Hayden School District Bets Cafeteria Can Serve as Community Hub

Steamboat Springs —The Hayden School District is betting that a cafeteria can be a community hub, not just a feeding trough.

It’s a bold pivot for an institution that has historically prioritized speed and volume over flavor. Food Service Director Chris Poole is leading the charge. He’s traded decades of high-pressure restaurant consulting for a quiet kitchen in Yuma County, driven by a simple goal: serve meals he’d be proud to put in front of his own kids.

Poole started as a dishwasher in 1994. He worked his way up through culinary school and management before landing in Hayden. The move was personal, he said, bringing him closer to his children and back into the kitchen.

“If you had asked me 15 years ago if I was ever going to end up running a cafeteria, I would have said absolutely not,” Poole told the Craig Daily Press. “But as it turns out, I really enjoy this job.”

The shift isn’t just about sentiment. It’s operational. Poole checks a student suggestion box every week. He watches the trash cans. If a plate comes back half-full, that menu item failed. If it’s empty, the kids liked it. That feedback loop shapes what gets cooked next week.

The menu reflects that data. Yes, you’ll still find cheeseburgers and pizza. But the district also serves butter chicken and tikka masala regularly. Karissa Humenick, who has worked in the district kitchen since 2020, said those meals expose students to flavors they likely won’t find at home.

“I love that we try different varieties of cultures of foods,” Humenick said. “We like to get the kids to try something that they might not try at home.”

Madi Larson, a newer team member with an agricultural background, focuses on the origin of that food. She wants students to understand what Colorado can produce and what their neighbors accomplish in the fields.

That focus is getting a financial boost this fall. The district received a grant through Nourish Colorado, in partnership with the Colorado Department of Education. The money is earmarked for locally produced ingredients.

Poole said the kitchen recently bought several hundred pounds of beef from near Toponas. The rest of the local sourcing includes potatoes, onions, green chiles, grains, and bread products. The strategy starts in the Yampa Valley before expanding to other parts of the state.

During October, the kitchen will serve a Colorado Proud Farm to Table meal every Thursday. The menu items are built as closely as possible from in-state ingredients.

The Craig Daily Press reported on this shift, highlighting the team’s emphasis on scratch cooking and local partnerships.

The short version: Hayden isn’t just feeding kids. It’s trying to teach them where that food comes from and why it matters.

Poole isn’t promising a revolution. He’s promising care. In a district where budgets are tight and margins are thin, that’s a risky bet. But the empty trays suggest it’s working so far.

The grant ensures the local sourcing continues through October, but what happens in November? The district hasn’t said.

Poole is watching the waste bins again.