Shaking It Up for National School Lunch Week in Georgia
Dade County Schools in Georgia didn’t let fall break and parent conferences get in the way of celebrating National School Lunch Week (NSLW). School nutrition and food service staff planned NSLW celebrations a week early this year, holding the annual event from October 8-12 to help educate students and parents on the importance and value of school lunch!
Staff members throughout the district wore fun apparel with this year’s NSLW theme, “School Lunch – Lots 2 Love”. Chef hats, t-shirts, aprons – everything they wore celebrated healthy school lunches and all there is to love about them! Cafeterias were decorated with Lots 2 Love messaging.
Dade County has an award-winning Farm to School program, with locally sourced ingredients featured daily on their school menus. To highlight that aspect, Farm to School Harvest of the Month foods were served during NSLW, including locally grown apples, butternut squash and cabbage.
Dade Middle School (DMS) kicked off the week by asking students in each grade to use a sticky note and write what they loved about school lunch. Each class in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades participated in the activity and responses were posted on the cafeteria windows for students to see all week. DMS also conducted an art contest during the week with the theme, “Food I Love.” Two winners from each class received a gift and got to be “Celebrity Servers” for their class. According to Trinity Stafford, DMS nutrition manager, one of the NSLW Art Contest winners told administration that, “serving was his best dream come true!”
Tuesday, October 9 was Dade’s GA Menu Day, featuring the Shake It Up Chef’s Competition winning recipes from Gwinnett County Schools using Georgia Grown ingredients. The school’s daily announcements included information about NSLW and District Superintendent Dr. Jan Harris was a Celebrity Server at DMS, Dade Elementary School (DES) and Dade High School (DHS).
“NSLW celebration brings our community together and provides an opportunity for our program to show how much we love our students on a daily basis,” explains Dade County Schools Director of Nutrition Dr. Cleta Long, SNS. “Our school nutrition staff members make certain the students have a tasty, nutritious and healthy meal every single day. We are delighted to welcome our ‘Celebrity Chefs,’ including our superintendent, to show ‘Lots 2 Love’ to our customers, from pre-kindergarten students to high school seniors. Our staffs are dedicated professionals providing delicious meals with loving hearts for student success.”
Davis Elementary School (DVS) food service staff constructed a bulletin board with variety of fruits and vegetables labeled in both English and Spanish. Cafeteria Manager Pam Spurgin read the book Two Bite Club to all classes and presented them with a copy for each classroom. DES distributed NSLW color sheets and students’ art work was displayed in the cafeteria. NSLW posters were displayed throughout the cafeteria. DHS had numerous “Celebrity Servers,” including both assistant principals and the superintendent.
President John F. Kennedy created National School Lunch Week (NSLW) in 1962. During this annual weeklong celebration, School Nutrition Association members and students around the country celebrate what makes their local school lunch program special. Parents and students can follow the fun on Facebook.com/TrayTalk.
For more information, visit Georgia School Nutrition Association or National School Lunch Week 2018.
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