Meet the Dietitian

Fran DeRuiter, MS, RD - Sodexo School Services Northeast District Dietitian

Fran's journey through food and nutrition began first with her mother, an excellent cook and teacher, and next in junior high school with the mentorship of her Home Economics teacher, who stressed the importance of a woman having her own career. She worked for three summers at Alexian Village, an assisted living and healthcare facility, with a Registered Dietitian and decided dietetics was the career path to take.

Fran's journey involved taking many different forks in the road after beginning college. A summer job in a restaurant resulted in a regular customer sending her to cooking school at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. After spending fifteen years in the restaurant industry as a working chef, Fran decided it was time to finish the nutrition degree she began.

Fran earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Human Ecology: Foods and Nutrition from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where she received the Outstanding Senior Award for the Highest GPA in Nutrition, the Georgia Bell Scholarship for the Outstanding Human Ecology Major, and the Outstanding Dietetics Student Award from the Tennessee Dietetic Association.

Fran was accepted into a Combined Dietetic Internship/Masters Degree program at the nationally known Frances Stern Nutrition Center at the New England Medical Center in Boston, MA, and is the only person from Tennessee who has attended. She also received a Master of Science Degree in Nutrition from Tufts University School of Nutrition Science and Policy.

Fran began her career with Sodexo as a Patient Services Manager at St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford, MA. She served as a preceptor for the Dietetic Internship Program and developed the Patient Meal Service Rotation template for Dietetic Interns. Fran also established and implemented the St. Luke's Hospital Food and Nutrition Department safety program which won the Sodexo Healthcare Services Division East Safety Award FY 2003 for Most Improved Account.

Currently, Fran is a Food Service Manager for Woonsocket Schools where she enjoys working with students, especially the elementary children, because they keep her young at heart. She coordinates the District Safety Program and is a Certified ServSafe™ Instructor and State of Rhode Island Food Safety Manager Instructor. Fran sits on the Woonsocket Wellness Committee and is also a member of the Rhode Island Nutrition Committee, whose current projects include finalizing the Rhode Island Nutrition Guidelines for School Vending & A La Carte Foods and the Rhode Island Nutrition Requirements (RINR) 2009.

Fran is a member of the American Dietetic Association (ADA), the ADA School Nutrition Services Dietetic Practice Group, the Rhode Island Dietetic Association, and the Sodexo Nutrition Association. Fran is also actively involved in Sodexo's Women's Networking Group (WiNG), and truly enjoys meeting and interacting with people both inside and outside the nutrition arena.

Fran's unique combination of experience in food service management, dietetics, and culinary arts has given her a strong foundation to face the exciting and challenging world of Sodexo School Services.

In her down time, Fran enjoys exploring New England with her husband, Russ, and looks forward to summers visiting her extended family and friends at her childhood home on Signal Mountain, TN.

Ask Fran