Meet Chicago Public Schools’ New Head of Nutrition Support Services: A Conversation with Tarrah DeClemente

This post is adapted from a conversation between Sara Porter, Healthy Schools Campaign’s Vice President of External Affairs, and Tarrah DeClemente, Chicago Public Schools’ Executive Director of Nutrition Support Services.

What are your goals and priorities for the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Nutrition Support Services department this year and beyond? How do you want to make your mark in this new role? What are you excited about? What will be most challenging?

I am truly thrilled to be in this role at this pivotal time in our city and nation. I believe school meals are the cornerstone to a healthy school environment. I want my legacy to be that I made school meals a joyful part of every day for our students while enhancing their learning experience. I want our students to know that everyone in Nutrition Support Services cares about them, we are glad to see them walking through our line, and that the food served is healthy, sustainable and free of harmful ingredients. Despite budget challenges and rising costs of the program, I hope to be able to have a meal program that my team is proud of and our students enjoy.

In your previous roles, you’ve worked in the Nutrition Support Services department and you’ve led the Office of Student Health and Wellness. What connections do you see between nutrition and overall student health and wellness?

When I first started with the district over 13 years ago we were implementing the new federal Local School Wellness Policy and the updated nutrition guidelines as part of the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act. One of my biggest projects was developing the ingredient guide we wanted to follow for our meals. Seeing the national conversation moving towards real food, less processing, and healthier ingredients excites me for the overall health and wellness of our students. We remain committed to providing meals free of cost to all students to fuel their learning. We know that when we support the needs of the whole child through healthy meals, access to health services, and a school environment that supports a culture of health and belonging, that students are ready and able to learn. I am excited to nurture the relationship between the district’s Office of Student Health and Wellness and Nutrition Support Services to make connections that leverage our expertise and finite resources to best support our students.

Reflecting on your tenure at CPS, what part of your work makes you feel the most proud?

During my tenure, the only constant has been change. There is always something new to be learning about and implementing, and as a lifelong learner that is why I truly love working at CPS. I have such amazing colleagues and we have been through so much, including a pandemic. I have launched the farm to school program, mental health programs, Healthy CPS, the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child model, so many policies (and updates), and it all means so much to me. If I had to choose one thing, I am most proud of the resilient spirit and what it means to show up for our students every day. The work is not easy but the meaning of the work keeps me going.

What do you wish people understood about the complexities of serving school food? What is something about the program that most people don’t know?

I enjoy talking about the school meal program to anyone who will listen. At CPS, we serve over one million meals each week. It is hard to put into perspective what that means when you think of the sheer scale of grocery items needed to produce those meals. We plan menus up to one year in advance to be able to source enough product, so when new food trends arise it is a bit like moving the Titanic. I find that people are often surprised about how highly regulated the meals are and that suggestions such as, “just add a little salt if you want kids to eat,” simply cannot be done. There are also many competing interests in school meals. When you are trying to appeal to so many different perspectives while also keeping the palates of kids at the forefront, it can be very difficult to please everyone.

How are you hoping to partner with Healthy Schools Campaign and other organizations? What do they bring to the table that supports your goals and vision for this work?

During times of great change and great uncertainty, I find that a strong partner network and shared accountability go a long way. With so many potential changes happening in the food system and dietary guidelines, it will be vital to engage partner agencies in the discussion around the direction of the district. I look forward to restarting the CPS School Food Advisory Committee in partnership with Healthy Schools Campaign. I also look forward to reconnecting with our food and nutrition partners to provide high quality nutrition education to our students that complements the meal program. The more that our students can learn with us, the better prepared they will be to grow into healthy adults.