Raul Ramirez Jr Director (956) 473-6556 rramirez@uisd.net

The Food Service Department provides warm, healthy and nutritious meals to over 42,000 students currently enrolled at United ISD. In 1997, the department opened the Food Production Center that boasts a central kitchen elevating it to state of the art status for meal preparation. With its cook/chill system, the food service department employs modern cooking techniques whereby various menu items are prepared in large quantities while maintaining food quality and safety. Our menu items are delivered daily to each school the day before the menu items are to be served.

The department services 40 school campuses providing breakfast, lunch and snacks. On occasion, the campuses request sack lunches whenever students go on field trips and will not be on campus to receive their meals. In August of 2005, the department initiated a computerized system of scanning family applications for Free and Reduced Benefits. In addition, in August of 2012, the department enhanced the application process by adding Meal App Now.  This new application system allows parents of UISD students to fill out Lunch Applications on-line making it more convenient for parents and allows the Food Department to be more efficient and accountable.  These systems have allowed the Department to be more efficient and expedite the evaluation of  the large volume of Lunch Applications and therefore, more quickly notify parents of their children’s benefit status.

Furthermore, the food service department also provides healthy snacks for those students participating in the United ISD after school daycare program. Several campuses hold tutoring for academics and/or state achievement tests and the food service department provides those students with healthy snacks too. Meals for those students participating in academic activities during the weekend, such as Super Saturday, are provided by the department as well.

A Summer Feeding Program is offered every summer to include all of the district schools which are holding summer school for our students, as well as providing meals to the City of Laredo’s Summer Recreation Program. Several civic and religious organizations and programs also request meals to be served during the summer and the UISD food service department is eager to provide those students with the benefits of nutritious meals during the summer.

The UISD food service department employs dietitians to develop nutritious and healthy menus that meet the guidelines of the Texas Department of Agriculture. In addition, our dietitians also work with the district schools to provide nutrition education and exercise activities for students. The dietitians also make presentations on diverse nutrition topics to campus parent organizations and teachers. Whenever students require a special diet due to medical conditions, the food service dietitians will develop such diets based on a doctor’s prescription.

The department employs seven multi-campus supervisors who are entrusted with the responsibility of assuring that all United States Department of Agriculture regulations are being met as well as assisting the cafeteria managers on human resource issues.

Each campus cafeteria has a contingent of cooks and a manager to prepare, serve and clean up afterwards on a daily basis. The cafeteria manager is also charged with the responsibility of ordering the correct number of items for each day’s menu and then report to the central kitchen through a “Food Production Record” to assure that sufficient products were ordered, prepared and served to the students. Cafeteria managers have received extensive training on staff management, interpersonal skills and specific training on department reports.

The department has a catering service which provides meals and other snack items for campus activities all the way from a full steak dinner to pastry items.

The Department also enjoys the advantage of having its own Maintenance Department. The staff from this department is responsible for maintaining and repairing all of the Food Service Department’s equipment in efficient operating condition at the various campuses as well as at the Food Production Center. The staff has personnel with certified State of Texas credentials for Air Conditioning and Refrigeration and Journeymen Electricians.

For the Business operations, the Department has its own Purchasing and Accounts Payable Department. All menu items as well as other operational supplies and equipment are processed through the Purchasing Department, in conjunction with the District’s own Purchasing Department to assure that all local, state and federal guidelines are being met under the applicable purchasing regulations.

Currently, the Food Service Department operates under a $22.7 million dollar budget for the 2012-2013 school year. The department employs over 465 total personnel in providing the services we currently offer to the students of United ISD.

Name	Position	Email
Raul Ramirez Jr.	Director	rramirez@uisd.net
Aryana Montemayor Valdez	Operation Manager	amontemayor@uisd.net
Ana Rodriguez	Accounting Manager	alrodrig@uisd.net
Noemi Dominguez	Accountant	ndominguez@uisd.net
Ernesto Longoria	Food Production Manager	elongoria@uisd.net
Sara Kazen	Dietitian	skazen@uisd.net
Elisa Schwartz Santos	Dietitian	elisa30@uisd.net
Enrique Lira	Dietitian	jelira@uisd.net