As school started back on August 9th, Fayette County School Nutrition Team has been rockin’ and rollin’ to ensure all students started back with healthy meals to keep them energized and ready to learn. The team is led by registered dietitian, Lisa Plunk as she begins her third year with the school district. Mrs. Plunk said she and her team have really learned to go with the flow as they now have a Plan A and Plan B for when things tend to change often.
Their district’s goal of “Every Student, Every Day” has been a motto inspired by their Director of Schools, Dr. Versie Hamlett. Mrs. Plunk shared that due to this motto, all employees have really rallied together to create as much normalcy and find a happy medium as it is in the best interest of the students. Last year, when meal participation was low, the principals and nutrition teams worked together to encourage students to eat at school. They started Grab and Go breakfast program where students could grab a clear boxed breakfast of either a hot or cold item. They found that since students eat with their eyes, the clear boxes allowed students, especially at the elementary schools to choose one of the brightly colored meals. This has proven to be a great marketing tactic as they now serve more breakfast than lunch meals on a given day. After last year’s success with breakfast and often lunch in the classroom, many of these Grab and Go options are continuing to be a hit this school year with support of all teammates as they aim to serve ‘every student, every day.’
In addition to getting creative with their breakfast Grab and Go options, the school
nutrition team has really tried to encourage students to take advantage of the free meals for all. Even if a student packs a lunch from home, the cafeteria team advertises ‘Lunch Box Buddies’ where students can come get a milk, fruit and vegetable to give them 3 components that qualify for a free meal. The district also participates in the afterschool snack program they call, ‘Beyond the Bell’ that offers a 2-component snack to those students who stay after school for tutoring and other activities. They have seen an increase in participation in this program as the district offers transportation for these afterschool activities.
Upon starting in her role, Mrs. Plunk was tasked with having more of a social media presence for her department to let families, students, staff and community members stay informed to the exciting things going on in the cafeterias. Primarily on Twitter, Mrs. Plunk has been able to let their followers know about menu changes, summer meal sites and that meals are safe, free and available to all students. This has opened lines of communication as well as increased transparency with their customers. She has also been able to share the hard work of her team especially during the pandemic where they were steady getting meals out to the students in the community.