North Sanpete School District Cook Receives Regional Award

The national, non-profit School Nutrition Association (SNA) has named Rachel Anna King, cook/cashier at Spring City Elementary in North Sanpete School District, UT, the West regional Employee of the Year. The award recognizes the valuable contribution of school nutrition employees, ones who exhibit a remarkable commitment to both their school meal program and the students they serve. During the pandemic, food service employees were the first ones to move from the serving line to the front lines and have been instrumental in maintaining a sense of normalcy for school meal programs.

King has been the ultimate team player during the pandemic, dividing her time between the elementary school and high school to fill in where needed, even if it meant traveling to multiple locations. This past summer, King delivered meals to children who lived on the outskirts of town to ensure they were nourished.

She encourages students to try new foods, educating them on nutritional benefits of foods to support their growing minds and bodies. Through the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, King introduces a variety of fresh produce to students. She makes it easy for them to try by cutting produce up but saves one whole fruit or vegetable to encourage students to find it in the grocery store. Students love to see her Halloween costume every year and look forward to her decorations in the kitchen and lunchroom for holidays.

Supervisors describe King as a go-getter who has come in on her own time to train and improve baking and entrée preparation skills. She attends trainings and conferences whenever possible and is eager to learn and bring new skills back to her kitchen. She loves the school foodservice program and wants to further her career. She is also very involved in the local SNA chapter and is one of the first to volunteer whenever there is a banquet, meeting or party. She is always eager to help wherever needed, regardless of how difficult the task.

“Rachael Anna King has repeatedly exemplified the passion and drive of an outstanding school foodservice professional,” said SNA President Reginald Ross, SNS. “Her commitment to students and the dedication she shows to continued training makes her an ideal Employee of the Year.”

The Employee of the Year Award was created to recognize outstanding school nutrition employees who influence the quality of school meals through customer service, an interest in young people, cooperation, work attendance, creativity, participation in professional development and their willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty.

On May 5, 2021, King was honored during the first-ever “Our Heroes: Celebrating the 2021 SNA Award Winners” virtual event. Nominees, nominators, state leaders, Board of Directors, Leadership Development Committee and Back to School Summit attendees celebrated the accomplishments of this year’s SNA award winners.

About School Nutrition Association:

The School Nutrition Association (SNA) is a national, non-profit professional organization representing 50,000 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.