School Nutrition Association announces 2021 national award recipients

The School Nutrition Association has announced its winners just ahead of National School Lunch Hero Day which takes place on May 7. Here’s a look at this year’s winners. 

Employee of the Year Award

Christine Edelstein-Dodds 

Vincent M. Igo Elementary School

Foxborough Public Schools

Foxborough, Mass.

Edelstein-Dodds brightens students’ days with theme day costumes, novelty socks and facemasks and writing positive messages on fruit. She also continuously exceeds annual training hour requirements and her supervisors say that she regularly applies new lessons she’s learned at training. 

Manager of the Year Award

Amber Ott-Underdown

Upper Bucks County Technical School

Perkasie, Pa.

Ott-Underdown has been able to increase school lunch participation each year by introducing more scratch-made items to the menu. She has launched monthly “Try It Tuesdays” where students get to try a sample of a new scratch-made item. Ott-Underdown is also known for mentoring her school’s culinary students and involves them in the catering program she developed. This school year, she planned and implemented a food truck that is staffed by vocational students. 

Director of the Year Award 

Anna Apoian

Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District

Norwalk, Calif.

When the pandemic began last year, Apoian launched pantry-style meal distribution and an “Extra Eats” program that helped the community when supermarkets were running out of food. Both of those initiatives allowed her district to secure extra state and federal funding to keep cafeteria staff employed. Apoian has also expanded the menu to be more inclusive of special dietary needs by introducing dishes such as vegan no-bake energy bites. She has hired parent-to-parent nutrition educators, created a sustaining employee wellness program, provided physical activity trainings for elementary teachers by professional trainers and began active recess at eight elementary schools.

Related:What’s on the docket for school nutrition policy?