Betti Wiggins, executive director of the Office of Student Nutrition at Detroit Public Schools, has been named Golden School Foodservice Director of the Year by the Foodservice Achievement Management Excellence (FAME) Awards.
A founding board member of the Detroit Food Policy Council and an advisor to the National Farm to School Network, Wiggins has helped improve nutrition standards for DPS students by providing access to fresh, locally grown produce, according to FAME.
Her past projects include the creation of an on-campus farm and development of the DPS Permaculture Project at Ludington Magnet School, which grows produce using alternative agricultural methods. Currently, Wiggins is helping develop the Kettering Food Enterprise Center, a $20 million project that aims to transform an old high school campus into a food business park in the heart of Detroit.
Other FSDs honored at this year’s awards include:
- Kevin Ponce, school nutrition services director for Oklahoma City Public Schools in Oklahoma City, Okla., with the Silver Leadership Award
- Daniel Ellnor, manager at the Nutrition Service Center for Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Ky., with the Silver Spirit Award
- Gay Anderson, district child nutrition director at Brandon Valley 49-2 in Brandon, S.D., with the Silver Special Achievement Award
- Meredith Potter, school nutrition director for the Houston County Board of Education in Perry, Ga., with the Silver Rising Star Award
- Shirley Brown, director of product training at Rich Products Corporation in Fresno, Calif., with the Silver Friend of Child Nutrition Award
Wiggins will officially receive the award in a ceremony held Jan. 22, 2017, in Orlando, Fla.