Fairbanks School Child Nutrition Director Wins Regional Award

The national, non-profit School Nutrition Association (SNA) has named Amy Rouse, SNS, nutrition services director for the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District, AK, the Northwest regional Director of the Year. The award recognizes the extraordinary contributions of school nutrition directors who manage effective school meal programs providing healthy, appetizing meals to students. While the nomination process began before widespread COVID-19 school closures, SNA also recognizes the expansive efforts of school nutrition directors to manage current emergency feeding programs ensuring needy students continue to access healthy meals.

As the director for the past 13 years, Rouse has used her social media and marketing knowledge to inform the community and successfully promote her school meal program. One of the first in Alaska to initiate online free and reduced price meal applications, Rouse incorporated interactive online menus and electronic production records. She has also supported other districts and the state agency in their move to electronic data systems.

Rouse also maintains an engaging social media presence - highlighting program operations, nutrition services staff, holidays, celebrations, promotional events and new program initiatives. Social media plays a big part in sharing news about national and local celebrations, such as National School Lunch Week, National School Breakfast Week, African-American History Month, Alaska Grown Menus, taste tests and guest servers. Keeping her students engaged and excited, Rouse also holds student surveys for new menu items.

A long-time SNA member, Rouse also served as a Member-At-Large of the SNA state association. She believes in providing educational and training programs for her staff, encouraging her primary managerial staff to participate in state association networking and training opportunities.

Professional standards are important to Rouse, who maintains a very structured staff training program during teacher in-service days. More than half of her sites have been awarded with the State of Alaska Food Safety Excellence (SAFE) food safety recognition program this year.

“Amy Rouse is a great example of a school nutrition director invested in the well-being of her students and the advancement of her staff,” said SNA President Gay Anderson, SNS. “She works so hard to ensure that students, staff and the community have a positive school nutrition experience.”

The regional Director of the Year Award was created to recognize school nutrition directors who exhibit an extraordinary commitment to their school meal programs. The directors are responsible for maintaining the quality of the program through student interaction, menu planning and a commitment to serving nutritious, tasty and well-balanced school meals. Through effective oversight of all aspects of foodservice operations, including budgeting, staffing, training, marketing and community outreach, school nutrition directors ensure the overall success of school meal programs.

About School Nutrition Association:

The School Nutrition Association (SNA) is a national, non-profit professional organization representing more than 55,000 school nutrition professionals across the country. Founded in 1946, SNA and its members are dedicated to making healthy school meals and nutrition education available to all students. For more information on school meals, visit www.SchoolNutrition.org/SchoolMeals.