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Meet the 2013 K-12 Power Players

FM's Special Report offers a look at the largest school districts in the country

John Lawn, Mike Buzalka

October 21, 2013

1 Min Read
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The K-12 segment stands at a watershed time, in the midst of once-in-a-generation USDA meal pattern and program changes and at the focal point of unprecedented social and political concern about nutrition, health and wellness. Together, these forces are having a dramatic impact on K-12 child nutrition programs.

In evaluating that impact, though, the national averages paint only a limited picture. To give that picture more detail, one must look more closely at individual districts and to do that, Food Management compiled this special report. It offers capsule profiles of the nutrition programs in the nation’s largest school districts (the first 25 are published here; those of the largest 50 will be posted on food-management.com later this month).


While not reflecting the experience of every district (after all, there are more than 13,000), they do represent over 8 million students, one-sixth of the public school population, and the broad, regional reach of the NSLA program.

View the top 50 K-12 Power Players in this interactive data table

FEATURED DISTRICTS:

    •    Pinellas County Schools: Technology as School Foods’ Best Friend
    •    Jefferson County Schools: Making a la Carte a Reimbursable Option
    •    Memphis City and Shelby County Merge

*Our Power Players list uses USDA’s 2012-13 SFA Verification Summary Report enrollment figures as the ranking protocol. The data from that report reflects the student enrollment data for NSLA schools in the 2012-13 year; other data was collected from districts directly.

About the Authors

John Lawn

Editor-in-Chief / Associate Publisher, Food Management

John Lawn has served as editor-in-chief /associate publisher of Food Management since 1996. Prior to that, he was founding and chief editor of The Foodservice Distributor magazine, also a Penton Media publication. A recognized authority on a wide range of foodservice issues, he is a frequent speaker to industry groups and has been active in a broad range of industry associations for over two decades.

Mike Buzalka

Executive Features Editor, Food Management

Mike Buzalka is executive features editor for Food Management and contributing editor to Restaurant Hospitality, Supermarket News and Nation’s Restaurant News. On Food Management, Mike has lead responsibility for compiling the annual Top 50 Contract Management Companies as well as the K-12, College, Hospital and Senior Dining Power Players listings. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English Literature from John Carroll University. Before joining Food Management in 1998, he served as for eight years as assistant editor and then editor of Foodservice Distributor magazine. Mike’s personal interests range from local sports such as the Cleveland Indians and Browns to classic and modern literature, history and politics.

Mike Buzalka’s areas of expertise include operations, innovation and technology topics in onsite foodservice industry markets like K-12 Schools, Higher Education, Healthcare and Business & Industry.

Mike Buzalka’s experience:

Executive Features Editor, Food Management magazine (2010-present)

Contributing Editor, Restaurant Hospitality, Supermarket News and Nation’s Restaurant News (2016-present)

Associate Editor, Food Management magazine (1998-2010)

Editor, Foodservice Distributor magazine (1997-1998)

Assistant Editor, Foodservice Distributor magazine (1989-1997)

 

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