2016 Foodservice Director of the Year's best

Sara Gasiorowski, who was featured in FoodService Director magazine as November’s FSD of the Month because of her creative summer lunch program and commitment to local anti-hunger efforts, was our voters’ pick for FSD of the Year. Gasiorowski was honored Feb. 29 at our MenuDirections conference in Jacksonville, Fla. Here are her picks for some of The Best ideas in her operation.

Best low-tech sustainability solution

Milk carton recycling—we just started this at one of our elementary buildings. We are using a strainer and bucket to dispose of the extra milk, and then students put their cartons in a recycling container.

Best item that's caused a long line

Brunch for lunch.

Best high-tech sustainability solution

Styrofoam compacting units at the two schools that don’t have dish machines. The units melt down the foam trays into bricks, and a company picks up the bricks at the end of each year to be recycled into other products.

Best community collaboration

We are starting a food rescue pilot program at three schools in April. Food items that can be “rescued” will be picked up by a local food-rescue program and repurposed into meals for shelters.

Best versatility player on her menu

Chicken! Our students will eat chicken just about any way you prepare it.

Related:K-12 nutrition director dishes out experience

Best example of teamwork

Several years ago, one of our schools had a water main break, and almost 800 students were transported to another building for the day. We had to coordinate suddenly having 800 more students for breakfast and lunch in that building.