Houston school nutrition wins Southeast Region & Georgia Best Practices

The Houston County School Nutrition Program (HCSNP) was honored for excellence, winning a southeast region award and two state awards. The district won a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Southeast Region Award in the Leadership Development and Program Management category for its substitute food assistant orientation.

Director of School Nutrition Meredith Potter received the USDA award at the Georgia School Nutrition Association’s awards luncheon. She and her team will also be recognized by the Georgia State Board of Education and Houston County Board of Education at their October Board meetings.

“We are very excited to receive both state and regional recognition from the USDA,” said Potter.  “Houston County strives to improve our school nutrition program every day to better serve our students, and we are proud of these accomplishments.”

The district also won two Georgia Best Practices Awards from the Georgia Department of Education. The awards were for the orientation and an employee wellness program. Houston competed against schools that had enrollments greater than 20,000 students.The awards were judged on sustained excellence, innovation, impact, cost effectiveness and efficacy, transferability, and presentation.

The food assistant substitute orientation, which won both state and regional awards, ensures that workers are appropriately qualified to work in school kitchens. Substitutes begin with a pre-test and then work with a training manager who customizes the training according to the employee’s strengths, weaknesses and existing knowledge of school nutrition. Using a training handbook in conjunction with a checklist, the manager provides four hours of one-on-one instruction. The “sub” then takes a post-test and is retrained on any missed questions.

Frequently missed questions are tracked to improve the training materials and methods. This program requires no additional labor, resources or equipment, making it perfect for implementation in any size district. This proven method produces well-trained substitutes who feel confident in their job.

The employee wellness program, which won a state award, is a Biggest Loser competition. Integral pieces to the success of this program included weekly weigh-ins, newsletters, cooking demonstrations, exercise classes, sharing circles and nutrition lessons. The district’s dietitian provided information such as weekly newsletters with fact-based helpful hints, and activity-based classes encouraged sharing and discussion among attendees.

HCSNP also partnered with a local gym to offer a discounted membership and free lunch hour workout space, plus weekly workout sessions were led by school nutrition staff. Prizes were awarded weekly to the top two individuals and the team with the highest percentage of weight lost. Each winner received a cash prize (funded by Biggest Loser registration fees), a “skinny jeans” pass (provided by the Superintendent), and a complimentary meal from a school (redeemable for either baked chicken or a chef salad). The top three individuals with the highest percentage of weight lost were awarded cash prizes, totaling more than $2,000.

This initiative has become an annual activity due to the program’s success and employee requests to continue. While weight loss and increased exercise were the original goals of the Biggest Loser, a beneficial reward was improved communication and bonding between departments.

The HCSNP also won Best Practices Award in 2002, 2005, 2007 and 2010.

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