Variety and choice are keys to success in Cobb County - Celebrating 40 Years of School Lunch

Food and Nutrition, Oct, 1986 by Steve Watson, Kent Taylor

Managers encouraged to stress quality

Mary Nix marches to her own beat. She has put into place ideas that were completely unorthodox because, as she likes to say, "we didn't know it wasn't supposed to work.' For example, she encourages managers to use the more expensive brand-name product if it is of much better quality. She has found that the increase in cost for name brands will usually be covered by added food sales.

Nix is very choosy when it comes to using products and uses USDA commodities extensively. USDA-donated tomato paste, beef, cheese, and flour go into delicious homemade pizza. Donated sweet potatoes are used for sweet potato bars with toppings and sweet potatoes baked in homemade pie shells--both student favorites.

Nix has not followed the trend toward self-service that is popular in many areas of the Southeast. She prefers traditional serving lines because she feels they are faster, easier to clean up, and more sanitary. She also feels they make it easier to control portion size.

A key to the success of the Cobb County school food service is involving local managers in decision-making. Nix has an eight-member "Magic Committee' comprised of food service managers who serve without extra pay on a rotating, yearly basis.

They evaluate bids on products and make suggestions on equipment purchases and food service operations. The group recommends to the Cobb County school board what products to buy and helps evaluate products through taste tests.

"If we involve the managers, who are responsible for participation and plate waste, they become intent on improving the quality of their products,' Nix says.

Training is a high priority

Training is also an integral part of Mary Nix's management philosophy. Each school food manager must complete 180 hours of training, some equivalent to college coursework. Every employee must complete annually a minimum of 12 hours of training in nutrition, sanitation, food preparation, and public relations. There are also manager meetings devoted to program improvements.

Nix has gotten positive results from her training efforts. She says she has seen the pride level increase tremendously and the skill level of the food service managers improve. "The bottom line is that a program succeeds when the staff is excited about serving young people and committed to finding better ways to do it,' she says.

"We've seen food service managers with average programs improve the quality of their systems when they and their staff developed enthusiasm and showed they cared about school food and the people they serve. There are many intangibles in the food service industry. But there's no substitute for enthusiasm!'

For more information, contact: Mary Nix, Director Cobb County School Food Service P.O. Box 1088 Marietta Georgia 30061 Telephone: (404) 426-3380

Photo: Mary Nix (left) has been food service director in Georgia's Cobb County for 11 years. Her awardwinning program serves more than 42,000 lunches in 68 schools each day.