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Hayden Seeley gets annoyed when politicians, cafeteria workers and even parents insist that schoolchildren will throw away any food that's not pizza, hot dogs or chicken nuggets.

Seeley, the nutrition program manager for Utah Community Action Program, which operates the federally funded Head Start program, has a different theory about childhood eating habits: "Kids only throw away food when it tastes bad."

That's why Seeley and his kitchen crew at the CAP Central Kitchen, 2825 S. 200 East, South Salt Lake, make all their meals from scratch, serving a variety of local charter and preschools, and day-care and after-school programs. Fresh fruits and vegetables are served with every meal. So are lean meats and whole-grain breads and pastas. There are no processed or fried foods on the menu. "They're never going to get hot dogs, they're never going to get pizza," he said.

A look at this year's menu shows a smörgåsbord of super foods, including red quinoa salad, pumpkin soup, lemon rosemary chicken and, yes, even spinach. Much like Head Start's diverse enrollment, there also are flavors from around the globe, from orange chicken and meatballs to rice and beans and posole.

Seeley said students are exposed to a food at least seven times before the staff decides whether it's worth keeping in the rotation.

"Brussels sprouts weren't popular," he admits. "But lima beans were a huge success." So were the baby heads of lettuce and star fruit. "We are exposing them to a much more sophisticated menu than you would think."

There are two items that are never included: pork, for children whose families avoid the meat for religious reasons; and nuts, because of allergies.

Seeley said what started out as a pilot program five years ago, serving 300 meals a day, has grown exponentially. For the 2016-17 school year, CAP's central kitchen is gearing up to make and deliver nearly 5,000 meals, each one costing between $1.50 and $2.50 per child.

"We are scrambling to meet demand," said Seeley, who said after five years, the kitchen is nearing its 6,000-meal capacity. "No one else is really offering such high-quality meals."

But as parents become more interested in the food they serve their children, better school lunches are in high demand. It's one of the reasons Seeley has been asked to speak about the program at national conferences, and he regularly gives tours of the facility to interested groups in Utah and out of state.

CAP's healthy meals program also has turned into a social enterprise. Last year, day-care centers, preschools and charter schools around the Salt Lake Valley contracted with CAP for school meals, generating $120,000, which helps support all of Utah Community Action's programming, said communication manager Haley Eckels.

The YMCA is one of those community groups, buying meals for its after-school program at the Community Family Center in Taylorsville, as well as for programs in Ogden. The partnership allows the YMCA to offer hot meals to an underserved population, something that would be impossible otherwise because of kitchen space and staffing.

"We wouldn't do hot meals, for sure," said Jenni Ericksen, the YMCA's administration director. "We'd have to provide [packaged] snacks."

The hot meals are healthier and, for the most part, the kids like them. "They love the rice and beans and surprisingly they like the salads," she said. "It's amazing how much they will try."

School meals are just one part of the nutrition wheel at CAP. There are an emergency food pantry to help struggling families; a culinary training program for parents; restaurants through the Jewish Community Center and Salt Lake County where graduates can gain work experience; and the Real Food Rising sustainable farm operated by teens. Food grown on the farm is used in the CAP kitchen and scraps are sent back to the farm as compost.

Healthy history • The move to healthy meals started in 2009 when Erin Trenbeath-Murray, Head Start director, invited Jennifer Godfrey, the program's chief operations officer, to lunch. Instead of going out to eat, Trenbeath-Murray served Godfrey one of the meals being given to students in the federally funded early childhood education program. The two turned up their noses at the food and set about trying to improve the quality and nutritional content.

They tried initially to get an outside company to make the meals. When they couldn't find one, they decided to build a kitchen facility and hire a trained staff and chef to create recipes and meal plans.

While being cost effective is important, "we're not looking to make the cheapest meals," said Liz Guerrero, the central kitchen's head chef and manager.

On a recent morning, for example, the staff was busy making turkey meatballs and steamed brown rice. The kitchen could have bought premade meatballs for less money, Guerrero said, but the product would have contained 50 percent filler, especially unacceptable for young children — many of whom rely on the program for most of their daily nutrition.

A few days before, pineapple was on the menu. Instead of buying canned pineapple, the kitchen cut 15 cases worth of pineapple by hand. "Nutrition is our biggest priority," she said.

A culinary school graduate, Guerrero also was able to create a gluten-free broccoli cheese soup last winter that eliminated the need to make separate meals for those with a gluten intolerance, saving the program time and money.

In addition to preparing the food, the kitchen staff packs the meals and delivers them to the 55 locations that incorporate 147 classrooms. The meals are served family style on real plates — not paper — with teachers scooping appropriate portions and talking about the unique foods the children have on their plate. Kitchen staff returns later to pick up the dirty dishes.

Guerrero said working in the nonprofit kitchen has been a rewarding way to use her culinary skills: "I like the work we do, feeding kids healthy meals."