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South Carolina Students Serve Up Creativity in Culinary Competition

Students from the School District of Pickens County (SC) offered up their best culinary creations in hopes of impressing the taste buds of judges in the Healthy Salad and Sandwich Culinary Competition. The annual event is designed to provide students with hands-on education in cooking, recipe development and producing and serving recipes in large quantities.

Honoring School Nutrition Employees Who Make a Daily Difference

Often the first friendly faces students see at breakfast and lunch, school nutrition employees play a vital role in creating a welcoming, supportive environment. They’re often the first to notice a student’s mood, offering a smile or kind word when it’s needed most. On School Lunch Hero Day, the School Nutrition Association proudly recognizes its regional Employee of the Year winners for their exceptional commitment to nourishing students and supporting their school meal programs.

School Nutrition Managers Recognized for Excellence and Dedication

School nutrition managers play a vital role on every nutrition team, working directly in school kitchens and cafeterias to ensure students receive healthy, high-quality meals each day. The School Nutrition Association’s Manager of the Year award honors the exceptional dedication, creativity, and compassion demonstrated by these leaders in school communities across the nation.

School Nutrition Directors Recognized for Outstanding Contributions

School Lunch Hero Day, observed annually on the first Friday in May, honors the dedicated women and men who work tirelessly to support the health and well-being of students in schools nationwide. The School Nutrition Association (SNA) is celebrating the accomplishments of regional honorees as well, including Director of the Year winners, exceptional leaders who exhibit an extraordinary commitment to their school meal programs. Directors are responsible for maintaining the quality of meal programs through student interaction, menu planning and a commitment to serving nutritious, tasty and well-balanced school meals. Through effective oversight of all aspects of food service operations, including budgeting, staffing, training, marketing and community outreach, school nutrition directors ensure the overall success of school meal programs.

School Lunch Heroes Receive National Honors

Coming up this Friday, May 2, School Lunch Hero Day celebrates the hard work and dedication of school nutrition professionals across the country. As a kick-off to these festivities, the School Nutrition Association announced national and regional winners for Employee of the Year, Manager of the Year and Director of the Year in a virtual award ceremony today.

Meet the outstanding individuals earning national honors here and learn more through the week about each of the regional winners. Be inspired by their exemplify dedication to their profession and deep commitment to the students they serve.

Utah Elementary Lunchroom Leads the Way in Food Waste Diversion

At Academy Park Elementary near Salt Lake City, sustainability isn’t a buzzword, it’s a practice woven into the fabric of the school’s daily cafeteria operations. Thanks to the hard work of head custodian Rylie Ogden, the school is leading by example with their innovative food waste diversion process. The initiative is a perfect blend of education, teamwork and commitment to preserving the planet for future generations.

Students in WI Eat Their Way Across the Globe

While students in Wisconsin’s Prescott School District were not afforded the opportunity to sail in a gondola in Venice or visit England’s Buckingham Palace, their tastebuds got a chance to take a tour of the world via delectable cuisine spanning the globe.

The students recently took part in the Around the World in 80 Trays program, which encourages school nutrition programs statewide to incorporate international cuisines and culturally-significant meals into their menus.

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.

Pennsylvania Elementary Students Go Bananas for Cafeteria Manners

Encouraging and rewarding cafeteria manners in young students can foster a lifetime of courteous behavior at dinner tables, in restaurant settings and throughout endless daily life settings.

To that end, Mount Wolf Elementary School in Pennsylvania created their Top Banana award program to recognize young students who demonstrate good manners, are helpful to others and clean up after themselves or even others in the cafeteria. The school houses grades K-3 and one student from each grade level is named a Top Banana each month, receiving the coveted banana-shaped trophy.

Michigan Schools’ Culinary Program Provides Glimpse of Nutrition Program

Career Tech Center students from Muskegon County Schools are enjoying a scrumptious yet practical education in preparing and serving locally-grown foods and experiencing a day in the life of food service managers, all while earning credit for select local colleges.

The yearlong Hospitality and Food Management program at the Career Tech Center is designed for high school juniors and seniors, different lessons are implemented every eight weeks. This month, students are creating recipes and receiving feedback on which recipes to alter. In-class focus groups and taste-tests will be held among students of all ages to determine which offerings will be featured at a school-wide event held before Thanksgiving. Students also job shadow food service professionals to gain invaluable on-the-job experience for those considering food, beverage and hospitality professions.