Marietta City Schools is one of two school districts in the state participating in the Georgia ACRE Collective's Local Foods Incentive School Pilot Program, which allows MCS to partner with local farmers to provide organic ingredients and meals to increase nutrition awareness to their students. (Courtesy of Marietta City Schools)
Jacquelyn Martin / Jacquelyn Martin
Updated on Jan. 22, 2025 at 3: 38 p.m.
Marietta City Schools is starting the new year off fresh, both in education and nutrition.
The school district is one of three in the state participating in the Georgia ACRE Collective’s Local Foods Incentive School Pilot Program, which allows MCS to partner with local farmers to provide organic ingredients and meals to increase nutrition awareness to students.
“It allows us to order better foods … and other Georgia-grown items,” said Cindy Culver, the district’s nutrition director.
Marietta began participating in the program in August 2023 — with the district’s elementary schools, Marietta Sixth Grade Academy, Marietta Middle School and Marietta High School all being a part of the food changes. Now, in their second school year of the program, the opportunities to enable new meal innovations and student participation have only seemed to grow.
According to Culver, the largest expansion in the program has been the inclusion of Chef David Garcia. The culinary expert, who joined the district as their first full-time chef in August, has had 17 years of experience preparing a variety of “global flavors” in his career.
Since August 2024, Chef David Garcia has served as Marietta School District’s first full time chef.(Courtesy of Marietta City Schools)
“Our goal is to create meals that excite students and celebrate the community’s rich cultural heritage,” Garcia said in a recent press release from the district. “Food has the power to connect, and we’re using it to build stronger relationships with the students we serve.”
One of the most popular dishes from Garcia’s pan has been the chicken chimichurri, a personal favorite of Culver’s as well.
“It truly tastes like a homemade product since it’s a chicken grown here in Georgia,” she noted, adding that students also enjoy the side produce and vegetables served just as much as they do the entrees.
Through the program, MCS introduced over 1,400 pounds of chicken and 500 pounds of grass-fed beef into its cafeterias, according to a recent press release from the district.
On top of being provided fresh food from Georgia crops, Culver states that the program allows the district to partner with minority farmers across the state, including Black, Indigenous and women crop producers.
“Not only are we increasing fresh foods, but we are also pushing that opportunity for minority farmers to have business … and be able to participate in school nutrition,” she noted.
Noting its diverse student body, the district states that it has been a main initiative to make sure that the meals provided are reflective of the cultures of the students that they are serving.
“We’re trying to be really authentic and as close as we can with our recipes,” said Culver. “Our chef goes to all our schools doing a lot of taste tests, getting a lot of immediate feedback from the students. [We] don’t want to make assumptions about what our students want … we want to hear it from them.”
And, for better or worse, the students are not shy about sharing their honest opinions.
“That’s the great thing about students,” she said. “They will tell you what they like and what they don’t like.”
In addition, Marietta High School’s culinary program also assists Garcia with creating recipes and producing meals, something Culver states allows them a sprinkle of experience working in a professional environment.
Overall, the district hopes to see the program continue to innovate in all aspects, from adding new items and ingredients to providing more opportunities for students to make their voices heard.
“That’s the beauty of food,” she says. “You can always come up with something different.”
Correction: The Georgia ACRE Collective’s Local Foods Incentive School Pilot Program is present in three state school districts, rather than two as originally reported.
