Jessica Shelly of Cincinnati Public Schools wins IFMA Gold Plate

Jessica Shelly, director of student dining services for the Cincinnati Public Schools, received the coveted 2023 Gold Plate Award from the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA) at the close of its 69th Annual Gold & Silver Plate Awards Celebration on Saturday, May 20, during the NRA Show in Chicago. Shelly was nominated in the Elementary & Secondary Schools category for a Silver Plate Awards by P&G Professional and Nestlé Professional and selected from the nine Silver Plate honorees for the Gold Plate. Shelly also recently received the 2023 FAME Golden Foodservice Director of the Year Award, the school nutrition industry’s highest honor.

The Gold & Silver Plate Awards program began in 1955 with each year’s honoree in various categories selected by a jury of industry experts weighs the merits of candidates. Category winners receive the Silver Plate Award and one is then chosen by secret ballot to receive the Gold Plate Award for overall industry excellence.

Recent Gold Plate winners have included a number of individuals from onsite dining markets, including most recently Antoinette Watkins, director of food & nutrition services at Riverside Health System, in 2021. Shelly is the fourth Gold Plate honoree from the Elementary & Secondary Schools category, joining Robert Honson of Portland Public Schools (1994), Elizabeth Bender of Dayton Public Schools (1985), and Thomas Farley of the Milwaukee Public School System (1970). Gold Plate winners from past years have included such major figures from the commercial restaurant world as Danny Meyer (2000), Charlie Trotter (2008) and Wolfgang Puck (2017).

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Shelly was lauded at the awards ceremony by her mentor, Cincinnati Public Schools COO Chris Burkhardt, who told the attending crowd that Shelly "has right-sized, trained, led, coached, strategized, and innovated to become one of the most respected K-12 directors in the country. But that is not why she is here tonight. She has an unwavering focus on improving outcomes for students in and out of the classroom. Period."

In accepting the Gold Plate, Shelly thanked her husband, three sons, and team. She went on to express her gratitude to the food manufacturers who made up the majority of event attendees, "You here tonight are the reason I can feed my kids nutritious meals every day—because you're so dedicated to your businesses. Thank you for helping me nourish our future."

As Director of Student Dining Services for Cincinnati Public Schools, Shelly is responsible for overseeing the service of over 60,000 meals each day at 67 schools. She is a trailblazer in the area of school nutrition with unique implementations such as salad bars and cultural spice stations in every school, reimbursable meal vending machines, a clean label initiative, and a local, small business, minority-owned purchasing focus.

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"The nine honorees in the 2023 IFMA Gold & Silver Plate class are inspiring," said Phil Kafarakis, IFMA President & CEO. "They come from diverse backgrounds and yet share a similar dedication to improving the lives of their teams and communities. Hearing from their mentors during our awards ceremony—something we added this year—also brought home the knowledge that we all benefit from the wisdom and counsel of those that came before us. IFMA's 2023 Gold & Silver Plate Awards were phenomenal, we look forward to hosting again next year for the 70th awards celebration!"

IFMA's black-tie celebration for the 2023 Silver Plate Class and presentation of the Gold Plate Award was held at the historic Chicago Union Station Great Hall. It was emceed by 2019 Gold Plate winner Regynald Washington and attended by several hundred food-away-from-home leaders and luminaries.