National School Lunch Hero Day is May 5th! In 2013, the School Nutrition Association and Lunch Ladies author Jarrett J. Krosoczka established National School Lunch Hero day to celebrate school nutrition staff and all they do each day to serve their communities. This year, No Kid Hungry Michigan is celebrating school nutrition professionals across the state for the important work they do to feed students healthy meals at school.
School nutrition programs are critical for student well-being and success, and these programs could not function without the passion, dedication, and hard work of school nutrition professionals. In Michigan, 1 in 7 children face food insecurity. School nutrition professionals are the frontline of battling food insecurity, feeding students and offering them safety and stability. While preparing food, adhering to meal standards and regulations, and bringing joy to students, school nutrition professionals show us that not all heroes wear capes — some wear aprons.
Michigan School Meal Heroes
In Michigan, even as they face numerous challenges, including supply chain disruptions and labor shortages, school nutrition staff have adapted to ensure kids continue to get healthy meals during the school day and beyond. That’s why we’re also celebrating National School Lunch Hero Day by recognizing School Lunch Heroes across Michigan and uplifting the work they do to feed students.
“Pearl goes above and beyond daily to make every student to feel welcome. Cutting fresh fruit like mangos, pineapple and fresh berries to make parfaits, smoothies and bento boxes. Serving vegan meals and wonderful healthy food! She makes a difference with her kindness and caring everyday.”
“Sandy is our production manager who ensures each of the 32 schools in the district receive the proper food and beverages every day. Her attention to detail, calm and collected nature even when her cell phone is ringing off the hook – all with a smile on her face and cheery demeaner makes her a School Meal Hero.”
“Mrs. Ferguson has been in Bridgman Public schools since I was a child around 7th\8th grade year 2003.
She has always been so helpful, kind, caring, and above all else willing to work with or go out of her way to help families and students. She is exceptional at making sure everyone’s needs are meet and everyone is fed. She is still in our schools district after all these years, with my children even being in BPS- being a school meal hero all this time”
“Barb has a kind heart and remembers hundreds of names and preferences making the kids feel seen and special. Barb is also a religious person and I am confident that our kids in need, figure in her prayers.”
“Amber is a head cook at my middle school. She cares about the presentation, nutrition, safety and tastefulness of the food she serves. She is loved by the students and the staff. She shows up every day and gives 110% to lead her team in the kitchen. Most importantly she doesn’t define her job duties as only food service but helps other staff in the building outside of food service. She is an asset to my food service department and the building as a whole.”
“She has made the kids enjoy lunch more than recces! She has brought soup to the older kids as an option! She has CHOICES!!! Giving children healthy choices teaches them to make good decisions on their own and know that what they are eating is good for them!”
“Megan makes sure the kids have healthy snacks to take home every day after school. She is a very awesome person at the school. The students love her to pieces.”
“She cares for each and everyone of the students, making individual menu for students who have food allergies to make sure they also can enjoy lunch at school and their needs are met.”
“Mike runs the food department district wide. He’s always filling in when needed and staffs well. He works tirelessly. He truly cares about the students.”
“Rhonda puts time, effort, and love into her meals. She always goes above and beyond to ensure every child has a delicious and nutritious meal every day. She makes eating healthy fun with her “lucky tray day” game that students look forward to every day. She even takes care of the teachers and staff by making us fruit trays and salads on her own periodically. Rhonda makes sure each student at GA is fed and happy each and every day. She never says no to any child when it comes to meals. Not to mention, Rhonda ALWAYS has a smile on her face and kind words to say. Kids and teachers alike look forward to seeing her smiling face each and every day as they go through the lunch line to get their meal. Rhonda gets to school earlier than necessary so she can make sauce from scratch, or bake fresh cookies, or cut up fresh fruit. Rhonda is a true meal hero!!!”
“Outstanding performance by an amazing team of ladies.”
“Penny is incredible! She is so kind and thoughtful with the kids, always doing her best to bring a smile to their face. She is so helpful with the kids and always ensures that they have a nutritious meal. I love how she puts thought into our hot lunch program, making it as fun as she can. She is also so thoughtful with our staff! She often is going out of her way to make us delicious meals and treats with her own money. Penny is one of the hardest workers I’ve ever met and deserves to be noticed for it!”
“Ms. Penny cares so much for all her “children”! She always make sure they have great, healthy food to eat.”
“Miss Penny makes it a point to make each child have the best day ever.
She makes sure the children’s nutrition is first, we have had issues with the wrong food being delivered and she finds a way to make sure the kids still ALWAYS get healthy choices. She also recently lost her mother and had a serious fall and had knee surgery AND still came to at least serve the kids in her knee brace. She loves seeing their faces daily. She also works nights at Meijer, we often wonder if she sleeps. Oh…..AND she makes a point to make sides and salads for the teachers…..She is a true hero to our children and should be acknowledged.”
“The diversity and choices, variety. Especially the staff and helping to assist the children. They should all get a pay raise. We love you all.”
“She has been working with food services for the schools for years and she is very friendly and makes your lunch absolutely wonderful.”
“Dani works very hard for our food program. She handles every aspect, start to finish. Even keeping a smile on her face while doing it! Thank you Dani for making sure our kids are happy and fed!”
“Robin goes beyond her daily duties to assist and make each child’s needs a priority.”
“Jeri goes above and beyond for the students at Leonard Elementary. She makes it a point to say “good morning and have a great day” to every student that comes to her breakfast cart and lunch line. She is willing to help out whenever and where every she can. Jeri is also a great employee to have on my team.”
“Mrs. Barber goes above and beyond for our students and her kitchen team! She makes sure all students and teachers love the food and also meet all the guidelines for a healthy meal. She provides many options for the day and that takes hard work. Her hard work planning and providing the meals is so appreciated. She and her team have been so amazing, especially with the recent changes with COVID and we also had construction over the last year on our kitchen.”
“She has had to take over the program as I fight a cancer battle. She is blooming and rocking the administrative review in my absences!”
“Michelle leads the kitchen staff to not only prepare great, nutritional lunches for the students, but also provides catering for our staff meetings, afterschool banquet events and other student activities. The dishes are terrific, nutritious and are presented in an aesthetically pleasant way!!! She leads by example and has a terrific staff that she works with as well!!!”
“Bridget is a one-woman lunch-lady machine! She comprises the entire food-service staff at SCA; yet, Bridget prepares her meals with care, pride, AND love, and takes the time to get to know each student and their families. Bridget always has a friendly greeting and a smile for whomever she is serving. She is a School Meal Hero!”
“When not behind the food counter preparing and serving nutritious food with a smile to a seemingly endless line of hungry learners, Ms. Mosley is organizing and facilitating fun-filled school-wide healthy food related activities to up to nearly 50 students each month for our PBIS campaign. Ms. Mosley is truly a champion of healthy and adventurous diets, and brings joy and kindness to our school community.”
“She is the greatest greeting children at the cafeteria or during summer school.”
“Mrs. Irwin is an amazing nutrition hero! She cares so much about our student body and makes sure everyone is fed. The students speak volumes for her! Mikey: “She’s the nicest school cook I have ever had!” Chance: “She always makes sure we have good food! My favorite meal that she makes is the chicken sandwich!” Deb goes above and beyond- no student will go hungry. In addition, she takes care of our staff as well. Every Friday throughout the school year, Deb makes soup for the staff so we have warm a healthy meal as well. Sometimes she will surprise us with extra goodness – Mac and Cheese! In addition, Deb’s husband is also available when extra help is needed. For example, Mr. and Mrs. Irwin took time to put up a whiteboard that was needed in the hallway. I have to say, Deb is a shining gem in our school and she makes it a better place to be.”
“Mrs. Irwin makes a personal connection with every student and adult in the building. She goes out of her way to tutor students, have meaningful conversations with kids daily, connect with the team — she goes above and beyond daily and simply makes our school culture (and food) better.”
“Mrs. Irwin is the meal hero of our school because she does everything she can to make sure all students and staff are happy and healthy. She always accounts for all students and even provides a few extra snacks for those that she knows struggle at home. Field trips, family picnics, classroom parties, and more! Mrs. Irwin knows just how to make every student feel included here at Patterson. We would not be such a school community without her!”
“Cynthia goes above and beyond to make lunch time fun. Cynthia will ask students input on what they like or dislike about a meal we are serving. She is first to complement a student’s new hair cut, shoes and outfits. She always encourages good manners and praises students when they use them. She will dress up for special events and will sing opera style Happy Birthday to the kids. We are so blessed to have Cynthia at our school!”
“For her dedication in ensuring students are receiving the best food quality and most nutritious.”
“Dedicated leadership and outstanding commitment to cleanliness.”