Enlist Kitchen Teams

Instructions

Time Considerations: 60 minutes to interview a staff member and customize the Staff Feature

Materials Needed: Printer and paper – consider poster size

Participants: Kitchen team and students

Step One

During back-to-school prep or in a regular team meeting, share a few questions you have about kids’ preferences that you think the kitchen team might be able to find out through quick, routine chats with kids as they move through the line or visit stations.

For example

• Ask kitchen teams to reflect on what they learn from students on a regular basis and what else they’d like to know. Brainstorm ways to connect with kids.

• Tie this conversation to the Staff Feature and try out different messages and questions

• For instance, share fun things about the kitchen staff to invite conversation. For example, what are their superpowers? What [healthy] food do they love? Which school meal is their favorite? Cat person or dog person? See the question bank under Activating Students for more ideas.

• Another way to use this feature is to share some details about the staff member and also an “Ask me about…” or “Tell me about…” to discuss a favorite dish, holiday, presentation, rice bar set-up, etc. You can connect this to a broader campaign about introducing culturally relevant foods or when doing taste tests.

Step Two

Prepare and print the Staff Features or other aids that the kitchen team wants to use to engage with kids. Place these prominently in the cafeteria and rotate - either different individuals featured or staff pose different questions.

Step Three

Check on how the Staff Features are being received in follow ups with the team. No impact? Lots of suggestions from kids? Improved connection between kids and staff? All of this is helpful information for you as you try various ways of engaging kids and team members.

Tool

Need help downloading and using the tools? Visit our how-to guide.