Kristina Burmood, director of nutritional services

Gibbon (Neb.) Public Schools/OPAA

Nominator: Vern Fisher, superintendent, Gibbon Public Schools

“Kristina has changed the culture and climate of our school lunch program. Kristina's smile and personality have been instrumental in connecting with students and staff while emphasizing the importance of healthy and nutritious foods to promote the well-being of the whole child.” 

Victoria Conway, food service director

Cottonwood-Oak Creek (Az.) School District/Sodexo

Nominator: Bethany Campista, school lunch coordinator, Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District

“Victoria Conway is a foodservice hero. During the pandemic, she not only provided food to Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District but she reached out to the community and provided over $1.2 million worth of food during the pandemic. Because of Victoria, a half million pandemic meals were distributed to the children in the community. She provided the community access to health and wellness through nutritious food, and the community peace of mind. She coordinated 60,000 meals through bus deliveries to individual homes for people without access to transportation. She also coordinated 15,000 meals through contactless curbside pick-up, where families can drive through and pick-up weekend meals in less than 30 seconds. Victoria has gone above and beyond her scope of work, and that is what a true hero does. She cares for the community and the greater good.”

Danielle Corbin, food service director

Charter Schools USA North Carolina/K-12 by Elior

Nominator: Kathy Murray, VP-operations, K-12 by Elior

“Dani works tirelessly to create an environment that her teammates want to work in and her students want to dine in every day at school! Whether it is brightening the service line or dressing up like a piece of toast for National School Breakfast Week, Dani puts tremendous energy into the service of our teams and students.”

Kathy Cuello, food management

Lockport Township (Ill.) High/Quest Food Service

Nominator: Rachel Clayton, cafeteria manager, Fairmont School 89

“Kathy Cuello is an amazing person. She is dedicated to her work in food service. Kathy has over 15 years in food service. Her fun and loving attitude makes working and learning from her a pure pleasure.”

Robin Cutchall, child nutrition director

Fouke Cafeteria, Fouke (Ark.) School District

Nominator: Bridgett Story, CN manager, Fouke School District

“Robin has been with the Fouke School District’s foodservice for 30 years, and worked her way up from the dish room to director. Robin rarely takes days off and has worked through the pandemic tirelessly. When the school shut down, she got us the necessary equipment to continue feeding the kids, even though they were virtual. Her passion is the kids and she has gotten to watch generations come through her cafeteria. She doesn't just sit in her office either—if we are down people, she jumps into the kitchen wherever needed. Robin is my direct supervisor and I am learning to do her job for when she retires, and I hope to be even half the director she is.”

Susan Gracey, director of business development

Masonic Pathways of Alma/Morrison Living

Nominator: Deni Winter, vice president-business development/purchasing/marketing, Lunchtime Solutions

“Our business development director is an absolute Rock Star Food Service Hero. She has to wear many hats in her role and is so very knowledgeable about food service management that her value is immeasurable. This year was extremely difficult in food service to find and retain staff. This hero covered multiple locations for cooks, kitchen managers, food service directors and other operation leaders who could not stretch themselves and be in one or more places at a time. She was so gracious and kind about all of this and offered to help in any situation. She was away from home for several months and was the shining light that kept a great attitude while all of this was going on. Our teams appreciated her spunky, make-everything-fun-no-matter-what approach, and we have successfully retained many business partners because of her dedication, along with living and fostering our values and cultures. 

It is essential to have solid leadership within an organization that can handle pressure under very stressful situations without upsetting other team members or customers. Susan is a leader who excels under pressure and can turn stressful situations into days of professional fun that people never forget.  

Part of her role is also to assist with marketing concepts and promotion ideas, and Susan was successful in helping to create a concept this year called "Test your Senses" for students in K-12 schools. This concept was featured nationally in Food Management magazine and gained Lunchtime recognition for adding fun promotional work to operations with our customers and potential customers. 

Susan embodies what everyone wants in a team member and leader, and we are so grateful to have her as part of the team, contributing to the many successes of this organization.”

Meaghan Harlan, director of dining services

Belleville (N.J.) School District

Nominator: Tom Boileau, district manager, Chartwells K12

“Meaghan Harlan is a director of dining services known for going the extra mile to serve up happy and healthy. When a family from the Belleville Public School District lost their home to a fire, Meaghan immediately mobilized her Chartwells team to provide the family with daily meals as they dealt with the aftermath of this tragedy. Meaghan and her team quickly and quietly helped a special needs student when he shared that he didn’t have enough food at home. She went beyond meeting his need for food and helped secure a job close to his home upon finding out he didn’t have a car. Meaghan’s thoughtfulness and empathy continue to inspire her team, students and community.”

Steve Hed, director of food service/sustainability coordinator

Putney Central School

Nominator: Herve Pelletier, principal, Putney Central School

“Steve Hed has been instrumental in supporting our efforts at providing in-house food service, including commitments to scratch cooking utilizing locally sourced foods (30%+), spearheading our Farm to School programming, and so much more. Steve is frequently in the building late in the evening and often on the weekends as well, placing orders, communicating with his large network of local vendors and keeping accounts up to date. In addition, he's overseen the expansion of our garden and orchard, moving us beyond our raised bed plantings into a larger garden space and supporting the planting of a number of new fruit trees. 

In short, Steve is a tireless advocate for providing wholesome, healthy, locally sourced food and educating our students regarding the long-term benefits of good nutrition. He's the rock star of school nutrition programs in southern Vermont.”

Elena Hildreth, director of food & nutrition services

Illinois School District U-46/Food & Nutrition Services

Nominators: Marla Ravlin, elementary field manager, School District U-46 Food & Nutrition Services; Pamela Jewell, elementary field manager, Elgin School District U-46; Judy Dorsz, food & nutrient manager, Elgin School District U-46

Pamela Jewell: “Prior to COVID, when Elena started with our district, she brought us into a whole new world of creativity with menu ideas and options. She introduced us to a world where we were able to submit menu ideas and reutilize foods that previously had to be discarded and menus had to be followed as dictated to us. During COVID she has been a rock star organizing our department—which is in the second largest district in Illinois—to get meals out to all kids, understanding the new waiver guidelines and making sure we did so while trying to have fun and staying motivated. She allowed us to create theme weeks, supplied special t-shirts and ALWAYS was in the thick of it all, working side by side with us. Now, during a food shortage, she spends countless hours searching for food and supplies to keep our kids fed while trying to keep our department running and staff safe. On a more personal level, I've not had an opportunity to work with a director who has been more supportive of my personal goals. She is always setting high expectations but also willing to help me achieve the goals she sets before me! A director who drives you to be a better you while working alongside you through the sweat and tears is a rare find these days.”

Lori Johnson, district manager

Lubbock (Texas) ISD/Aramark

Nominator: Samantha Dillard, communications director, Aramark

“Her passion is to feed children, and she strives every day to come up with new ways for us to accomplish feeding more students for our district. Through COVID, she led our team in feeding over one million meals to students in our district, and during our most recent snowstorm, she led our team in feeding over 1,200 students at different locations so that no child would be without a meal. She has created new and innovative programs like our Chef Community Council, where we bring in local chefs to our schools with a special themed menu to inspire students to try new flavors, expand their pallets, create interest in culinary careers, etc. 

Lori works hard every day to create, maintain and build our program. No child goes hungry under her direction, and she works hard every day to make it happen. She works closely with our district to meet their needs when it comes to getting our students the best nutritional value out of their meals and educating our students on different ways they can go into the culinary arts. Lori is an innovator, and she believes that no child should ever go without a meal, no matter the circumstances”

Angie Lane, foodservice director

Ruidoso (N.M.) Municipal Schools/ K12 By Elior

Nominator: Jennifer Dodd, vice president of operations, K12 By Elior

“Ruidoso Municipal schools in New Mexico were holding classes on April 12, 2022 when the McBride fires scaled out of control quickly, burning a total of 4,312 acres within a few hours and destroying 207 homes. The fires surrounded many of the school buildings with active classes, putting all on campus at risk. The foodservice director, Angie Lane, remained calm in the face of this terrifying situation and helped the students and staff to remain calm as she supported the district and community services efforts to evacuate the schools safely. Angie was the last member of the foodservice team to exit the premises, snapping a photo that she shared of the fire directly across the street from her vehicle when she was finally able to exit herself. She spent every waking moment managing the needs of her team, the district and the community for the next week. She worked with a neighboring district support team to load and transfer $26,000 in commodity foods to them allowing the Ruidoso Municipal Schools district to save a total of 276 cases of product intended to feed the students once they were back on campus. Angie offered her land for fellow staff and community to park campers on as they were forced to evacuate. She even offered her camper as a place for others to stay. Once the district was able to re-open, she navigated complexities such as waiting for utilities to be restored and working out alternative ways to cook the food in order to ensure the students received the great meals they deserve.”

Paige Lentini, food services director

Roland Park Country School/SAGE Dining Services

Nominator: Sherry Cohen, district manager, SAGE Dining Services

“Paige’s commitment to customer service exceeds any expectations we could expect from a food service director. She’s well-loved by her school community and receives thank you notes almost daily from her students. She says yes before she’s even asked and is a true team player. Paige is the first to lend a hand to her fellow managers, a highly valued characteristic with the current industry labor shortage. (This week alone, she’s assisted at four other locations for their holiday events!) Paige is passionate about what she does, and it shows in how she interacts with her client, campus community, employees and peers.”

Roxanne Maze, assistant director of food & nutrition

Dexter (Mich.) Community Schools

Nominator: Jennifer Mattison, director of food & nutrition, Dexter Community Schools

“Roxanne is the backbone of our organization, and our team would not be able to function without her. Our mission is to make sure that our students are fueled and prepared to learn.  This year, especially, we would not have been able to achieve that mission without her. In addition to making sure that we have interesting menus for the students and juggling all of the other tasks that normally come along with her role, she has been navigating our supply chain issues and stepping into serve in whatever kitchen needed her the most.

This year our supply chain issues have resulted in many product outages. Roxanne works with our suppliers to ensure that we try to get as close an alternate product as possible. She will get in her car and drive to grocery stores and wholesale stores to find the products that our kitchens need to serve our students.

Roxanne is also amazing because throughout our severe staff shortages she works in our kitchens to ensure that meals are prepared for our students. She works to relieve the burden on our other staff so that they can continue to fight alongside us another day.

Roxanne is the true embodiment of the spirit of our district and our industry, always putting the students first and doing whatever it takes to make their meals happen. She is a champion for our staff, making sure that they have what they need and get the respect that they deserve.  She is a person who is often in the background, making sure everyone has what they need but is also ensuring a great experience for our students when our staff needs the help.

In short, student meals in our district wouldn't have happened this year without the herculean effort of this one individual making sure that everyone else's efforts were successful. She is our Foodservice Hero!” 

Christine Morse, foodservice director

Harvard (Ill.) CUSD 50/Aramark

Nominator: Kevin Leavy, foodservice director, Aramark

“I am nominating Christine Morse for this award because she has exemplified what it is like to be the exceptional employee. Chris comes to work every day looking for ways to increase meals, give students the best dining experience, motivating her staff and other leads, and constantly taking the program to the next level.

Chris has taken the lead on several projects in the district geared towards getting students to eat. She makes sure her lines are neat and clean. She is the liaison between me and the other leads. There have been times when she was going through personal situations and still gave 110%. She never misses work and has a positive attitude at all times.

During the COVID pandemic, we fed over 880,000 meals. Chris was instrumental in maintaining the serving of students. Chris is a great asset.”

Tara Nichols, resident district manager

YES Prep Public Schools/K12 By Elior

Nominator: Jennifer Dodd, vice president of operations, K12 By Elior

“Tara Nichols is a resident district manager at K-12 by Elior serving at YES Prep in Houston, TX, which is a district that was expected to serve more than 6,000 students a day in 15 schools for the school year. When all schools moved to virtual learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she became very concerned about how these students would be able to access the nutritious meals they depended on at school every day. After coordinating with the district leadership team, and confirming that she would have the full support of the K-12 by Elior organization, she launched a door-to-door delivery service to deliver 14 NSLP meals to the front door of more than 8,000 students each week. In total, Tara and her team delivered more than 100,000 meals a week to students door-to-door, by a team of drivers that operated 16 vans throughout the city of Houston. Due to the herculean efforts of Tara and her team, the district was able to deliver more than 1,700,000 meals door-to-door to student homes. They also operated curbside pickups on campuses, leading to another 700,000 meals served to students. In total, the district served a total of more than 2.4 million meals to students for at-home consumption in less than six months, ensuring that every child received the great meals they deserved as part of the K-12 by Elior’s mission that she is devoted to.”

John Saban, assistant foodservice director

Mt. Lebanon (Pa.) School District

Nominator: Nolen Fetchco, foodservice director, Mt. Lebanon School District

“John Saban is a true, unsung Food Service Hero. John has been the assistant food service director at Mt. Lebanon School District for almost eight years and finds a way to leave the district better than he found it each and every day. Aside from excelling at day-to-day duties, John was a true unsung hero over the past year. In a time when much of the world was in a state of uncertainty, there was always one certainty—John’s positive, customer-first attitude and a smile in Mt. Lebanon’s cafeteria. 

John played an integral role in the district’s transitioning from remote learning to hybrid learning and back, before settling back into a regular, five-day school schedule. During remote learning, John’s smile could be found outside wherever meals were being distributed. If you were picking up meals from Mt. Lebanon, John always remembered your name, remembered your dog’s name (and usually had a treat for them) and had a joke for you! In a dreary time, John made lunchtime a bright spot for parents, students and pets! When students returned to the district, John was always visible in the cafeteria, greeting students with a smile hidden behind a mask and happily answering any questions or concerns they had. 

If ever there was an unsung Food Service Hero, it is John Saban. The success, resilience and continued growth of the Mt. Lebanon Food Service program would not be possible without his hard work, dedication and positive attitude. He is well-respected within the Food Service Department, among administrators and other district staff alike.”

Jim Socci, general manager

Leechburg (Pa.) Area School District/Metz Culinary Management

Nominator: Maureen Metz, executive vice president, Metz Culinary Management

“I want to nominate Jim Socci, General Manager of Leechburg Area School District. 

Over the past two years, Jim has been instrumental in supporting our K-12 accounts in Pittsburgh. Upon being laid off due to a shutdown and the ultimate closing of Siemen's Corporate Dining Facility due to the pandemic, Jim wanted to explore a career in the K-12 National School Lunch Program segment.

Jim joined the team at North Allegheny School District to help with the distribution of more than 300,000 emergency meals to the community. Jim was invaluable in the logistics of such a monumental task of shifting our operations to a drive-thru pickup process. Jim stayed on at North Allegheny and began to learn the school lunch program, working with Jay West and covering for our assistant manager's maternity leave.

Jim then was assigned to West Jefferson Hills School District to assist with distributing more than 300 daily meals to six different daycare and preschool facilities within the school district boundaries, but unaffiliated with the district. Jim drove the truck every day to ensure delivery to each location when the driver was on a leave of absence. Jim was a crucial team player in ensuring all 300 students received their meals each day.

Upon the untimely death of our general manager at Slippery Rock Area School District, Jim took the lead to be the interim general manager for the remaining three months of the school year and into summer feeding programs. Jim took the reins and did an excellent job guiding the team through difficult circumstances and ensuring students' meals were never interrupted, even with three hours of commuting daily. 

Jim became general manager at the Leechburg Area School District upon approval of emergency service in the fall of 2021. His impact was critical in the successful permanent bid award for Leechburg Area School District.”

Christina Wilson, assistant food director

Jackson (Minn.) Public Schools/Taher Inc.

Nominator: Jill Teut, senior communications director, Taher Inc.

“I am honored to nominate Chrissy Wilson, assistant food service director for Jackson Public Schools in Jackson, Michigan. Chrissy has proven that the challenges of a major pandemic will not deter her from placing her students, families and community above all else as she helped lead one of the most successful K-12 food service operations through another challenging year.  A few highlights demonstrate her ability to get things accomplished and focused on children and her community:

• Chrissy brainstormed and created a food box distribution initiative to supplement weekly produce and food giveaways during the summer of 2021 after government funding for the program ran out. Chrissy collaborated with her local community leaders, including the Jackson Public Schools, the City of Jackson, the local chapter of United Way, South Michigan Food Bank and Alro Steel Company. The Summer Pantry Box offered fresh produce from local Michigan producers as well as other key food items. The weekly box program reached 600 families during the summer months and served as a great resource to families in need. Chrissy was able to find funding for this program from contributions, including a generous donation from the late Al Glick through his Alro Steel Foundation. Around 7,200 Summer Pantry Boxes were handed out.

• Chrissy has always wanted to supply a fresh hot breakfast to the students at the Jackson High School every Friday, but challenges with timing, staff availability as well as limited resources seemed to cloud this dream. Not to be denied, Chrissy rolled up her sleeves and, with the help of her local high school team and food service management staff, was able to implement the Hot Breakfast Friday to a roaring group of excited and happy students! This program has been well received and reflects the need to pause and realize that a fresh-made hot breakfast might just be the right start to a wonderful school day.”

Katie Wood, nutrition director/administrator

Tucson International Academy, East Campus Location

Nominator: Torre King, paraprofessional/teacher assistant, Tucson International Academy

“Katie Wood runs the entire nutrition program for a K-12 Charter School District in Tucson, Arizona that serves low-income families across the city. She started working with Tucson International Academy in June 2020, in the peak of the pandemic, and was able to secure our district free meals for all students for up to five school years. This has made our students and parents lives considerably easier knowing that two meals would be given to children at our schools every day, no questions asked, 100% for free. She made it possible for distant learners and families to pick up breakfast and lunch in a safe, healthy way that protected students and parents from potential COVID-19 exposures as well. She brightens our district through her dedication to nutritious meals that our students look forward to having catered in to us while simultaneously being an admin for an entire campus on her own. I believe that she is a Food Service Hero because of her dedication to our student/family community despite a pandemic, food distribution shortages and other outside factors. She has made the Tucson International Academy district excited about food again, happy to know that they will receive two free meals no questions asked, and healthier overall.”

Derrik Young, food services director

Silverdale (Ga.) Baptist Academy/SAGE Dining Services

Nominator: Chris Frick, district manager, SAGE Dining Services

“Becoming part of a client community can be difficult in contract food service, but Derrik Young makes it look easy. When he’s not writing menus or coordinating a smooth lunch service for 1,200 students daily, Derrik volunteers his time with the school’s Outdoor Education Department, working with the fishing and outdoors program. Derrik also does a guest reading of Green Eggs and Ham for the lower school—something the students request each year. And when the school hosted a grand opening event for their new sports and fine arts complex, Derrik and his team catered the event for 200 guests—including local government and city council members—while simultaneously providing regular lunch service for the students.”