Printer Friendly Version - Timothy Howes: Education and Food is Why We’re Here

ACES’s Timothy Howes says food, transportation, and technology are the education cornerstones. Although there was some initial pushback from the students to things like flaxseed pizza dough, ACES cooks played around with the recipe until they found a healthy, honey-wheat version that the kids did enjoy. It’s that sort of problem solving that he enjoys as ACES assistant executive for Finance and Operations.

In the short time Timothy Howes has been at Area Cooperative Educational Services (ACES) as its new assistant executive for Finance and Operations, he’s already been a driving force in the recent changes in cafeteria services and admits it’s one of his favorite duties.

In fact, Tim, who worked in the Wethersfield public school system before joining the family of special education and inter-district magnet school in June says, “Everybody always laughs and says school food is like five-star dining to me because I’m a foodie, love the food, and want the kids to like it as well.

“Just last night, I was looking at menus and putting together what we had for next month and [asked] ‘What do the kids really like?’” he said, adding he also puts an emphasis on keeping it healthy and nutritious, with lots of fruits and vegetables.”

“We have a lot of students with not only special education needs, but also dietary needs, and we want to make sure we continue to accommodate that,” he says.

The changes coming will not only change the menus, but the overall experience, including new staff uniforms down to “new aprons, new shirts,” says Tim.

“We want to showcase the food because people eat with their eyes, so we are even looking at infusing different colors with seasonal fruits and vegetables” with the help of a new state grant ACES recently received.

Starting at Mill Road School this year, in between breakfast and lunch, the cafeteria staff will prepare a variety of fruits and vegetables to take to the kids to sample, “and it won’t be just the normal fruits, we’ll even include things like kiwi,” and more, says Tim.

Another change Tim was able to implement in his short time at ACES with help from the “fantastic Technology Department and Database Manager Pam Davis” was the Community Eligibility Program.

“Essentially we have five schools, and we did all the paperwork,” Tim says. Based on the percentage of students qualifying for free and reduced lunches, “We can now have all the kids eat free [breakfast and lunch], starting this school year.”

Tim sees his role as critical to the overall educational mission of the ACES schools.

“ ... Of course education is important and why we’re here, but you have to make sure the quality of transportation is also up, so if buses are on time, and they have a great ride in, then the day transitions really well, and that’s the same with lunch,” he says. “Just like when I was a kid, I wasn’t there for the algebra, I had to take it, but I was there for steak-ums and all the other things, just like my kids.”

Tim and his wife Tiffany have four children, three girls and one boy, ranging in age from six years to 20 years with, and a dog, Brady, named by Tim, a Patriots fan.