Food director keeps it fresh
Rivera and her family
Gabrielle Rivera is BCUSD8’s new food director.
For the past 5 years, she has been a certified trainer and nutritionist. She is married, has three children, and many hobbies. These include playing softball, reading, and doing DIY projects.
Rivera became interested in nutrition entering high school as an athlete. As a pitcher on the softball team, Rivera needed more strength but struggled to gain weight, so she began to focus on what she was eating to find a solution, creating a passion for exercise in the process.
As a food director, Rivera oversees the kitchen staff and menu, as well as creates recipes for new menu items. In the future, she seeks to include more fresh options to go with the lunch. So far, Rivera has already reduced the amount of processed meat in the meals, as well as incorporated baked goods, new menu items, and revamped old menu items. Students can expect more vegan-friendly lunches, nutrition education, surveys on how the student body feels about the previous changes, and what changes should be next.
Vicki Reed • Jan 26, 2020 at 9:08 pm
Great job Grace Whitsken
Gabby will do a great job for Bethalto School.
Emily • Jan 23, 2020 at 11:35 pm
Fantastic!!!!
Learning to properly nourish your body is important for a happy healthy successful life. If you’re not healthy, the knowledge you’ve worked to gain becomes useless without a body to store it in. I’m so happy to know our local children will be fed well. I pray all our schools across this country see the importance of teaching our children good eating habits and just say no to serving them fake food that would cause them to suffer a lifetime of obesity and disease. If you don’t take care of your body, where else are you going to live?