The Santa Clarita Valley School Food Services Agency held the first of five luncheons for the 21st Annual Kids’ Cooking Campaign on Tuesday in the agency’s Central Kitchen.

The goal of the kids cooking campaign is to help elementary school children experience the positive social, nutritional and psychological values of eating with their family and friends, according to Santa Clarita Valley School Food Services Agency.

The intention of the campaign is to make meal preparation an enjoyable and satisfying experience by teaching children safe, simple food preparation skills and cooking techniques they can use at home, according to the agency.

There will be five separate luncheons, each with a different theme and the menu for each luncheon will be prepared by a different fourth grade class.

“(The students) are so excited . They’ve been excited for weeks, preparing all the placemats, decorations and the meal,” said Summer Cox, a fourth grade teacher at Northlake Hills Elementary.

Thursday’s luncheon featured a military theme, with service men and women from different military branches in attendance.

Fourth grade students from Northlake Hills Elementary were separated into four groups each tasked with preparing a different dish. A main dish, a side dish, salsa or dessert.

The menu included “Bravo Zulu” salsa and chips with nacho cheese, “Class A” fruit kabobs, “Submarine” sandwiches with either pulled pork or chicken served with coleslaw or mixed green salad and vegetables, “colonel” corn and black beans and “camo” cupcakes with ice cream and chocolate dipped strawberries.

“We try to be very active in our schools and in the community to teach students how to eat healthy meals from a very young age,” said Jane Crawford, the agency’s director of food services. “When they graduate from the eighth grade… they can go on to successfully choose what types of foods they would eat and have a nutritious and balanced meal.”

School nutritionists have recently changed student food grouping from the “pyramid” to what is called “MyPlate,” said Crawford. The food groups include fruits, vegetables, grains, protein and dairy.

The correct amount of calories from each food group varies depending on age, sex, height, weight and physical activity level, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

Santa Clarita Valley School Food Services Agency, which was created in 1989 is implementing “MyPlate” with each one of their 11,500 lunches and 4,000 breakfasts they serve everyday at 38 school sites.

Upcoming luncheons include “Gold Rush,” “Holiday” and “Beach” themes.