Small changes, big impact
“Honestly, our cafeterias looked like jail cells: white napkins, white utensils, just stark and bland,” says Kelly Schlein, nutrition services director at Richmond County School System in Augusta, Ga. The solution? Inject some color, literally and figuratively. Schlein helped spearhead a renovation of two of the district’s high school cafeterias, which included several aesthetic-focused changes such as black dishware and trays that “make the food really pop,” and translucent cups that “feel more upscale.” Staffers received more than 20 hours of training about new processes, including a revamped serving presentation that entails setting out fruits and vegetables in rainbow order and using shallower pans to ensure freshness. “We started with these changes that seem small,” Schlein says, “but they add up to something really big.”