A reflection from our Chief Executive Officer, Tess Bradford

Dear Clients and Friends,

As we approach the one-year mark since the start of the shutdown, many of us are reflecting on the past year and remembering what our world looked like one year ago. By the end of March 2020, there was a clear call to action for school food programs across the country to continue to serve meals to children. I am humbled to have worked alongside so many Cafeteria Managers and School Operations teams that jumped into action to answer the call. We were called “essential workers,” but the folks I have worked with over the past year are so much more. Despite the risks, these people -- many of you reading this -- selflessly continued working to engineer safe ways to get food to as many children as possible in our communities. 

Throughout this year, the regulations have changed, meal service styles have transformed, and school food programs have remained nimble and innovative with a central mission to feed children. I am very proud to have played a small part in helping them.

Our team at School Food Solutions sees the immense challenges that schools of all sizes face as students return to in-person learning. This past year taught us that collaboration and partnerships are crucial. I would like to share one such experience where teamwork, innovation, and leveraging partnerships helped to ensure that students in New Orleans had uninterrupted access to nutritious meals:

There have been many lessons learned and barriers broken down over the past year. I am optimistic that we will soon see children enjoying meals at school (maybe even in the cafeteria) again! I know this will lead to new challenges, new regulatory hurdles, and also new opportunities. The School Food Solutions team is always ready to help our partners provide healthy meals to every student, and we are honored to continue this work.

With Gratitude,
Tess Bradford
School Food Solutions