Parent creates recipes, menus
Boulder parent Kate Lacroix is developing recipes and tutorials to help families make meals out of the free bags of food the Boulder Valley School District distributes weekly to families.
“I have some free time, and it seemed like an easy way to help,” she said. “I spend a lot of time thinking about how to make inexpensive food. It has been very rewarding. I have fears and worries and anxieties just like everyone else. It makes this time more manageable.”
Lacroix runs a business called Stocked, a pantry-building service that helps women save money on their grocery bills and invest the savings. She’s also the former owner of First Bite, the Boulder County Restaurant Week, and previously raised money to help pay off the Boulder Valley School District’s unpaid lunch balances.
Under the BVSD tab on her Instagram page, she details the menu, a grocery list for a few additional ingredients and needed pantry items. Then she uses pictures to go through the steps to prepare each recipe.
She said she’s sticking with basic spices, but knows not all families have them on hand. So she’s working with the owner of Boulder’s Savory Spice Shop, Dan Hayward. He agreed to provide small amounts of the spices for the meals to families in need for free.
The two also are collaborating on a live video at 1 p.m. Monday on her Instagram page on spices and how to use what you have at home for a Thanksgiving meal.
She added she’s open to other parents and area chefs contributing recipe ideas to keep her project going.
“It could continue to have a life of its own,” she said.
Lacroix created her first menu using the food she picked up last week from Boulder’s Crest View Elementary School. Because food isn’t distributed over Thanksgiving break, two weeks worth of items were included. The bags include fresh fruits and vegetables, pantry staples and prepared items.
Lacroix got carrots, potatoes,
apples, mixed greens, black beans, lentils, pasta, tortillas and milk. Frozen breakfast burritos, strawberry cereal bars, crackers and kiwis also were in the bags.
On her menu are mixed greens with homemade ranch dressing, cacio e pepe pasta, black bean and chicken quesadillas, carrot bisque, lentil soup, baked apple crumble and horcahta, a traditional Mexican drink.
She includes tips on how to stretch the food, such as freezing extra chicken broth in ice cube trays, and to make substitutions, such as adding lemon juice to milk as a buttermilk substitute. Her goal, she said, is simple and flavorful recipes.
Boulder Valley’s School Food Project is working with Lacroix to translate her recipes into Spanish and include them with the bags that will be distributed in December.
The school district also offers additional resources to families. Since May, the district has provided recipes and tutorials on its website, as well as a feature where families can ask questions of a district chef and a dietitian.
Through the district, Boulder Valley families can pick up 14 meals worth of free food per student from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Mondays starting Nov. 30 at one of seven sites.
No paperwork or verification of school enrollment is needed. Families who cannot pick up food during that time slot are asked to contact their school, which may be able to coordinate home delivery of meals.
The food distribution sites are Alicia Sanchez Elementary in Lafayette; Crest View Elementary in Boulder; Columbine Elementary in Boulder; Emerald Elementary in Broomfield; Louisville Middle; Nederland Middle-senior High; and Manhattan Middle in Boulder.
“These bags of groceries are meant for everybody,” Lacroix said. “Everybody should feel like they have enough food this season. It’s a credit to (BVSD Food Services Director) Ann Cooper and her team.”