Chartwells Cites Newtown’s Schools

Chartwells School Dining Services announced recently that Newtown Public Schools has been named as its Be-A-Star National Account of the Year for 2009.

The National Account of the Year is awarded to a district that exemplifies business excellence and goes above and beyond expectations in areas such as customer satisfaction, menu creativity, and innovative nutrition initiatives. Newtown was chosen as the National Account of the Year out of approximately 600 Chartwells schools districts nationwide.

Prior to this honor, Newtown also won the Chartwells’ Northeast Regional Account of the Year 2009, the Chartwells’ Northeast Regional Wellness Challenge Award 2009 and became a “Center for Excellence” in 2009.

The entry, which was compiled by Jill Patterson, RD, Chartwells’ resident dietitian for Newtown Public Schools, consisted of 250 pages of events and programs that took place in Newtown Schools during the past school year. Included were photos and descriptions of carving stations run by chefs Scott Kanzow at Reed Intermediate School, Joel Marcoux and Frank Doty at Newtown High School, Newtown’s emphasis on locally grown produce, unlimited fresh fruit and vegetable selection, and Newtown’s National Whole Grains Challenge 2008 winning entry.

Also included was a description of Innovative Nutrition Education Programs that were developed by Ms Patterson, which include National Nutrition Month Cafeteria Promotions, interactive nutrition games at health fairs, “Nutrition Training Camp” held at Reed Intermediate School’s Field Day, and Youth Advisory Committee initiatives to obtain student input into the cafeteria offerings.

“I would like to thank the Newtown Board of Education, principals, teachers, parents, students, foodservice associates, and the Newtown community for their continued support and encouragement in the implementation of nutrition education programs throughout the school district,” said Ms Patterson. “It is rewarding to know that as a community, we can make a difference in the health and wellness of our students.”

Daniel Shields, foodservice director at Newtown Public Schools, was invited to attend the national awards banquet celebration held in Chicago recently to be recognized with other national winners representing different sectors of Compass Group.

“I am very proud of our 42 foodservice associates. Without their devoted efforts, it would not have been possible to deliver cutting-edge school nutrition and foodservice programs on a consistent basis,” said Mr Shields.