“I think the appearance of any operation matters a great deal, and if students or adults come in and they see marketing materials that have health halo messages and welcoming messages, they will be more likely to want to eat better,” Ronnei notes. “Clean trays, real silverware, employees with proper attire, happy faces, caring people, whole food, hot food — all those things make the experience one that students would want to repeat.”

The attitude adjustment is also aimed at the staff. One initiative is a reading program called Classroom Connections that brings nutrition staffers into elementary classrooms to read colorful, engaging books about food and farming to jump-start conversations about how food is grown, harvested and served.

“It's one way to change opinions about school foodservice people on the part of students and faculty,” Ronnei says. “But it's also a way for our staff to see the faces of the children in a different light, to see them as people and not just as customers or just as little urchins coming through the line causing trouble.”