Moving Feast furthers P.E. coach’s vision for a healthier campus

School lunch programs tend to vary between delicious and disgusting. At Moving Feast Catering, their goal is to create healthy options that kids enjoy. From the “wacky breakfast” meal to fettuccine alfredo, a variety of options are available to choose from. With meals tailored around what students like, it’s no wonder why this lunch program is a hit with many students.

Moving Feast Catering was founded in 2004 by Doreen Key to meet the needs of local Adult Day Health Centers. Key was working as the in-house Dietician for an ADHC planning their meals and contraction with local restaurants. When a local restaurant owner told her “ With all the work you’re doing, you should just start your own business.” She consulted her husband and Moving Feast was born.

The company flourished in its early years and Key saw the potential to expand. When her daughter first transferred to Our Lady Perpetual Help School, she noticed they did not have a hot lunch program. After proposing an idea to the school, the company’s first private school partnership was formed. Since then, Moving Feast has expanded to serving five schools, including Fresno Christian.

Before the school’s partnership with Moving Feast, Fresno Christian has had previous hot lunch programs. For many years, the school was served by a local business called John’s Food Truck. The truck would drive on campus and serve both junior high and high school students.

History and leadership adviser, Robert Foshee, recalls his experiences with John’s Food Truck.

“John’s Food Truck was the bomb,” Foshee said. “I liked the chicken soft taco with the sauce. They had a lumberjack sandwich, a grilled cheese that was really good, and all kinds of snacks or drinks you could buy.”

One of the reasons we got rid of John’s Food Truck was because we wanted to go healthier. At the time Ericlee Gilmore, who is passed now, was our PE teacher and was really into eating healthy. So, he came up with a program and had parent volunteers to help him. Parent groups would bring in [food] from different restaurants and fast food places. To be honest, I don’t remember the kind of foods, but they were supposed to be healthier than the fried foods. — Brenda Warkentin 

Former coach, Ericlee Gilmore envisioned a healthier direction for the school. In 2008, John’s Food Truck rolled off campus and was soon replaced with a parent-sponsored lunch program.

As a healthier alternative to John’s Food Truck, school parent groups worked together to bring in food from local restaurants. The program was proposed and organized by the late Mr. Gilmore until it became self-sufficient. Parents would go to restaurants and pick up orders that were placed ahead of time by the kids. The options were generally healthier and included places such as the Pita Pit, Taco Bell, and DaVinci’s. Eventually, the program ended as parent commitments faltered and families stopped ordering.

Office secretary Brenda Warkentin shared her knowledge about the parent group lunch program.

“One of the reasons we got rid of John’s Food Truck was because we wanted to go healthier,” Warkentin said. “At the time Ericlee Gilmore, who is passed now, was our PE teacher and was really into eating healthy. So, he came up with a program and had parent volunteers to help him. Parent groups would bring in [food] from different restaurants and fast food places. To be honest, I don’t remember the kind of foods, but they were supposed to be healthier than the fried foods.”

After a long period with no lunch program in place, Moving Feast was recommended to school administration from a contact at San Joaquin Memorial High School. When the company first came to Fresno Christian in 2015, students were hesitant to the program. However, after three years of success, students seem to enjoy the service.

Moving Feast prides itself on building meals around what kids like. They collect feedback from the lunch servers and find out what foods are the most popular. They also evaluate comments and feedback left by families on their website. After considering what students enjoy, the meals are adjusted and the cycle repeats.

Moving Feast owner Doreen Key explains her process for creating new meals.

“Sometimes I would just ask my kids, would you eat it?” Key said. “If they said yes, I would go with it. We write the menus based on what kids would eat.”

Lunch programs at Fresno Christian have changed over the years, but with Moving Feast, the campus is moving towards Mr. Gilmore’s vision for a healthier campus. The company currently serves over 700 meals a day and hopes to expand that number by bringing new families in.

Comment and feedback about the meals are appreciated and can be made through their website.

For another feature, read New coaches bring expertise to volleyball.

For more articles about the FC campus, read Campus’s 40th anniversary brings new vision, renovations

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