Dear Members of The Oregon School Nutrition Association:
As you all know, the past 16 months have been very challenging for everyone in the school nutrition world and in our everyday lives in general. We have become experts at scheduling and attending Zoom meetings, Google meetings, and Teams meetings. We haven’t seen many of our colleagues in person for months and these circumstances have put additional stress on our already stressful lives.
We learned, very quickly, how to get meals into student’s hands while they attended school virtually from their homes. We have dealt with product and supply shortages and labor issues that would normally throw our programs into chaos, but we made lemonade out of those lemons and made it work! As our districts made decisions that changed daily, and we asked our staff to do “one more thing,” it became our motto.
I am so proud of the districts across Oregon and I thank you for the work that you were able to do to pull it all together and continue to feed Oregon’s hungry children for the past 16 months.
One of the unfortunate outcomes of the pandemic, but not just the pandemic, is the many open positions on the OSNA Executive Board. We currently have the following open positions: President, President-Elect, Vice President, Area 3 Rep (Coos, Curry, Douglas, and Lane Counties), Area 5 Rep (Crook, Deschutes, Gilliam, Hood River, Jefferson, Sherman, Wasco and Wheeler Counties), and Area 6 Rep (Baker, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Morrow, Umatilla, Union and Wallowa Counties).
Area Reps must live and work in the county they are representing.
We will hold a special election in August, so send in your nominations soon. For more information regarding eligibility to serve on the board, please contact me by email.
We plan to hold our Annual Conference in person in March of 2022 and it is important that we get some people that are capable of putting together a post-pandemic conference that I’m sure will be very well attended.
I have enjoyed the last two years as the President of OSNA. I am truly thankful for the time I have been a part of the OSNA Board. I have met some amazing people and made lasting friendships.
Thank you.
Becki Wicks, OSNA President
Tigard-Tualatin School District is looking for a Nutrition Services Manager who can plan, organize, coordinate and supervise the operation of the District’s nutrition services program for 12,000 students and 1,350 staff members in 16 school sites. The successful applicant will be able to assure efficient and effective purchasing, production methods and operations, and assure compliance with all applicable local, state and federal regulations as well as with standards of health, safety and nutrition, as well as select, train, supervise and evaluate the performance of food service staff.
The online application can be found here. Applications will be accepted through July 15, 2021.
OSNA is pleased to announce that it will hold its annual Industry Seminar as an in-person event on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021 at the Camp Withycombe Armory/Event Center in Clackamas.
We’ll update members with program and registration information in the coming weeks.
USDA FOODS COMMODITY SHOW Exhibitor Information
The OSNA Industry Committee would like to invite USDA Foods vendors to participate in its Commodity Processing Show on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021.
Oregon School Districts are interested in seeing the commodity products you have available for processing. Districts will place their commodity orders with the Oregon Department of Education in March 2022, so you have plenty of time after the show to follow up with districts.
The USDA Foods Show will be held at Camp Withycombe Armory/ Event Center, 15300 Se Minuteman Way, Clackamas, OR 97015 from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM on Friday, October 8, 2021
Oregon School Foodservice Directors, Purchasing Agents, and Key Foodservice Personnel will be invited to attend.
Vendors should RSVP for booth space by Sept. 10, 2021. Download the Exhibitor Booth Registration Form here.
The Corvallis School District has opened applications for Food & Nutrition Services Manager. The full-time position is responsible for planning, implementing, overseeing, managing and reviewing all operational and administrative elements of the district’s school nutrition programs. The FNS manager is responsible for monitoring nutrition services staff and operations at school sites to ensure compliance with federal and state law in addition to district policy and procedures. This position reports to the Director of Finance and Operations and supervises the work of food service employees at various district work sites.
For full job description and to apply online by June 27, click here.
Yamhill Carlton School District has a job opening for Food Service Director. Job responsibilities include: Direct and supervise food service program activities, staff performance, community relations, fiscal management, and physical plant management of food service areas to meet board approved goals, objectives and procedures for students, staff and community while adhering to local, state and federal regulations.
Click here for the full job description and to apply online. Application deadline is Fri., June 18.
For those of you who missed the Nourish Myself…Thyme for Me webinar with Dayle Hayes and Chef Brenda Wattles, you can still watch the recording, earn a Certificate of Completion and receive a three-pocket apron as seen worn by Dayle and Brenda on the video (while supplies last). The attendees’ evaluations showed people enjoyed the demonstrations and felt appreciated. Questions? Contact Crista chawkins@odncouncil.org
In case you have not seen it, there is a wonderful video by Dr. Bob Murray promoting school meals on the SNA website: www.schoolnutrition.org/PEDIATRICIAN The three accompanying handouts are available on SNA:
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- School Meals are Healthy Meals: Reviews the nutritional quality of school meals using the healthy eating index (HEI)
- School Breakfast Matters: Highlights the importance of breakfast and the tie to academic performance & brain function
- School Nutrition is a Crucial Component of the Whole Child Approach to Education: Connecting school meals to the whole child approach
The video is about 15 minutes long with lots of good data and slides. It may be something to show to School Boards, administrators, wellness teams, staff, PTO/PTA, Back to School events, etc.
Applications for the position of Nutrition Services Supervisor at McMinnville School District are now open.
Visit the job description page to apply online.
Essential Job Functions:
- Provide support and leadership in directing the Nutrition Services Department operations to maintain an effective and efficient child nutrition program, ensuring compliance with local, state and federal standards, guidelines, regulations and laws related to public schools’ child nutrition programs.
- Participate in and lead the development of solutions for Department issues; develop policies to meet department environmental program goals; monitor operations and assure the quality of the services and work products; interpret policies and procedures, and assure the consistent interpretation and application of Federal, State and McMinnville Public Schools rules and regulations.
- Assist in establishing financial objectives and goals; recommend efficiencies to keep costs within established financial guidelines; analyze costs of materials, equipment, commodities and labor; track and monitor departmental expenditures to assure the effective allocation and utilization of resources and manage contracts for special services.
- Direct sanitation, food safety and employee safety activities; ensure that procedures to identify potential food safety hazards HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) plans and food quality procedures are created and implemented; ensure implementation of employee safety regulations.
- Manage assigned staff; develop priorities and assign tasks and projects; monitor progress to assure quality and timely delivery of services; assure that appropriate services are provided and goals are defined and achieved; develop staff skills and conduct performance evaluations, meet regularly to discuss and resolve priorities, workload and related issues.
- Direct procedures to assure production of safe, nutrition and high quality food; monitor operational procedures for efficient and effective food distribution.
- Develop and oversee nutrition and menu planning to ensure meals are cost effective and meet regulatory guidelines.
- Direct Supply Chain to insure that the department has the appropriate resources to support the needs of the district.
- Oversee and implement Nutrition Services marketing plans using a variety of media, including web, social media and written communications.
- Responsible for being familiar with the school/district policies and procedures which govern the work.
- Prompt and regular attendance is required.
Please join us on May 5th for the Nourish Myself….Thyme for Me live webinar with Dayle Hayes, MS, RDN and Chef Brenda Wattles, RDN. There is no charge for this hour of inspiration, cooking demonstrations and appreciation for child nutrition professionals in the Western Region. The recipes have been specially selected to be delicious, affordable and easy to prepare at home. Plus, the recipes are available in quantity and credited versions for use in your child nutrition programs. Attendees will receive a Certificate of Completion for 1.0 SNA Credit. Register now: https://bit.ly/3sUS9WH.
Nourish Myself…Thyme for Me Webinar
