Kimberly Davis began her career with the School District in 2006 as a Food Service Worker II. She remained in that position until 2016 when she became a Food Service Worker III, which transitioned into a Food Service Manager II position at Philadelphia High School for Girls. In 2019, she became one of the first…
The Food Services Division partners with such entities as The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) through Penn State (Project PA) to offer hands-on culinary training sessions to full-service managers from various locations. The training is led by a certified chef and the recipes prepared are from other Food Service divisions in Districts around the state….
The entire training department has recently completed certification training to instruct and proctor exams of the ServSafe Food Safety Certification course. The Certification verifies that a manager or person-in-charge has sufficient food safety knowledge to protect the public from foodborne illness. ServSafe training and certification is recognized by more Federal, state, and local jurisdictions than…
Cornerstone is the District’s cloud-based staff development software provider. Cornerstone helps the Food Service department engage, develop, and manage our staff. Cornerstone also minimizes business risk through targeted learning focused on compliance requirements. A super-user has the ability to upload content, schedule training for staff and run progress reports for the division. Jarred (mentioned earlier)…
At the start of the pandemic, it was the Training department’s idea (and subsequently executed plan) that took the Food Service Division to the next level by introducing virtual training and installing 250 webcams and speakers in all school kitchens. The Training Department was able to continually meet with and train our employees on COVID…
Eileen joined the School District of Philadelphia in 1998, and has served in various capacities within the Division during her tenure. Her experience, institutional knowledge, and leadership have supported growth and improvement over the years, allowing the Division to better serve students. Eileen leads a team of eleven Field Supervisors, and together, they bring over…
The Food Service Field Supervisors play an integral role in the successful operation of the Division. Their oversight and leadership evolve central office thoughts and ideas into everyday practice in the field. In addition, these supervisors have helped take the Division to the next level throughout their years of service, embracing change and supporting growth…
Student meal tickets and clickers became obsolete after 2005 when the Division rolled out a Point of Sale Accounting/Inventory System. Pin pads and scanners helped speed up the flow of students in the cafeteria, and made meal claiming a more straightforward process. Although the enormous shift in operations took time, energy, and patience at all…
The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act introduced several new guidelines to assist school children in obtaining the nutrition they needed for healthy growth and development. Offering wholesome meals to the students wasn’t new to the Division, but meeting the regulations included with the improved nutrition standards was no easy feat. For the first time in more…
Implementation of the Community Eligibility Program (CEP) in the 2014-15 SY allowed all students in Philadelphia to receive breakfast, lunch, and after-school meals at no charge, regardless of family income. This welcome change not only ensured all students had access to healthy meals, but also eliminated the administrative burden of collecting paper applications and money…