On April 9, the El Paso County Colorado School District 49ís Nutrition Services Department held an event called ìTaste of D 49î in the commons of Vista Ridge High School. The event was postponed from its original March 13 date because of the ìbomb cyclone.îVendors set up about 10 different tasting stations and offered food and drink samples, along with comment cards for each selection. Attendees were asked to fill out the comment cards; in turn, the nutrition services department would use the comments to guide them as they develop meal menus for the schools throughout the district.Monica Deines-Henderson, nutrition services director, said the district values the communityís input as the department creates school menus within the constraints of the federal meal requirements.At this yearís event, more than 250 people came to sample the items and provide feedback on what they would like to see on the 2019-2020 breakfast and lunch menus.Dacey Harrison, a fifth-grader at Ridgeview Elementary School, said the items were all good and she would not need to eat dinner that evening because she sampled so many different menu options. She also said she was excited to see what items ìmade the cutî for next school yearís menu.
