One On One With: Marketing school meals

Editor’s Note: Welcome to One On One With, Food Management’s podcast. Every two weeks we’ll share an intimate conversation between an FM editor and an industry icon or thought leader.

We’ll cover topics from hiring, new concepts, consumer trends, management and menu development. Or hear how an operator is increasing participation or meeting changing customer expectations. These one-on-one interviews provide peer learning at its best.

This marks our fourth podcast. Check back in in two weeks for our next edition of One On One With, and find more podcasts here.

Kids—and their parents—can be the fussiest food audience to serve. At Loudoun County Schools in Virginia, Stefanie Dove has used marketing to completely turn around perceptions of school lunch, and her positive attitude is contagious.

Dove is quick to praise her “rock star” school foodservice team and their willingness to try trendy grain bowls, sous vide cooking and more.

We caught up with Dove to find out more about making kids’ menus fun and how to share the good news with your community.

More on school meals:

District’s diverse menu satisfies all students

Planting the seeds for farm to school

District solves challenge of new hour-long lunch

One On One With: K-12 Procurement Ethics