WT Café = Healthy Lunches for Children
Debbie Aylward, WT Café franchise owner, is making healthy lunches available to children with her new service.
Some of the toughest food critics are children. Many children won’t eat what they don’t like. And we can all agree that food left uneaten has no nutritional value. So, for a lot of parents, schools and caregivers, serving meals that are delicious and healthy is a real concern.
When WT Café makes lunches for children, the reviews are always positive. Because lunch tastes so good, children might forget that it’s healthy too!
Debbie Aylward, a Rocky River resident, has opened the first WT Café franchise in Northeast Ohio. Her food service provides nutritious and child-friendly meals prepared each day for students in participating schools, day care centers and camps. The emphasis is on fresh, healthy versions of the foods children love.
Young food critics rave about WT Café items like pizza, mac-n-cheese and baked French toast. How about a new take on PB&J? Sunbutter, made with sunflower seeds, is a nut-free, great-tasting alternative to peanut butter. There are gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian and kosher meals to meet the nutritional needs and tastes of children with dietary restrictions.
WT Café is nothing like the institutional food services that serve food out of a giant can or plastic tub. The lunches are made from scratch every morning from over 400 recipes developed specifically for children by nutritionists and chefs.
Aylward was inspired by the WT Café concept. As a mother of two and a foodie herself, she saw an opportunity to help children and share her love of healthy eating. Aylward also recognized the shortcomings of many traditional school lunch programs, as well as the problem of childhood obesity. Her service provides meals that combine great taste with the nourishment children need to grow and thrive. And each meal is sure to get a thumbs-up from the critics!
This summer, youngsters at The City of Westlake Recreation Summer Day Camp, the Rocky River Recreation Summer Day Camp (third session) and The Goddard School in Westlake are enjoying WT Café lunches. The meals are prepared in the WT Café commercial kitchen in Avon by professional chef Kevin Kreske (who formerly worked at Ritz-Carlton hotels in St. Thomas and Sarasota). Kreske uses only fresh, locally-sourced ingredients to make entrees, sides and desserts without additives or preservatives.
WT Café can serve schools in two ways: an in-tuition lunch provider or a contracted alternative to brown bagging. As an in-tuition lunch provider, WT Café will deliver prepared food either individually packaged or ready to be served from the cafeteria. As a contracted service, parents can order on-line, 24/7, and choose from a variety of menu options. Under this pay-per-order plan, freshly made meals are individually packaged and delivered in time for lunch.
Beginning in August, Lake Ridge Academy in North Ridgeville will offer the option of individual ordering from WT Café for students in grades 1-12. Portions are age-appropriate, so each student - from small child to young adult - gets a meal tailored to his or her nutritional requirements. The Albert Einstein Academy in Westlake has chosen the same option for its students in grades 7-12.
Aylward says, “It’s not just about food, it’s about nutrition and making a positive impact on children. We need to teach them how to make better decisions about the food they eat. It’s a lesson that will last a lifetime.”
For more information about WT Café, you may contact Ms. Aylward at 440-670-8500 or e-mail her at ClevelandWest@wholesometummies.com.
Yvonne Purdy
Yvonne Purdy is a freelance writer who lives in Rocky River. The photos accompanying this article were taken by Jim Broadway, a freelance photographer who also lives in Rocky River.