Neligh-Oakdale Hosts Spring School Food Expo

The Northeast Nebraska Spring School Food Expo was held Thursday in the Elmer Lindahl Gymnasium in Neligh. 

The day began with a seminar from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., “ABCs of School Lunch” by Steve Munch, RD. It covered a variety of topics, including current regulations for foods offered in the A La Carte program and ways to control costs in school food service. Munch is a School Consultant for Cash-Wa Distributing.

The Expo began at 10 a.m. where more than 60 school food managers from over 20 school districts were in attendance. Managers were allowed to interact and sample foods from the many different vendors including Frito-Lay, Kellogg’s, Heinz, General Mills and others.

Munch stated that schools volunteer to host the show and this gives them the opportunity to show off their facilities. This year’s event has been very well received with higher numbers than previous years. The Expo last year in West Point had just over 40 people attending from about 20 school districts.

Donna Keetle, Neligh-Oakdale Food Manager, said “When I go to conferences down in Kearney in the summer, I very rarely see anybody from Elgin, Clearwater, Orchard or Tilden...I just thought it would be a good opportunity to bring a little attention to Neligh too."

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