SN Plus: Connecting the Dots

Hard-working, dedicated school nutrition staff, especially cafeteria site managers, deserve meaningful personal and professional development opportunities—especially those that get them out of the classroom and the kitchen and focuses on building peer-to-peer connections.

“Connecting the Dots,” a new SN Plus article, spotlights Austin Independent School District’s innovative Cafe Manager Development Days program, a series of six day-long experiences for the district’s 114 cafeteria site managers. The brainchild of two leaders in the Nutrition and Food Services department, the program features a wellness presentation, followed by a field trip to a local vendor partner and a shared meal featuring global cuisines at an area restaurant. More meaningful than standard on-site training, this mission-driven experience boosts morale, builds camaraderie and provides a deeper understanding of the “whys” of the school meal operation.

If you’re looking for new ways to develop staff, “Connecting the Dots”—a digital bonus article from School Nutrition magazine—might just provide you the inspiration to try something new. Sharing is caring, so send the link to your school nutrition colleagues or print it out to circulate among your team.

For more great ideas, check out the SN Plus archive in SNA’s online Resource Library.

School Nutrition thanks the California Dried Fruit Coalition for its generous support in making this article available.