Students Taste Test Indigenous Foods

Students Taste Test Indigenous Foods
Posted on 12/20/2021
This is the image for the news article titled Students Taste Test Indigenous FoodsSalt River Schools will participate in a joint effort with the Arizona Department of Education Health and Nutrition Services Division to develop standardized scratch-made recipes using unique, traditional ingredients. After months of collaboration with ADE and recipe development in the agency’s test kitchen, the recipes are ready for student taste testing!

Salt River Schools will serve the following recipes for student taste-testing: blue corn mush, warm white Sonoran wheat tortillas, and Pima wheat berry pilaf. Click here to check out some of the other great things our Food Services staff is cooking up!


VIDEO: Students try pilaf made with Pima wheat berries.



VIDEO: Students try ce'cemait.




VIDEO: Students try blue corn mush.




At any point during the coming weeks, your student may be invited to participate in a student taste test to gain insight into student preferences for these newly developed recipes using unique, traditional ingredients grown in Arizona. These recipes were submitted a few months back by a variety of schools within Arizona and reflect the tastes and textures that are already enjoyed by many communities across the state. In order for a recipe to move onto the next phase of the project, it must receive an approval rating of 85 percent or higher from the collective student population.

Students will be asked to complete a quick survey to gather feedback regarding their satisfaction with each of the recipes (see review forms below).

We welcome feedback from students and families about their experiences. This one-of-a-kind project provides an opportunity for Arizona schools to work together with their local communities to provide a taste of Arizona culture in school meal programs.

Feel free to share any additional feedback, comments, or concerns about this project to ADE HNS at [email protected]. Or send your comments/questions to Shannon Reina, SRS Food Service Manager, at [email protected] or 480-362-2077.


Check out the taste test forms students will use (the emoji form is for younger students).

Taste test form for younger students.

Taste test form for older students.

Website by SchoolMessenger Presence. © 2024 SchoolMessenger Corporation. All rights reserved.