Cooking up Change: How Local Tamales are Transforming School Lunch

Meet Lucy DeLeon, the tamale maker turning family tradition into a statewide school lunch success. From migrant roots to feeding thousands of students in her state, Lucy shares how culture, hustle, and heart are transforming school meals—one tamale at a time. 

Transcript

Cooking up Change: How local tamales are transforming school lunch 

"Meet Lucy DeLeon, the tamale maker turning family tradition into a statewide school lunch success. From migrant roots to feeding thousands of Oregon students, Lucy shares how culture, hustle, and heart are transforming school meals—one tamale at a time."

Transcript

00:00:05 Michelle

Welcome to the farm to school podcast where you will hear stories and how you thrive and farmers prosper when you learn how to grow, cook and eat delicious, nutritious local food and growth across the country…

00:00:18 Rick

…And the world, hi everybody, we're back. I’m Rick Sherman

00:00:20 Michelle

And I'm Michelle Markesteyn. And we have a very delicious guest with us here today. Delicious guest. Hello. Hello. Hello. And Lucy is the proprietor of…

00:00:36 Rick

In Portland, OR and a producer of tamales and enchiladas on the show, she has a really interesting program and we're going to get into that. So Lucy, tell us about yourself. You sell, you sell tamales and such that is, as we said, to the schools all the way all across Oregon, really. And you've been a presence in Oregon for quite some time. Can you tell us about that journey of how that started?

00:01:06 Lucy DeLeon

Yes. So I attended this show in the Pearl District and it was there. I mean, I always had a dream of, you know, providing you know, food to school lunches. So I went to this food show. And Portland public was there, and there was other school districts there. But they were the first contracts that I got and well and at the time I'll start with you know, I wasn't ready, but I, you know, I asked a lot of questions. I mean how are we going to get into school? Yeah.

00:01:50 Rick

Why schools? Why did you.. you know, what did you?

00:01:56 Lucy DeLeon

We have a restaurant at the time so, yes, we at the time my parents had. I'll go back a little more. So we were. I was born in Texas. My parents were migrant workers, and I was a migrant worker too. We traveled all over the US and to pick crops. And Oregon was our last stop. We, my mother at that time, my mother would always get up early in the morning to make them on us. We would help her to sell to other people, you know, on the fields to do so, to bring extra money to, to, to our home. Because it was six of us little six children, plus my parents 8. So yeah, that was always, you know… So Oregon was our last stop. You know, we started making, we would make tamales at home, just selling it to friends and family. And then we ended up opening up our own shop in Gresham in 1990. And we there we would sell, you know, tamales. But then I you know I wanted to take it to the next level. So we started selling wholesale and then I'm like well, I really want to get into schools because that's always was in the heart for me like… you know, trying to see you know that, you know, on school lunches, you know, something that you know, I just remember school lunches is, you know, very traditional. But when you could see, you know, that that connection of that food that they're used. It's a big impact.

00:03:30 Rick

Yeah, and a Tamale too. I mean, holy smokes. For people that don't realize they're so labor intensive, you don't just whip up something really quickly, and I think it'd be impossible for a school lunch staff to make them themselves. It just it takes days and days. Just speaking from experience. Tell us about that.

00:03:59 Lucy DeLeon

Yes. So currently we have 35 employees and I mean it's a it's, it's a, it's a big process. You know first from you know picking out the Corn house you know soaking them you know and preparing the feeling. The feelings for the inside and then making the Masa make sure it's correct, you know. To you know, spreading them on the corn husks, you know, to cooking them for another 2 hours to pulling them, you know it it's, it's a lot, you know. I mean, some school districts order, you know, Portland public can order 25,000 at a time. Well, you know, Hillsboro can order 40,000.  So yeah, and we're just this week we delivered to Umatilla 2 days ago, and we also delivered to LaGrande and yeah, and I got a couple of new schools from the Oregon Food show that we just did in Salem Here.

00:04:52 Rick

Yes, our school districts are you there? Yes, yes. Yeah. We were going to interview Lucy there. We interviewed a few of her compatriots there at the show, but we just wanted her to come into the studio and talk more a little bit, give her a little bit more time for this now. And you don't do more than one flavor?  Like pulled pork. There's chicken ones I remember getting those. I'm sure they don't have these in the schools, but kind of the dessert ones that were like cinnamon and Raisin and things like that and I’ve done those before.

00:05:36 Lucy DeLeon

We have not. But we do, you know we try to whatever for the school. You know, when they try, they tell me. Well, I want this tomorrow to meet this certain.. you know, credits, you know, we have to change it up. And I do what they tell me. Last year I worked with Gresham Barlow. I showed him a Tamale that had green chili with cheese and pinto beans and it was an enchilada. I'm sorry it wasn't a Tamale. And they said, well, can you make it an enchilada? And I'm like, yeah, I haven't done it, but yeah. And they turned out delicious, you know, so the same feeling, you know. But it was in in enchilada. Now, yes. We cater. I mean we you know there's schools like point in public, you know, they have a lot… but you know, kids that don't eat meat, so we do, you know, vegetarian tamales. And we do, you know, chicken tamales, too, some chicken tamales with cheese, some without cheese. And of course, you know, I do. You know what? The school's asking so…

00:06:47 Rick

There's a there's a guy around here, a farmer, and can be that is famous for making asparagus tamales. I had them at the at a farmers market in Salem and just loved it. Blew me away, was so good. But one thing about that, like you mentioned, the crediting. That is such that is not for the faint of heart. For people like out and in the country like they want to sell to schools, and there's someone you can work with in your state to do that. But it's like, like Lucy was saying, you have to have so many ounces of meat or meat alternate so much for grain, for the for that. And it's very… It can be difficult to do that, so hats off to you for navigating that.

00:07:29 Michelle

Yeah, that's what I wanted to just bring it to life a little more, actually. How you know do that? Because you're selling wholesale. You were already looking to from your family recipe. It sounds like. How did you have to alter recipe, for example to meet the requirements of the school? 

00:07:52 Lucy DeLeon

Yes. So the master that we were using for a regular wholesale was not credible, credible for Oregon Department of Ed. So I had to start asking questions. Well, which one is?  We had to actually.. I had to send my father for that Portland public all the way down to Rancho Cucamonga in California to bring out, you know, 2 pallets of the masa that was credited for.  And, but it was just asking questions like you know is this, you know is this credit is and there's so much you know sometimes people you know at the beginning it seems, I mean, you know, for to get this going, but it's just connecting, you know, with the right people. Like, I know Amy, Gilroy from ODA department.

00:08:43 Michelle

Department of agriculture? Yep.

00:08:44 Lucy DeLeon

Yes, she helped me a lot. And then from her, you know, I was talking to Oregon Department of Education.

00:08:54 Rick

The specialist there? Yeah. So do you have any advice for other people in other states or even Oregon that would like to navigate that minefield, so to speak?

00:09:04 Lucy DeLeon

Yes, if it's something you want to do, you can do it. I mean, you can do it. It's just, you know, asking questions. Right. And I'm a person of like… I always ask questions and that's something that I was taught since I was young.  My father would always say, hey, you see, the sun shines for everyone, you know, it's wants to go, you know.

00:09:26 Michelle

I want to remember that so the sun shines for everyone.

00:09:26 Lucy DeLeon

Yes, and you know just coming from you know that that of wanting something you know and from working in the fields and my father would say do you guys want to keep working here, you know picking and we're like no, we'll get an education. Advice and we did, you know and why? Because we wanted to make you know better and you know, we live in a country of opportunities, you know coming from you know migrant, you know parents and it's just you know asking questions and wanting you know to find out you know..  How can I get there and even asking me I'm always, you know, open like, you know, if you send me an e-mail, you know, I'll, I'll, I'll help you. You know, with what I know but yes. For people that want to get started you know have that idea down and you know, push forward because you can, I mean for me it was a dream. It was a dream come true, you know to see it you know, a tamale on a lot of people say wow, you know, we never had tamales growing up.

00:10:44 Rick

I'm glad you said that because I've talked to other producers, local. And some of them have even told me. You know, I could even get more money selling these on the different market, but selling to schools. It's like that, like you said, that dream, it's the right thing to do. We want to make the school lunch better. This is a scratch made thing without preservatives. And it's so heartwarming just to see to see that.

00:11:11 Lucy DeLeon

And so when you're meeting with school nutrition services, what's it like developing relationships with them? Like, how do you approach that sales channel is asked that it's so important because after you make that connection, they're kind of your word of mouth to other Nutrition directors because they all know each other. So it's super important. Rikkilyn from Umatilla has been amazing because she…

00:11:40 Rick

She was our very first guest on this podcast, absolutely.

00:11:45 Lucy DeLeon

So like she helps me, you know, with the other districts around. So to make that connection. So she says, hey, see, you can come and drop off here. You know, you can drop off someone else's stuff here and then then they can, you know, she has storage space. So that's something you want to piggyback you know and to have that.

00:12:06 Rick

How did you figure that out? Cause Rikkilyn's not down the road. She's 3 hours away. Umatilla is the very northeastern corner of our state. 

00:12:25 Lucy DeLeon

Yes, well, you know, there's a big population of Hispanics there. So and I know she does breakfast stuff she does. You know, lunch she buys from them for lunch too. Like we have a tamale and a lunch tamale. And. Yeah, but I also met her at the food show, you know. So, I mean, those are super important for people that want to make that connection, not even maybe, like already having the formulation down. But just talking, you know, to other nutritionists, you know, talking to people who come by. So I try to take advantage of any food show any that that is here, you know to go and show my product.

00:13:07 Rick

And we're really fortunate in our state because our school nutrition association. And if you just listen, we just had three episodes, but at the time of this recording, they would have already dropped. But yeah, our school Nutrition Association has an annual conference, and they have this food show which in the back 40 acres of the food show is a lot of processed food and normal like normal things that are on the lunch trade, but then right when you come in, we have our local portion, which is all local producers, local fruits and veggies, local processed foods and we always hear that from the directors that's their favorite part of the whole weekend is talking to you folks and we operate a grant where we're able to reimburse people for local things. And so they're really looking for that. So it's really fun to do that here.

00:14:12 Lucy DeLeon

Yes, I think that's what's really helped us, Rick, with expanding and getting to more schools too.

00:14:16 Michelle

Alright.

Do you sell Outside Oregon, we to schools? 

00:14:31 Lucy DeLeon

No. No. But that's my next plan. I really want to just because we're like 15 minutes away from Vancouver.

00:14:36 Rick

Break into that other state across the river.

00:14:36 Lucy DeLeon

But we're starting, yes. But it's really hard, like you know to, because I think they're really looking for like, you know from their state.

00:14:48 Rick

That's funny. You bring that up. And lately there's been a push. It's like.. “Great. We have this local, wonderful food that's on the tray is local ingredients in there tomorrow.” I know you said you had to go to Rancho Cucamonga to get the masa. That's a very specific thing because that was the only credible could get. But like, I'm sure you're are... You open to trying to find as much local in your ingredients as possible.

00:15:17 Lucy DeLeon

We are, we are we trying to do get it local vegetables and try to do as much as I can, but there's stuff that has to be outsourced. It's usually like the most yes. 

00:15:36 Michelle

And just to clarify, when you say it's credible, it's not a brand type, it's their specifications of your product, can you tell me more about that?

00:15:38 Lucy DeLeon

Yes, it's the most like the cornmeal. The cornmeal. Yeah. The breakthrough, like of how much that you know, meets the credits.

00:15:49 Rick

For it's hard because cornmeal is hard to credit as a whole grain. And so that's like they've had things for corn muffins and things like that. The USDA takes a while to catch up for those for crediting those things. And cornmeal is one of those things. I'm glad they have something that was credible so..

00:16:15 Lucy DeLeon

Yeah. So what are some stories you hear from kids or parents and who have tried you to lose and enchiladas? Yeah. So I tell schools when they're serving our tamales or enchiladas, I'm like.. Please, will we be a part of it? So I'd love to join them for when they're serving them. And the kids come up to me. You know, they let me speak at the cafeteria. And a lot of them come up and they say, you know… They taste the same as my grandma's. You know they take. Yes, they taste like, you know, my Tia’s and my moms or. And, you know, they try to hug me.

00:16:49 Rick

The best compliment ever.

00:16:57 Lucy DeLeon

Ohh yeah, you know, but they love it. They love it, you know. And I think that's the biggest reward. Like for me is watching the kids, you know. And then there's other kids that are trying it for the first time. And they're like, oh, you know, we're liking, you know, they like. So and also you know I know always you has done you know a couple they do a work lesson you know to help you know show our story you know help them and it's great because yeah so we you know show the show you know tell my story of you know and also of like where the tamales come from you know that there's so many different kinds.

00:17:41 Rick

I'll link to that if I can find that and our show notes and as well as link to your yeah, to your operation and stuff. But.

00:17:46 Lucy DeLeon

I can send it to you too and yeah, so super, you know, super amazing, yeah.

00:17:53 Rick

Do you do you get the question or a lot of kids are like, no, I don't want to eat this now.

I only have this connection with tamales for holidays because that I've heard that a lot.  

00:18:05 Lucy DeLeon

I've never had, they've never told me of holidays, but they do say no. I like the ones with black beans. Yes, I can't. And I'm like. OK. No. Yeah. And most of my time is are with Pinto beans so but that's a thought you know.

00:18:22 Rick

Green chili, red chili. There's so many different ways you can.. you know I'm getting hungry for them.

00:18:28 Michelle

I knew It.

00:18:28 Rick

We should have had her bring some, 

00:18:30 Michelle

I know! Delicious episode.. I told you! we've covered so much already. And thank you for sharing so much of your story, but I'm curious what else would you like our listeners to know?

00:18:39 Lucy DeLeon

So I want to know that tomorrow we're also sharing our culture, our roots. You know my story and everything all carries a bit of love and our tradition and also a resilience and that is very important to me because you know a lot of that. I was there, you know, in that like those kids, you know also, you know, going, you know, to school for that meeting. And it's just so important for kids to have, you know.. A good meal and nutritious meal because it makes him, you know, think better and learn better and so that's very important for me, and resilience. So you know growing up, I didn't have much we would get to some places you know, and we didn't even have a place to sleep. We would sleep in the car. And my kids now ask me, what were you guys homeless? And I'm like.. I guess we were homeless, you know, but I didn't see it like that because I saw it as I had my mom and dad. We were in a vehicle. You know, there's still a roof over us, you know. And then we would find this a place, you know, because we're migrant workers. Where to sleep. But I never felt like we were, you know, I always felt like we're there, you know, and I'm the youngest of 6. So we had to learn to, you know.. Use whatever we had and get you know, and. And another big thing for me is food waste. I don't like to throw away food. I I'm a big. I'm always donating, like even in our in our in our kitchen. You know if there's chili said did not sell. I can run them into salsa. You know, if there's cactus that you know didn't sell at the end of the day, boom, we can put them into, you know, into one of the dishes, you know, for you. So that I mean also when I'm not working with a farmer, so if there's any that we do have to throw away, you know to give it to a farmer to, you know, to feed, you know, to animals so that you know, just growing up with little has, you know, really. I have this mindset like we can't throw away food, you know, because there's people that are hungry and again, like I said, I'm a big… like I'm a big donor. Like when it comes to I, you know, if we need to do anything with our freezer, you know, when we were in Gresham, I would call rentals at the food pantry. And right now we are. There's a organization team challenge that they come and pick it up. Yeah. And I always go to Portland rescue mission, you know, and even there's another pantry out by airport way that we do too. But yeah, just very about that I don't like to throw away food so..

00:22:14 Michelle

And so long journey being with you in person, your enthusiasm and energy and entrepreneurship like you even just came here from a class, very successful businessman. I'm curious. Like, where does that drive from you come from?

00:22:30 Lucy DeLeon

I love to learn. I love to learn. I  kind of made myself this class that I'm taking. It's setting your goals for the next three years so you know how am I going to get there? You know, I have to, you know, keep myself accountable, like, and be meeting those goals weekly. Not just say, oh, there is a goal, you know, now how am I going to get there and meeting them like, one of the things that they told us, you know, make an appointment, like we'll make an appointment, you know, to have breakfast and have coffee, make an appointment with your pool and be writing down what are the steps I'm taking to get there? So super important. I'm also I said you know a lot of times our phones I tell my kid, watching videos you don't know nothing. You know, I just finished a book Psychology about Money. And I  want my kids to read it. But I'm like, I need to read it first. I got done and my book I'm reading. And right now it's my next 5 moves, you know, in business so. Yeah, I love to learn. I love to, you know, and I always get something new from a book. You know, I always. But it's not just getting something new, but putting it into practice. That's important. So yeah, my kids are like, geez, Mom, you know, and I'm, you know, tonight I have another meeting. Super informed meeting. You know, I have a restaurant and I just got a keys to another restaurant last week so yeah I  love having a lot of stuff and a little bit of chaos but. But I've learned, you know that. I just have to take one step at a time and another thing that I really told myself, you know, before I  would miss a lot of my kids stuff and I said no. Let's see, no more missing that because I need to, you know, the new family comes first and it's super important. And my kids see that, you know, like, even making it to their game. And so, yeah. 

00:24:59 Michelle

So I was wondering how, you know, it's being almost 30 years, 32 years. How you balance all those different parts of your life?

00:25:07 Lucy DeLeon

Well, I have an amazing partner. My husband is so supportive and so understanding, you know, and when I say, you know, I tell my kids, you know. It's focus time, you know, for mom like, and they understand. And I tell them. Well, there's time to play, but there's time to work, you know? And they know when I'm working, I'm like.. So, but you know there's times when they've seen me. And they're like my little can I help? And I love that. So we had, I think, last year Portland public got like, 3 pallets of enchiladas. And we were doing the chilies from scratch, now opening up, taking the seeds out. And my federal inspector said to see, why don't you just buy a can? It's so much easier. And I'm like, no, we do not use camp stuff. Yes, I could use, you know, the, you know, the 6 by 10, you know that come in a case 10 LB.. like no. We do it fresh and we blend, we boil, we blend. Yeah. So and so my kids were there on the weekend helping and I said, hey, I'm gonna you know, pay you not your own payroll, but I'll. I'll give you and.. And they saw, like, we gotta get this done. We gotta get this done so.

00:26:32 Michelle

So what are your next 5 business moves? Maybe it's proprietary.

00:26:40 Rick

Well, I don't know. I'll leave a link to that book too.

00:26:41 Lucy DeLeon

Yeah.I, you know, like I said, I last week. I don't know if you want to share this, but I bought a whole block in downtown.

00:26:56 Michelle

Yeah. No, we want to share That’s ok.

00:26:57 Lucy DeLeon

So I bought a whole block and there's already 4..

00:27:06 Rick

a block of what? Just to be clear.

00:27:06 Lucy DeLeon

a city block.

00:27:06 Rick

City block.

00:27:08 Lucy DeLeon

City Block and downtown, yes.

00:27:09 Michelle

In downtown Portland, OR 

00:27:12 Lucy DeLeon

And when a lot of people say when you see downtown and it's like guys, this has to change. Like if we don't like, I love Portland, I love the city. I every time I'm heading towards it. You know, I like. It's such a beautiful city. And if we don't invest, if we don't go forward and take and for me to leap of faith like I have to. Like I have to. You know we don't know. You know my dad would always say like Lucy you don't know that you have to take risk if you don't take risk you don't know what the outcome is going to be. So yeah, I got the keys to that. Now I'm a landlord of four of the restaurants, but I'm going to be putting the 5th restaurant there, which is going to be me and yeah, so that and then I want to start bottling some drinks, and that's one of my moves. And then I have. I'm gonna start selling. I have a meeting with an airline in two weeks to see if I can get my tomatoes and burritos on the airlines and yeah.  And then, but another big kind of like the school is the military. I wanted to get into military so. I'm doing all the research I can right now because, like, why can't my product be there? You know, it's like, why not? Yeah. So I did something crazy, but I it's the first food show that I paid, and it was...  Rick, because I'm like, but it's going to be in Long Beach in October and it was really California. That's where my parents are from.  But I'm like, gosh, I gotta get my tomatoes down there and my burritos. And this last food show I was seeing how, you know, the big people that are inside that in the Convention Center in Salem, like how they bring their product. And I was just seeing that. It's big coolers  You know, and they have their little oven there and I'm like I can just take my little oven and heat up there. You know, so yeah. It's really a lot of airlines and. Yeah. So I'm really praying that, you know, it opens, you know another new sales channel, so.

00:29:44 Michelle

I’ll pray for you too.

00:29:45 Lucy DeLeon

Thank you. Yes, I need it. I need it. I need prayer and wisdom and knowledge. That's why I ask God every day. Give me favor. So in my faith it's you know, I always say it's all from him because I couldn't do it without him. Like it's. Yeah. So. And you know, right now it's everyone's like, so shaky with what's going on, but I'm like God's got me. You know? He's got me. So he's never let me down. So you know, and I'm not going to say I'm not going to stumble but I will learn from that. You know? So yeah. And that's I  think I give that to my parents you know… my dad is just uh, he's every day he calls me. Let's stop what you're doing. Open your Bible. And I'm like dad, I'm in the middle of something that's but. But it it's such a amazing blessing to have. You know that that blessing and him, you know, just praying and you know, for us, so yes, I tell my kids, you know, we will bus because, you know, we came from, you know, little but God has really. I mean look at this everything we have and we really get to travel the world and see other stuff and I always bring crazy ideas and my bills are like, oh, Lucy. But every time I travel, Rick, every single one of my employees has a little gift that I bring because I couldn't do it without them and I've learned before like I always wanted to micromanage everything like no one can do it like I can. But no, like, I'm like they can, they can do it. And I have my lead person. She's an engineer from Mexico, doesn't speak English. But she's got that phone and we have a federal inspector there…OK, translate. You know the phone. It's like. And I tell her don't let anything. And that's like and she wants. I mean it. It's crazy. Like, do not let you know a language stop you like Nice. Yeah. So. So yeah. So I finally learned to let go. They can do the same thing I can do, and bring something new to it. Yes, yes. And now it's like I get to concentrate on, you know, I mean the other goals, as you know opening new sales channels and that's super important. I hope I didn’t bore you guys.

00:32:15 Michelle

Oh my gosh, I'm so.. gosh. I wanna go start something.

00:32:17 Rick

Ohh no no. Thank you for sharing more of that.

00:32:25 Lucy DeLeon

Thank you for inviting me.

00:32:27 Michelle

I would like to thank everyone so very much for listening today.

00:32:32 Rick

From the school was written, directed and produced by Rick Sherman and Michelle Markesteyn, with production support from Leanne Locker of Oregon State University. 

00:32:44 Michelle

This podcast was made possible by a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture, the content and ideas of the farm to school podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Oregon State University or the Department of Education or the United States Department of Agriculture. The USDA, Oregon Department of Education, and Oregon State University are equal opportunity providers and employers. 

00:33:05 Rick

To more to learn more about farm to school, check out other episodes show notes, contact information and much more by searching find the school podcast, OSU.

00:33:11 Michelle

Yeah. And we will have links to the show notes and the books that Lucy recommends, maybe from the school book club. We can all look at what our next five moves are. Thank you so much, Lucy. You really appreciate you.

00:33:22 Lucy DeLeon

Thank you.