School meal guru builds ‘bridge to the future’
Tony Geraci is a man with a mission. He’s also got a motto.
His mission sounds simple, but you know how it is with lofty goals.
“My job is to put healthy kids in front of educators so they can learn.”
Because hungry kids don’t learn. “That’s something we can all agree on,” he said.
All children in Shelby County Schools, the unified district, are eligible for a free breakfast and, if they participate in after-school activities that keep them on campus, free supper.
Starting next year, every meal, including lunch, will be free for every student.
“It will be the first universally free program in the country,” Geraci said Monday.
He’s aware that not everyone is going to be excited about that, but at least hear what he has to say.
Don’t need free meals? He has a suggestion.
“Take that money and put it in the bank. By the time your kid is ready for college, you’ll have tuition.”
Don’t want a hungry kid to eat without charge? He’s got something to say about that, too.
“I could not imagine telling a hungry kid that he or she can’t eat because I’m mad at or don’t like their parents.”
Geraci is passionate and purposeful. He’s going to feed your children, and he’s going to spend as much of the money as feasible at local farms (including $1.5 million for a fruit and vegetable snack program). Children are eating peaches from Jones Orchard this week. He has a huge amount of blueberries from Harris Farms in Millington, ready to go in blueberry muffins.
Yes, they bake the muffins. Your children also are served freshly prepared ranch dressing on their salads or as a dip for their vegetables. Cornbread dressing starts with full sheet pans of cornbread baked in the 14,000 square-foot bakery at Central Nutrition Services. Chili is made there, as are chicken noodle soup and beef vegetable stew. Of course, they’ll go into rotation later in the year — this is a seasonal menu.
Some schools already have gardens, and others will be planted. For Thanksgiving last year, greens were served that were grown in several vacant lots in Frayser. Fig trees, cut and rooted from a tree Geraci’s greatgrandfather brought from Sicily and planted in New Orleans, grow at Grahamwood Elementary.
Geraci, 56, had a corporate career in the food business before he went to work for a small school system in New Hampshire, then to Baltimore before coming to Memphis. He was hired two years ago, specifically to unify food operations when Memphis City Schools and Shelby
County Schools merged.
“Everything I’ve been doing leads to today,” he said on the first day of school.
And hold on. Here’s the best part of what he wants you to know. Feeding schoolchildren isn’t raising your local taxes. The current $87 million budget ($100 million next year) is federally funded, and Geraci likes to find grants.
“Every dollar is grant money. I’m not spending local tax dollars. All of this comes from federal grant money from the USDA.”
Obviously, the USDA, a federal agency, is funded by tax dollars. Geraci knows that. But the money is there, he says. Why not bring it here, to our community, and use it for the good of children?
“We as a nation have made a commitment to the children of our country to provide an appropriate child nutrition program. It’s an adjunct to education, and I’m a steward of that.
“My job is to find that money and bring it home to Shelby County,” he said. “This is your money, and you get to see it work. It’s not some bridge to nowhere. It’s a bridge to the future.”
That’s pretty much what he wants to tell you.
He wants you to get your kids to school, ready to learn. Don’t worry about what they’re going to eat, because that’s where his motto comes in.
“I got that.”
BEST MEMPHIS BURGER
Last year’s Best Memphis Burger contest was great. Despite the soggy day, the festival premiered with a big crowd and a healthy group of competitors. This year’s festival is set for Sept. 22, again in the parking lot at Minglewood Hall, and you’ve got until Aug. 20 to enter if you want to compete. Go to bestmemphisburger.com, and click on “festival.” You’ll find the categories and entry forms there. Mark your calendars, because you’re going to have a fun time there.
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
I’m crazy for Costco’s rotisserie chicken, and this is just one of many recipes I plan to try from a cookbook that came in the mail this week. I know most of you want easy weeknight recipes, and I’m just the same. America’s Test Kitchen “6 Ingredient Solution” makes it simple. Contact Jennifer Biggs at biggs@ commercialappeal.com or 901-5295223. The Southern Tastes Facebook page is facebook.com/sotastes.