboration with the Continued p