I remember my days in school when the food was prepared by the cafeteria lunch ladies. The food was OK but it didn't win any awards like the cafeteria I’m visiting in the Union City School District.

Krista Byler has been the food service director for the school district for the past 20 years. She came here as a trained chef having attended culinary school in Pittsburgh. She previously worked for Marriott Resorts in Colorado. She prepared the fine dining menu at Peek'n Peak.  And when the president of Edinboro University hosted a fancy dinner, Krista prepared the food. However, she was happy to leave those kind of jobs so she could “Feed the Bears” at Union City Schools.

"It's all so worth it at the end of the day to see students smiling and happy and enjoying what they're eating,” says Krista.

In 2010, five years after Krista took over at the Union City cafeterias, the federal government enacted the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act which included new guidelines on how meals in schools should be prepared. Less sugar, less sodium, less fat. Krista and her staff took on the challenge of making healthy food taste good to kids. It was time to get creative. The menus here have been healthy and fun for 15 years. For example, I’m being served a mashed potato bowl like you would get at a KFC. However, this chicken is baked. Hey, what's for breakfast at this cafeteria?

"We're doing a lot of the fruit and yogurt parfaits. A lot of different variations,” says Krista. We're doing a baked oatmeal, a French toast casserole, overnight oats. We're doing a sheet pan pancake.”

Last fall, the cafeteria staff was awarded a USDA Healthy Meals Award for innovation. Only four awards were presented to Pennsylvania schools in that category. Among other things, the judges were impressed that students have input on the menu. Jacob Fink is a sophomore at Union City High School. He likes the special entrees that pop up often in the cafeteria.

"One time we were celebrating different countries. We had food from India. We had food from Africa and a couple other places,” he says.

Krista has earned a reputation for serving healthy foods. Earlier this month, Krista, from this small school district in Northwestern Pennsylvania, was asked to testify before the Senate Agriculture Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. The committee was tackling an interesting question... Should whole milk be re-introduced into school cafeterias? Krista believes it is a healthy option for kids. The senators appreciated what she had to say.

The recent award presented to the food service staff at Union City Schools is for creativity and experimentation. The staff invites students to taste-test some food items before they are placed on the menu. Students also submit menu ideas including favorite recipes that their parents and grandparents prepare at home. Krista says she is not the only trained chef at the Union City cafeterias. One other staff member also graduated from culinary school.