At Lebanon City Schools, Megan Grippa knows that food only gives kids nutrition they actually eat the food.
"It's not nutrition if we're feeding the trash can," said Grippa, the district's nutrition director.
The School Nutrition Association has named Lebanon City Schools’ Nutrition Director, Megan Grippa, the Midwest region’s Director of the Year.
This award recognizes nutrition directors who manage effective school meal programs providing healthy, appetizing meals to students.
WYSO’s Shay Frank sat down with Grippa to discuss the work she is doing with Lebanon City Schools to achieve this honor.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Shay Frank: So you've been in this position since 2023. Tell me a little bit about your work with Lebanon City Schools.
Megan Grippa: So prior to Lebanon City Schools, I was the assistant director at West Clermont schools.
"So what our big main goal was, how do we get more kids into the cafeteria?"
Our biggest project was Lebanon High School. They were only serving like 400 meals a day, which is very, very low for high school. And what we noticed was that there was very limited options. So what our big main goal was, how do we get more kids into the cafeteria?
It was things like purchasing a pizza oven. They come in, they smell fresh pizza, they feel like they have a choice in what they get on their pizza, as well as a salad bar. And also just implementing a cycle menu across the district, something that we can control costs but also fine tune what kids like and what is working for us.
Frank: Through your role here with Lebanon City Schools, how have you worked to enhance nutrition through students' meals while they're here at school?
Grippa: One of the first things that we made sure we did was change every kitchen to offer versus served, which means kids are serving their own fruits and vegetables. And it gives them a choice on what they're serving.
And what you notice is: one, less food waste and, two, kids are actually eating it. Because they're putting it on their tray. They don't feel like they're being given something that they have to eat.
Frank: And I know earlier you mentioned installing a salad bar, but I saw on the release, there were some other things that you did in the kitchen to kind of upgrade it for better food options for the students. So can you tell me a little bit about those options as well?
Grippa: A big shock for me when I toured the buildings after I accepted this position was seeing a deep fryer.
And so immediately when school ended last summer, we removed it and bought them basically giant air fryers. They're called combi ovens. So they can steam and bake and also crisp. So it not only increases efficiency and the speed of what they're cooking, but also the quality.
Frank: I also saw on the release that you're developing a student nutrition advisory council. So can you tell me about that and what that will look like?
Grippa: Basically the point of that is to get students involved and to get their feedback.
"It's not nutrition if we're feeding the trash can."
We have a For the Love of Food class at Lebanon junior high, which I think is so cool. But we've been in their class probably four times since I took the job and just, interviewing them of, ‘Hey, this is your lunch menu. What do you like and what do you not like?’ and then also trying new menu items with them. Like, ‘This was something I want to menu, give me your honest thoughts. You're not going to hurt my feelings. I want hear what you actually think about it.’
Frank: Why do you think it's important to then have that direct feedback from your students to decide what you do with your menu with the nutrition options that you offer here?
Grippa: Something I always stress to my staff is that, yes they're students but they're your customer. Not all of them pay, but they are customers and we are here to serve them. I think that mindset is often forgotten, of, ‘They're just here for school.’ But they're really, they are your customer and this is a restaurant. So having that feedback I think is the most important thing. If something's not working, it's not nutrition if we're feeding the trash can.
Frank: So looping back around to what we're here to talk about today is this director of the year award. So tell me what that award is and then we’ll come back around and talk about how it feels to have received it.
Grippa: So I was the Director of the Year for Ohio. And then once you win your state, you go to a regional competition. And so then I won the Midwest region.
I'm not the only director in Ohio doing amazing things. There are so many school nutrition programs across the state doing incredible work every single day. It's sometimes a thankless job, especially for our cafeteria employees.
Frank: Having received this award, that's a pretty great achievement, but then where do you want to go from there? Are there any plans for further expansion of your kitchen, of your nutritious options?
Grippa: So kind of facelifting as we build our budget and kind of make our changes slowly, but kind of doing facelifts across the district to make all the cafeterias kind of match in terms of marketing. Also just continuing to do like really fun menu options.
I am the incoming president for School Nutrition Association of Ohio this year. So lots of big goals there and getting my staff to be members of School Nutrition Association and giving them some professional development as well.
