School Food Director Embraces Buying Power, Diversity to Improve Menus

By Addie Broyles - American-Statesman Staff
Feb 7, 2017 10:05 AM ET
Campaign: Whole Kids
Austin school district food services director Anneliese Tanner is serious about making school food even better, from changing how the district buys food to how her staff prepares it. She’s overseeing a handful of initiatives that will forever change how you think about school lunch. PHOTO CREDIT: RICARDO B. BRAZZIELL via AMERICAN-STATESMAN

As originally featured on myStatesman.com | FOOD

One rainy day last fall, Anneliese Tanner scrolled through photos of sweet potatoes on her phone.

The managers at some of the 114 school cafeterias under her watch in the Austin Independent School District were posting photos of the vegetables as their cooks made baked sweet potatoes for the first time. All morning long, Tanner kept an eye on how everyone was reacting to the change.

“They have a lot of pride in their work,” she says. “They like to show off their kolaches and parfaits, especially.”

Read the full article on myStatesman.com