#FeelGoodFridays – Good News to End the Week On

Editorial Team

By Editorial Team

Putting together Week 2 of our Feel Good Fridays blog has been so heartwarming! We love seeing how so many school nutrition programs have managed to update their processes and are able to continue serving their students safely, while still boosting team morale.

Alyssia Wright, Ed.S., Executive Director of Food & Nutrition Services at Fulton County Schools is a great leader to follow on LinkedIn, if you aren’t following her already. From motivational quotes to exciting summaries of her team’s efforts, her posts always have a way of making us smile. One thing they are doing that more school nutrition programs should consider is they have their own newsletter, titled Elevate the Plate, which enables parents and community members to subscribe to and stay in the loop with their program. We love following them on social media and via their newsletter!

San Francisco USD has served over 250,000 meals in the weeks since schools closed. Student Nutrition Services is committed to ensuring no child goes hungry. In addition, SFUSD has launched a small home delivery program for select students with disabilities and special dietary needs. District employees have volunteered as delivery drivers and delivered over 1,500 meals to students’ doorsteps. Each student receives a box with five days worth of food, much of which is made fresh by the district’s first chef, Joshua Davidson. Chef Davidson and his team prepare the special meals at the McAteer Culinary Center, which opened this Fall.

“Students or families with disabilities may not be able to travel to the scheduled meal pick-up sites,” said student engagement coordinator Simone Saldanha. “Additionally, students with specific food allergies may find it difficult to procure safe foods during this time. This is especially challenging for students and families who rely on school meals as a significant resource when school is in session.”

These are the things that make you say “Wow!”

Great things are also happening in Tennessee! Johnson City School District Food Services was featured in their local Johnson City Press this month regarding their passion for continuing to serve their students throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. A great quote from Karen McGahey, Supervisor of Food Services was “Just like students need a way to get to school, books and a desk to sit in, they also need a meal to be safeguarded and ready to learn.” Well said, Karen! For more information on what’s happening at Johnson City Schools, check out the full article here.

Teri King, Jurupa Unified School District‘s Technology Supervisor, provided our team with an update regarding the JUSD Nutrition Services Team: “We at Jurupa USD- Nutrition Services, in Riverside County, Jurupa Valley, California are serving Grab-n-Go Meals from 12 of our 24 school sites. With an enrollment of about 20,000 students, almost 75% of them qualify for Free or Reduced Meals. Their need for school meals is very great. We are serving on average approximately 10,000 meals daily and our staff always performs with compassion and grace. My pride in their kind and eager hearts knows no bounds.” – Great job, Jurupa USD Nutrition Services!

National Heritage Academies (NHA) is working tirelessly to ensure families and communities have access to nutritious meals during this time of crisis. NHA is collaborating with Preferred Meals and other partners to distribute meals at more than 50 school locations across seven states. NHA has assisted in providing over 333,662 meals to date to help meet the needs of the families and students they serve. From working with the national guard, to several other community partners, take a look at how they’re making it happen!