Thank You, School Lunch Heroes!
Last Friday, May 5th was School Lunch Hero Day! On this special day and throughout the week, we got to recognize some of the hardest working, most dedicated folks in our state – school nutrition staff. What a beautiful week it was!
The work and mission of No Kid Hungry is only made possible through the commitment of school nutrition staff. These individuals are on the ground and work tirelessly to support children and provide them with nutritious meals 365 days a year. This year, we recognize and celebrate their commitment to ensuring kids are fed through our School Lunch Hero Hall of Fame.
Thank you school lunch heroes for all that you do to keep Virginia kids fed! Click on each profile below to learn more about our 2023 School Lunch Hero Hall of Fame inductees.
2023 Regional School Lunch Hero Winners
Beulah Elementary School
At Beulah Elementary School, cafeteria manager Mary Joiner leads a team of selfless and hardworking individuals who provide encouragement and love to the students they feed. They participate in the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program and operate four breakfast kiosks. The team at Beulah is the largest in the district and one of the highest performing CEP schools, serving an average of 525 breakfasts and 700 lunches every day. Mary and her team are passionate about their work and are always looking for ways to improve the students’ experience. The principal, Dr. Christina Allen-Roach, describes Mary’s team as the most talented and efficient she has ever worked with.
Northampton High School
At the beginning of the year, Northampton High School’s nutrition team faced staffing shortages but continued to prepare homemade meals with dedication and professionalism. They often cooked from scratch and made homemade rolls, even when exhausted from overtime hours. One of the students, an NHS football player, gave his football jersey to the manager, Marcy Burgess, to wear on Senior day. He is one of the many students that recognizes her and the team as true heroes for always serving breakfast and lunch and taking good care of all students.
King William High School
The staff at King William High School work together to create a fun environment and provide meals that students enjoy every single day. They are always interacting with students, trying to encourage those who don’t eat with them to try their meals and keep those who do coming back. During spirit week, they dressed up as superheroes with masks, capes, and t-shirts, which the students loved. Whether it is spirit week or a typical one, this team is filled with heroes ready to jump into action!
Claude Thompson Elementary School
Ann Gray and her team at Claude Thompson Elementary School create a friendly and accepting environment for students. They decorate the serving line with educational and fun items each month and work with FRESH partners to provide delicious and informative tastings. The team makes sure that the food is cooked just the way the kids like it, with many choices for fresh fruits and vegetables. They even have a “Buddies” program, where students can dine with stuffed animals to encourage socialization and make sure that everyone is eating a meal with a friend!
Rockfish River Elementary School
Rockfish River Elementary School is a small school located in a beautiful mountainous setting. The Nutrition Manager and her team have been working in the school since 1999 and continuously participate in events that enhance the students’ experience. The team dresses up for events, decorates the cafeteria, and provides informational handouts and hands-on events. They have even brought a dairy cow to the school and provided locally grown vegetables with new recipes for “Taste Test Tuesdays”. Recently, they hosted an annual Easter Egg dying event, and all students who attended got to take decorated eggs home in milk carton egg baskets.
Patrick County High School
Patrick County High School’s Nutrition Team has had three new managers in the past two years but still prioritizes the students’ well-being and nutrition. Despite often being short-handed, they always manage to provide healthy and nutritious meals to the students. The new manager, Melissa, goes above and beyond her duties and leads her team with excellence. During the winter holidays, the team partners with the guidance counselor to contribute money or buys gifts for students in need – feeding students’ mind, body, and spirit!
Hurley Elementary Middle School
Hurley Elementary Middle School’s Nutrition Team has exemplified what it means to be school lunch heroes! The team has helped the community recover from disasters such as flooding and a school fire. They have worked together to feed the students of the Hurley community and have added more food choices this year while increasing school lunch participation. The staff members also coach, decorate for events, provide prom dresses for some students, and help with the school garden. They have positively impacted the entire community and deserve to be recognized as the school lunch heroes they are!
E.W. Wyatt Middle School
The Nutrition Team at E.W. Wyatt has exceeded expectations despite being short-staffed and facing challenges due to new recipes, procedures, and policies implemented this year. The team focused on learning and developing best practices, which improved participation and morale. Their hard work and dedication have made a positive impact on the entire school nutrition department, and they are true school lunch heroes. They continuously improve their work and are always eager to show their progress to division level staff and the students!
2023 School Lunch Hero Hall of Fame
Arcadia High School
These school lunch hero hall of famers are a team that prioritizes providing healthy and nutritious meals to students every day. They actively participate in school events and holidays, and engage well with both staff and students. Their efforts to promote school breakfast and lunch week were exemplary, resulting in a significant increase in breakfast participation within the first week of school (about 75%!). The staff’s initiative to promote the week through sampling, pictures, and handouts made the event more interactive and engaging for the students.
Patrick Henry K-8 School
The staff at Patrick Henry serve approximately 900 students and provide over 2,000 meals daily. They have the highest Meals Per Labor Hour in the division due to their meal pattern and staffing structure. The team also has the highest breakfast participation within the division at 78%! When the kitchen manager, Mirna, was out for several weeks, the team banded together and championed the operation with a clear understanding of what needed to be done. The group’s hard work, dedication, and attention to detail exemplify the type of character and values cultivated within the culture and environment of the Patrick Henry school nutrition team. This team is full of rock stars!
Dr. Charles Drew Elementary School
Check out those amazing hats! The school lunch staff at Dr. Charles Drew Elementary is praised for welcoming new students and making sure all students have the opportunity to eat lunch. They are vigilant for unhappy students and always make an effort to brighten a students’ day. They also regularly offer food samples to encourage students to try new items. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they even helped carry food for struggling parents and students with physical disabilities. Thank you for all that you do for kids in Arlington!
Wilson Middle School
The school nutrition staff at Wilson Middle has taken on the opportunity to feed two neighboring schools breakfast this year! The staff is proud to take on this extra work, which includes packing and transporting hot and cold breakfasts to the two half-day programs. This committed team at WMS feeds an extra 160-180 students daily, in addition to the student breakfasts offered at WMS. The cafeteria manager, Sherri, leads her team with strength, organization, and kindness, and the breakfast menu is liked by students. The program takes early mornings to make it happen, and Sherri has never thought twice about adjusting her schedule and staff’s schedule to feed all students accordingly. The best part is that students have an opportunity to start their day with success, and they truly appreciate it!
Troutville Elementary School
Troutville Elementary has a committed team that works hard to create excitement around nutritious meals for their students. The team participates in every theme opportunity and even creates small gifts for the kids during the holidays. The manager of 27 years will be retiring this year, but the same values and team efforts will continue for years to come. The team members are dedicated to their work and the children they serve!
Highland View Elementary School
The School Nutrition team at Highland View Elementary provides high-quality, nutritious meals for three meals a day, every day. They participate in community programs and always show kindness and care to all students and adults at the school. The staff works flawlessly as a team, even when they are short-staffed. This year, they provided a full Thanksgiving meal for students and parents, which was affordable and appreciated by the community. The parents, students, and community LOVE the cafeteria team at Highland View Elementary and are so grateful to have these heroes in their lives!
Buford Middle School
The school nutrition team at Buford Middle School is a Bronze Governor’s Scorecard winner for two consecutive years, and this year they have increased lunch participation by 10%! The team works well with the administration and students, and they have been together for five years. They garnish all the food on the serving line to make it appealing for students and work together to get the job done. Earlier in the year they were also able to double breakfast participation with a mobile breakfast cart. These professionals handle any challenge thrown their way.
Dinwiddie Elementary School
The team at Dinwiddie Elementary School is a group of employees who truly understand the importance of serving nutritious meals every day to the children. Despite changes in operations, they work hard to prepare breakfasts and meals for students, and offer a positive and welcoming atmosphere to everyone who enters the serving area. The team shows great resilience and dedication to keeping the nutritional needs of students as their top priority, even when dealing with personal challenges. They work well as a team, displaying great teamwork and professionalism without any complaints. These heroes get the job done!
Kersey Creek Elementary School
Tonda, the manager at Kersey Creek, is a hardworking and positive individual who cares deeply about the school community and the children. She encourages healthy eating habits and sets up test groups for students to try new recipes and meal ideas. One day this year, Tonda and her team at Kersey Creek responded to a last minute request to help feed students at different school that had lost electricity. This team of committed champions is making a difference in Hanover county!
Thomas Harrison Middle School
The team at Thomas Harrison Middle has gone the extra mile to ensure students have multiple breakfast options each morning, including a “pick two” cold choice selection or a hot entree. They are creative with their daily pizza offerings, which are out-of-the-box options such as taco, cheeseburger, buffalo chicken, veggie, and more, and the kids love them! The team is diverse and has been influential in the development of “International Day” menus – making sure that students are eating dishes from many different cultures and cuisines. The manager works with after-school programs to provide suppers and breakfasts, and they even prepared a tray of samples to allow newcomers to try the foods before coming to the cafeteria. These heroes exemplify kindness and practicality, which is everything one could hope for in a school nutrition program!
Central High School
The two person team at Central High are goal-driven, hard-working, and highly respected school lunch heroes who never complain despite the challenge of feeding 200 students daily. Heather is bubbly and loves to laugh, while Touch is sweet and has a great sense of humor. They both fit in perfectly with the high school environment and make every day memorable for every student they serve.
Brambleton Middle School
The Brambleton Middle school nutrition team successfully managed a challenging transition to nine lunch periods, all while achieving high Meals Per Labor Hour and a la carte sales. These heroes prioritize exemplary customer service and a welcoming environment for students, encouraging staff and student engagement. Even the teachers and administrators are invited to sample new items, creating a supportive school community. The team has also created new recipes that were a hit with students and added to the regular menu. These heroes are always looking for ways to improve and it shows!
New Kent Middle School
Tina, a new manager at the middle school, has excelled in running the school kitchen by growing lunch counts, training new staff, and feeding 45% of her paid students and 69% of her free and reduced students. The staff goes out of their way to make sure their customer service is top notch by creating new recipes and offering samples to students. Tina and her staff also ensure that all students have access to food and even chat with and persuade reluctant students to eat. They strive to make lunchtime a fun, social time for students and provide good food and service to ensure that everyone leaves with a positive experience.
Central Kitchen Crew
This year we want to recognize the heroes at Norfolk Public Schools that are behind the scenes! Norfolk has their own warehouse, central kitchen and delivery system. The Central Kitchen Crew is responsible for receiving, producing, packing, loading, and delivering food and supplies to fifty schools every day for the next day’s menus. The team prepares a range of scratch and speed scratch items, including whole wheat roll dough, Bento Boxes, Entree Salads, spice packets and condiments. The packers handle all the ingredients the schools use in on-site cooking, although the students and cafeteria staff never see them. The Central Kitchen Crew is dependable, organized and highly efficient, and they maintain a normal delivery schedule despite staffing shortages.
Orange County High School
The Orange County High nutrition team has welcomed a new cafeteria manager, Judy Keim, and the staff has rallied behind her to show support. They have made adjustments to the serving lines to smooth the flow of students, and each team member is working to be cross-trained in all kitchen positions. The staff is creative in setting up food displays and suggesting new menu items. They know the students by name and make them feel welcomed for breakfast and lunch each day. The OCHS café team loves to dress up and celebrate, as seen during National School Lunch Week when they dressed in tie-dye shirts and peace sign pendants.
Prince Edward County Nutrition Managers
This dedicated group of cafeteria managers is compassionate, fearless, humble, selfless, and persistent in their dedication to the students of Prince Edward County. They know they are often the first people that children see each day and they work hard to make sure that all kids in their schools are happy and well-fed. They are always willing to tackle challenges and stick to a task, even when it is difficult. So many of these heroes persisted through COVID-19 and delivered meals to students’ homes, showing great kindness and character. Prince Edward County wouldn’t be the same without these heroes!
Beazley Elementary School
At Beazley Elementary, the cafeteria team, led by cafeteria manager Debbie Artus, works in a small kitchen with limited space and equipment. Despite the small kitchen, their big hearts show up every day with a can-do attitude. Debbie and her team do so much to make the cafeteria a fun and inviting place for students. They also offer healthy options on the snack bar and make all their salads in “shaker cups” so students can easily mix their salads. The team takes pride in their work and their kitchen, scoring perfect health inspection scores. One amazing team highlight – on April Fool’s day the team cut 300 carrots to look like Hershey Kisses to make students laugh!
Fairfield Elementary School
The small but mighty three-person team at Fairfield Elementary School is short-staffed but always maintains a positive attitude and genuine concern for the well-being of the students they serve. Despite their workload, they still find time to interact with students and brighten their day. Regularly, students come back into the kitchen after finishing eating and thank the staff for their hard work and tasty meals.
Creeds Elementary School
The team at Creeds Elementary School comprises three ladies who know all the students by name and ensure that they enjoy their meals. This hardworking bunch also adjusts their menu to cater to students’ needs and preferences. The school’s manager, Debra Veseskis, encourages her staff to be creative, develop new recipes and incorporate fresh ingredients from the school’s garden. The students regularly enjoy delicious meals like scratch made broccoli fritters, or a pulled pork taco bar with freshly prepared pico de gallo. These heroes engage with the students through food, culture, and holiday fun (maybe next year their St. Patrick’s Day Leprechaun trap will work!), always ensuring that they serve the best food possible.
William Perry Elementary School
The William Perry Elementary staff has faced many challenges this school year, including being short-staffed and having a new manager. However, the staff and manager have worked together to become the best team players possible. They dress up for special occasions and decorate the serving lines to make mealtime fun for the students. Students love their kindness, encouraging words, and smiles. These folks are dedicated to feeding healthy, creative meals and even write encouraging words on their bananas to make students smile!