PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ENCINITAS, CA 92025 PERMIT NO. 94
The Coast News
INLAND EDITION
.com
VISTA, SAN MARCOS, ESCONDIDO
VOL. 3, N0. 4
FEB. 24, 2017
Escondido Mayor Sam Abed gives his annual State of the City address Wednesday at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. Photo by Steve Puterski
Abed calls out state in annual address By Steve Puterski
Students harvest mixed baby greens from the Agriculture Department garden. Photo by Sara Benner
Farm to Fork Showcase puts a spotlight on high school students By Promise Yee
VISTA — The annual Farm to Fork Showcase on Feb. 23 drew about 100 guests to taste dishes that ranged from lamb burgers with feta cheese and caramelized onions to sausage and parsley stuffed mushrooms, and raspberry crepes — all raised, grown and prepared by Vista High School students. Guests mingled between taste tables and live cooking stations, and talked to Future Farmers of America (FFA) and culinary arts students, who shared their knowledge of farming and cooking. The yearly showcase generates a lot of student pride. FFA students attend accredited science and elective classes, which are part of a career education program, taught by Sara Benner. The high school campus boasts a three-quarter acre farm, which includes greenhouses, a garden and livestock area. Students plant and grow fruits and vegetables, and buy, raise and sell livestock, which includes cattle, goats, sheep, turkeys, chickens and
rabbits. Farmed food is used for the annual showcase, and for twice monthly campus lunches served at the Panther Cafe. FAA students also learn leadership, fundraising, budgeting and public speaking skills, and perform community service. Culinary arts studies teach students basic knife cuts; fruit, vegetable, pasta, gain and stock dishes; and customer service the first year. In the second year, it’s all about meat and protein dishes, deserts, baking, and food costing. “They all know their way around a kitchen,” Chef Kim Plunkett, Vista High School culinary arts teacher, said. Culinary arts classes are accredited electives. Students also earn Food Handler Cards and ServSafe Certification needed for restaurant employment. Lessons are taught in an industrial kitchen, which familiarizes students with a future workplace, and prepares them for food service and chef positions.
The week of the showcase all culinary arts students participate in preparing food for the event. “Every class that comes in is working on a recipe or partial recipe, it’s neat to see kids all working on something different,” Plunkett said. During the showcase culinary arts students also present foods, ensure dishes remain at the correct temperatures, and cook on site. “The showcase brings together everything we do in the kitchen and classroom, and makes it a real project, it takes it to the next level,” Plunkett said. “Students faces light up, and it builds big time self-confidence.” District staff, community members, farmers, chefs and restaurant owners annually attend the showcase. Donations are suggested to cover the costs of putting on the event. All monies go back into FFA and culinary arts programs. The showcase is also an opportunity to sponsor livestock for FAA students. Sponsors buy and own the livestock, and pay a student for their work to raise it.
ESCONDIDO — Much is going according to the vision of Mayor Sam Abed and the City Council. Abed gave his annual State of the City address Wednesday at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido in front of 450 attendees. A short video highlighted the day-to-day activities and lifestyles of residents as well as Abed commenting on the increased development and economic activity. However, Abed discussed the city’s increasing requirement to meet its state obligation. He railed against the state and its management of pension obligations across California. Abed said, as the council discussed at last week’s City Action Plan meeting, the lowered return of investment from 7.5 percent to 7 percent will increase the city’s spending on the fund by $20 million by 2022. Currently, Escondido pays $20 million toward pensions. The city has created a $500,000 pension liability reserve for long-term stabilization. “This unsustainable un-
funded mandate by the state is a financial crisis,” Abed said. “I am willing and ready to lead a class action lawsuit against the state to protect the taxpayers. Sacramento says we are your government and we are here to help you. We say, ‘Sacramento no thank you, just leave us alone.’” He also touched on poverty and the rising numbers of homelessness in the city. Since 2007, the poverty rate has climbed from 12 percent to 16 percent, a rate similar to San Diego County. As for homelessness, Abed said there are 532 people without homes, although 307 are sheltered, but the number of unsheltered has doubled in the last year to 225. Abed blamed the rising number of homeless on the state’s action to release criminals from prison and lower the threshold in prosecuting drug and theft charges. “We have partnered with Solutions for Change and contributed $2.1 million to build 33 transitional housing units in our city to proTURN TO STATE OF CITY ON 9
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