OPERATIONS
6 stealable ideas shared during SNIC 2026 This year’s School Nutrition Industry Conference held in Austin, Texas was full of stealable ideas shared by operators. Here’s a handful to take back to your program.
BY BENITA GINGERELLA
Throughout the conference, operators were quick to share some tips and tricks they’ve implemented at their own districts to help their programs run better. Here are six stealable ideas shared during the event.
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USE A FUN FACT TO BUILD TRUST WITH STUDENTS When Theresa Mazza, registered dietitian and chef at Osborn School District in Phoenix, begins her nutrition education lessons with students, she always starts off with a fun fact about herself. Sharing something fun and personal, she said, builds trust and helps break the ice with students. “I’ve had kids tell me that’s their favorite part of the lesson,” she said during a session. “It just it creates more trust, right? They get to know me. They feel like they can tell me things about themselves.” MAKE SURE TRAINERS HAVE THE RIGHT PERSONALITY FOR TRAINING When the nutrition team at North East Independent School District in San Antonio is deciding who will perform training for new hires, they make sure to pick someone who not only has the required knowledge, but also has a welcoming personality. “When trainers are selected based only on their knowledge, they may not be inviting and make someone feel comfortable asking questions and really learning,” said Executive Director of School Nutrition Sharon Glosson. “So, it’s very important that you’re also looking for the right personality in the trainer, not just the knowledge that they have.” HAVE NEW HIRES SIGN A TRAINING ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Another tip for running a successful training program that Glosson shared, was having trainees sign an acknowledgement of what they were trained on. This prevents any confusion or misunderstanding down the road. “We can go back to that and retrain them if necessary, but there’s no misunderstanding that [something] was skipped or missed,” she said. GET FACE-TO-FACE TIME WITH PARENTS AT OPEN HOUSE EVENTS The nutrition team at Vicksburg Warren School District in Vicksburg, Mississippi has begun making their presence known during the district’s open house events to better connect with parents. During the event, they hand out samples to attendees and speak with parents about the program. This allows parents to actually meet the team who is serving their children. “That [builds] some communication, that [builds] some trust, because now it’s not just that old lunchroom lady. Now you can put a face with the name, and now you can see my heart that I really care and I’m passionate about the work that I have the privilege of doing,” said Child Nutrition Director Keba Laird during the conference’s closing general session. HOST A WEEKLY RAPID MAP MEETING Another stealable idea Laird shared during the session was hosting weekly “rapid map meetings” with her team. The meetings, held every Friday, allow the team to share ideas and get prepared for the following week. During the meetings, the team discusses what went well that week and where is there room for improvement. They
then map out the following week’s schedule, so everyone is on the same page. KEEP A RUNNING LIST OF WHY LEADERS TELL YOU NO
When Ryan Mikolaycik, executive director for food service and warehouse operations at Austin Independent School District, gets a “no” from other leaders in the district, he immediately tries to find out why they said no. Once he has his answer, he adds it to a running document he keeps that outlines each of the reasons why he’s received pushback on something. This allows him to be prepared with counterpoints the next time someone initially turns him down on an idea.
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