Hands-On Lessons in Food Safety Practices

Eighth grade students from the Cherokee County School District (CCSD) in Georgia recently received an up close and personal food safety and sanitation lesson as they prepare to take their high school ServSafe Exam.

51 students took a cafeteria field trip to areas where food is stored, prepared and served, and enjoyed a behind-the-scenes look at food preparation and safety. The visit was focused from the perspective of a health inspector with steps to maintaining a perfect health inspection score emphasized. Students learned how to present themselves as kitchen professionals, including how to dress and put on a cap or hair net, personal cleanliness and proper handwashing procedures.

The students, who are enrolled in the high school credit Food, Nutrition and Wellness course, watched as food service workers took food temperatures and prepared their recipes for the day’s lunch choices. They also took a frosty trip to the cooler, freezer and the dry storage room to learn how food and materials are stored, labeled and how to safely store leftovers. Dishwasher cleaning temperatures and maintenance as well as chemical/laundry room safety were also discussed.

“I hope this experience results in our student’s gaining insight into details and expertise required to provide nutritious meals on a large scale,” said Julie Lawrence, School Nutrition Manager at Teasley Middle School. “It’s important for us to develop a relationship with students who already demonstrate an interest in nutrition. We are excited to hear if what they learned from our team translates into a career in nutrition or at the very least, an interest in cooking nutritious meals for their own family.”

The students will take their ServSafe exam in high school and receive credit for their efforts. The ServSafe Manager Certification verifies that a manager or person-in-charge has sufficient food safety knowledge to protect the public from food-borne illness.

The Cherokee County School District’s School Nutrition Program mission is to encourage students to make smart choices both in the cafeteria and outside of school. The program promotes the importance of overall student health and well-being by providing nutritious meals prepared in sanitary facilities and served in a supportive and positive environment.  The district employees more than 300 food service operations professionals who served more than 1.4 million school breakfasts and over 3.7 million school lunches during the 2023-2024 school year across 36 schools.

Farmer said this was the first year that this type of field trip was held and reports that student feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

“We received a pile of sincere notes of thanks from the students,” said Lawrence.  “We still have students remarking on their time spent in our kitchen when they come through the lunch line, which is great to hear.”

Improper safety practices when storing, preparing, and handling food can result in citations and failing grades during food service inspections or can even cause illness or death to those being served. The Cherokee County School District’s School Nutrition Program is working to prevent those occurrences while setting up future food service professionals for a lifetime of success.

The ServSafe Manager Certification is accredited by the American National Accreditation Board (ANAB) under the Conference for Food Protection Standards.