Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) will hosts the Fifth Annual Food Festival on January 13, at the First Baptist Church Orlando. Specifically for Orange County high school, middle school, and elementary students, the food festival is aimed at selecting what could be the next items on school menus.
Thirty food vendors will showcase more than 140 potential menu items such as carne guisada, turkey pot roast, béchamel served as corn chowder, lemon grass chicken, rainbow trout treasure, and pretzel chicken sticks with honey mustard sauce. Some of the non-meat menu items featured include spicy black bean empanadas, Mexican brown rice with vegetables, baked sweet plantains, arepa sandwich (gluten free), whole grain mini sweet potato pancakes, veggie chicken nuggets, soy nut butter cups, and potato pierogies.
The surveying will go “high-tech” this year with some students using mini laptops to log their choices. All students will sample the food selections and make recommendations. The winners will be incorporated into the 2012 school menus. Catch the Food Festival streaming live at www.myfoodface.com.
“OCPS Food & Nutrition Services has a true student- driven menu and it all begins with this food festival. We have learned to always ask our customers first,” said Lora Gilbert, Senior Director of Food & Nutrition Services.
OCPS FNS serves more than 26 million meals and snacks each year. That is approximately 143,000 breakfast and lunch meals daily.
