SCHOOL NUTRITION FOUNDATION (SNF) 2016 SCHOOL NUTRITION HERO
Suellen Smith from Zephyrhills High School was awarded the School Nutrition Hero Award for 2016! There were 31 individuals nominated for this prestigious award with only five, including Suellen, being awarded. Individuals were nominated by their peers who felt he/she had gone above and beyond to better the school and community that they serve.
Suellen has worked for Pasco County School District for 27 years in school nutrition and is currently the cafeteria manager at ZHS which has 1500 students. Daily along with her staff they serve about 800 lunches and 400 breakfasts per day but Suellen is best known for a two-room clothes closet that she has organized in her school kitchen with an assortment of gowns, dresses, shirts, dress pants, sports jackets, graduation caps, gowns, and shoes. According to Suellen this closet “almost happened by accident” and she is quick to point out that she couldn’t have done it without the community support or her staff holding down the fort so she can do “all of this crazy stuff”.
Pasco County Schools FNS Marketing director nominated Suellen and had this to say:
“I can call Sue any time, day or night, and ask her for a favor—whether I need to test paper products, or have her take pictures of the salad bar, or try a new promotion at her school—and she is willing to do anything. Seeing how she interacts with the students—it’s like she’s the mom they never had, or that cool aunt you know you can count on. I was with her recently and a student walked by; she yelled his name and asked if he’d filled out a scholarship [application] she knows he would be an excellent candidate for—he hadn’t—and then invited him to her office to fill out the application together. He agreed, and they set a time to meet. She keeps track, she wants to help them get to college, to be successful in life.”
Since the award was announced Suellen has become a local hero. Articles have appeared in the Tampa Bay Times, Food Service Director, Zephyrhills Free Press, Zephyrhills News, School Nutrition Foundation – Beyond Breakfast Blog, Senate Resolution, Pasco Tribune, and several different Facebook pages. She also made an appearance Studio Live – Channel 10 news of Tampa and also went to Washington, DC where she attended the Celebration of School Nutrition Heroes this past February. Thank you Suellen for making a difference!
To learn more about Suellen Smith’s story, click here.