
Mini Chefs Sharpen Culinary Skills After School
While sports, arts and science clubs are common extra curricular activities, students in Carrollton City Schools (Georgia) also get a chance to expand their knowledge and enjoyment of cooking through a new after-school Culinary Club! Read more…

Virginia District Highlights Breakfast in Weeklong Celebrations
Food & Nutrition Service professionals in Virginia’s Chesterfield County Public Schools (CCPS) went above and beyond for National School Breakfast Week this year. Their engaging breakfast program promotions helped boost school breakfast participation by 31% over the same time-frame last year! With a full schedule of programs available, school staff and parents were encouraged to make this week exciting and informative, highlighting the benefits and opportunities for students to enjoy a nourishing meal every morning at school. Read more…

School Breakfast Offers Rainbow of Healthy Options for Students
In addition to offering whole grain cereals or breakfast bars and healthy grab-and-go options, many schools are trying to increase made-to-order or scratch-made choices to the menu. National School Breakfast Week (March 5-9, 2018) is typically a time when many schools test out new recipes and menu options make their debut. Read more…

School Breakfast Rescues Students’ Mornings
When starting to offer breakfast carts this past January, Park Hill School District (MO) wanted to change the way students start their day. Ronda McCullick, the Director of Food Services, said that this new method of reaching students is making great progress – one knock at a time! The school foodservice professional manning the cart walks the hallways past each classroom, depending on what the sign on the classroom door indicates, they either knock to enter with breakfast options or keep on rolling! Read more…

Parfaits for Days – At School, Anyway!
Yogurt parfaits have long been a popular at-home snack, but schools have worked hard to serve students’ serious love of the customizable, healthy treat! Every kind of yogurt flavor, along with colorful and delicious topping options, creates countless combinations.
Schools in Maine have started offering their “Create Your Own Parfait Bar,” giving students more options during special events and programs, like National School Breakfast Week. According to Jeanne Reilly, Director of Nutrition at Windham School Department (ME), students love refreshing and nutritious parfaits to help them start their mornings off right. Read more…

Students Celebrate Sweet Times in Their School Cafeterias
In honor of Valentine’s Day, school nutrition services staff were making cafeterias extra sweet for students. In addition to celebrating with heart-shaped décor at Provo City Schools Child Nutrition Department (UT) cafeterias, staff created a display of heart-shaped foods, from veggie and fruit trays to the cheese on their hamburgers! The dinner rolls and baby carrots formed hearts and fresh watermelon transformed into festive heart lollipops! Read more…

IN School Cafeteria Transforms Into Blizzard Beach Party
The food service professionals at New Castle Community School Corporation (Indiana) are serving up nutritious school meals with creativity and personality. Whether dressing up in crazy costumes or decorating the cafeteria, school nutrition professionals are providing an exciting environment to welcome students.
On January 26, students celebrated the Blizzard Beach Party to have some summer sun during the coldest month of the year! New Castle Director of Food Service Dee Orick said the winter bash luau idea started as a way to help get students through the dog days of winter. Schools menu items are often decorated to go along with the theme of the day. For the Blizzard Beach Party, cheese and turkey croissant sandwiches are turned into crabs and fruit cups get an island update, complete with tiny cocktail umbrellas. There are four separate lines of meals in the cafeteria, which never run the same options.
“Years ago, the high school had four lines with all the same items,” said Orick. “We’ve changed that to include much more fun and exciting menu items, like build-your-own sandwich, a Mexican line, home-style cooking lines and pizzas made-from-scratch. The high school kind of serves as a guinea pig to see what will be successful elsewhere in the district. They help give us new ideas for lines and help expose the younger children in the district to more exciting menu items, in some cases food they’ve never tried outside of school.”
The nutrition department is no stranger to events, according to Orick, who said they have a calendar filled with creative events, holidays and sports-related celebrations throughout the year, including the Apple Crunch and a big Halloween bash.
Orick, also vice president of the Indiana School Nutrition Association, said the food service staff go above and beyond when it comes to decorating the cafeterias and dressing up on special days.

“My staff is very great at getting creative,” she said. “They often take trips after Halloween to the costume store and stock up on amazing outfits that they’ll use throughout the year. They really get into it and it makes the students excited about themed days as well.”
For Thanksgiving, her staff prepares a traditional holiday dinner with all the fixings, just in case one of their students won’t have that at home. Last year, members of the kitchen staff dressed as Native Americans and Pilgrims, again bringing smiles to the faces of the children they feed.
For School Lunch Hero Day, it’s not uncommon to see a food service employee swoop by in their cape, said Orick. They are a staff that truly likes to have fun, making healthy meals for the students of New Castle.

Indiana School Kitchen Manager Dedicates Life To Helping Those In Need
The non-profit School Nutrition Foundation (SNF) has recognized Patricia “Patty” Urbanczyk, Kitchen Manager at Edison Elementary in the School City of Hammond (IN) as one of five national School Nutrition Heroes in 2018. Read more…

Chef In Tennessee School District Recognized With National Honor
The non-profit School Nutrition Foundation (SNF) has recognized Anthony “Chef T” Terrell, Culinary Specialist at Shelby County Schools, Memphis (TN) as one of five 2018 national School Nutrition Heroes. Read more…

Massachusetts School Director Named National School Nutrition Hero
Serving healthy school meals to Billerica Public Schools (MA) students for more than 12 years, Director of School Nutrition April Laskey, SNS, also strives to meet her students’ needs beyond school doors. Due to her generous and heartfelt efforts across the district and in her community, the non-profit School Nutrition Foundation (SNF) has recognized April as one of five 2018 national School Nutrition Heroes. Read more…