Foster Glocester Regional School District
 At Your Service
Special Info
An Open Letter to Sodexo RI from a new General Manager
[EDITOR’S NOTE: Sodexo is pleased to welcome Fran DeRuiter, the new General Manager of the Foster Glocester Schools District, to the greater Sodexo RI family. Recently Fran provided an update of activities in her district, and, try as we might, we cannot find more eloquently expressive words than hers to tell the story of what’s happening in northern Rhode Island. So without further ado, here’s Fran!]
I am a brand new General Manager who started on October 15, 2010. As you can imagine, my plate has been overflowing with the start up of my new school districts.
So far this year, I've been able to have a local apple and local cider tasting from Barden Farms at Fogarty Memorial Elementary, Captain Isaac Paine Elementary, and West Glocester Elementary schools in October. I also had a local beekeeper in at Fogarty Memorial Elementary in December for a demonstration.
In Foster Glocester Regional in December, I worked with the Ponaganset Middle School (PMS) vice-principal and social studies teacher in their celebration of Wreaths Across America, an organization that honors America's Veterans. This event was very special and memorable to the community with upwards of 200 guests in attendance.
Currently, I am helping to write a grant with Carolyn Vallese, the PMS Home Economics teacher, and the Dairy Council in order to equip and offer a salad bar at the school once a week.
On March 23rd, Sodexo will be participating in the 6th Annual Ponaganset Community Wellness Fair at PMS. I will be working with Jamie LaRose, the Physical Education teacher, to coordinate healthy snacks and nutrition education for the event. The fair is open to the public and will be held in the PMS gymnasium, fitness center, and cafeteria. This is a huge event for the community and is expected to draw up to 1,000 people. Every 8th grader will be given the assignment of picking a wellness topic, working with a partner, conducting research, and displaying their findings on a backboard to be displayed the Wellness Fair. This is a mandatory 3rd quarter project and is worth 33% of each student's grade. In addition to free health screenings, massages, taste testings, and giveaways, this year they are adding a road race, The Chieftain Challenge 5K, which aims to raise funds for the construction of cross-country trails at the middle school.
I am also a member of the Foster Wellness Committee and have had the opportunity to be involved with the recent transition of the Foster students to their new respective homes at the PMS and West Glocester Elementary.
In January, 2011, Foster's Captain Isaac Paine Elementary School suffered a roof collapse due to snow stress. I worked with Foster's administration and my staff to ensure a smooth and seamless meal service for the students.
In March for National Nutrition Month, we are offering Rainbow Yogurt Cups (vanilla yogurt with blueberries, peaches, pears, cherries, and grapes) at the elementary schools.
In March I also introduced a new product, Sunbutter, which is like a peanut butter but made with sunflower seed kernels; we held taste tests in both the middle school and elementary schools. I used the marketing tag, "Here Comes the Sun". The Sunbutter was a huge success, and I will be offering it on the menu as a SB & J Sandwich, where the students have the choice of a Sunbutter and Jelly Sandwich or a Sunbutter and Honey Sandwich.
In April I will be honoring Mother Earth by giving away herb, flower, and vegetable seedlings to each of my five schools. My theme will be "Love Your Mother Earth". I am excited to be one of four people from Rhode Island to attend Produce Safety University for one week in August 2011. This program is sponsored by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service and Agricultural Marketing Service and will offer in-depth knowledge of produce safety through a combination of lecture, laboratory, and field trip instruction. My goal is for this course to lay the foundation for the implementation of school gardens in my three districts.
My staff and I have been dressing down for charity weekly since January 2011. In April, we will be contributing our collected non-perishable food and donating it to local community food pantries.
I have introduced new concepts to the menu such as boxed entree salads and soup and sandwich meals at both the elementary and secondary levels and a new hot sandwich presentation at the middle school.
The Foster Glocester region is a beautiful, rural area with many farms. On my first drive to work I saw llamas, goats, cows, ducks, and wild turkeys. The majority of the children in all districts are bused into the school which leaves very little time for breakfast. In April, I will introduce the "Snack Sack" option where children can pick up a bag with milk, juice, choice of whole grain baked product or yogurt and graham cracker, and fresh fruit to enjoy as breakfast or as their mid-morning snack.
Personally, I am a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and worked for fifteen years as a chef in different restaurants in Chattanooga, TN before returning to undergraduate and graduate school and beginning my career with Sodexo.
I am a Registered Dietitian (RD) and received my Masters in Nutrition from Tufts University in Boston, MA. I am a member of the American Dietetic Association (ADA), ADA School Nutrition Services Dietary Practice Group, Rhode Island Dietetic Association, School Nutrition Association, and the Rhode Island Nutrition Committee. I am also a Certified ServSafe Food Safety Instructor and Proctor in Rhode Island.
I sometimes wear the hat of District Dietitian and am a member of the national School Services RD Network. Currently, we are working on addendums to the proposed USDA School Meals Nutrition Guidelines as written in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act 2010 which is coupled with the recent release of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010. I am also on the www.sodexori.org website under the link Meet the Dietitian. Nutrition in schools is a hot topic, and it is my pleasure and honor to serve in this capacity to be able to share and contribute.
My passions revolve around people and food. I love my new role as a General Manager in the Foster Glocester School Districts and look forward to serving the students, administration, and community for many years to come.
Sincerely,
Fran
Fall 2010
- We are excited to soon be moving into the new cafeteria at Ponaganset High School.
- We will be enticing students with expanded offering bars featuring many varieties of local fresh fruits and vegetables.
- We will be having Harvest celebrations at the schools in October.
The Sodexo Difference for 2009/10
There can be no tradition without innovation.
—Earle Hitchner
If you’ll all take your seats, we’ll begin.
Welcome back, one and all, to another school year and all its challenges, promises, and rewards. Once again we renew our commitments to expand our knowledge of the world around us, to understand the past and prepare for the future, and to enliven our minds, fortify our bodies, and enrich our spirits.
All of us at Sodexo are honored that you’ve chosen us once again to prepare and serve the meals that will nourish our children during the school day.
What’s more, we accept the responsibility to meet the economic challenges of our time by implementing a three-part service strategy that encompasses
- Global Resources
- Statewide Efficiency
- Local Control
Think of it this way: Sodexo’s global presence brings nearly unlimited human and financial resources to the most efficient statewide purchase and distribution of products and services that always will be controlled by the local districts we ultimately serve.
 Here is a small sampling of what we’ve accomplished working together for the Foster-Glocester district
- Support of the Ponaganset Middle School Wellness Fair
- Participation in apple orchard planting on that school’s Living Campus
- Membership on the districts’ Wellness Committees
- Sponsorship of the Sodexo Servathon at the Rhode Island Community Food Bank
- Sponsorship of the Walkathon for Juvenile Diabetes
In short, we’ll work together to preserve and expand our tradition of excellence – one that is founded upon the relentless pursuit of innovation.
And speaking of innovation, we are very pleased indeed to welcome you to our newly re-conceived website, www.sodexori.com.
These pages represent what we like to think of as a work in and about progress. Over the school year we’ll be offering a blend of tried-and-true functions and all new, cutting-edge applications.
Our website already serves as your primary source for essential information about menu selections, nutrition, community resources, calendar events, and a full range of municipal services and happenings. And that’s just for starters.
This will be a truly interactive and educational website. We expect lively contributions of ideas and content from administrators, faculty, staff, students, and parents. Thanks to the Internet’s global reach, the people, places, histories, and values of the cities and towns served by Sodexo will become familiar to people from the farthest corners of the world.
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When it comes to eating right and exercising, there is not “I’ll start tomorrow.” Tomorrow is a disease. – V. L. Allineare
Let’s get the ball rolling. As some of you may know, Rhode Island has implemented new nutrition requirements (RINR) for all public schools. Sodexo applauds these standards, and we remain committed to meeting and even exceeding them.
Here’s what to expect:
Grains – All grains served (rice, breads, pasta, cereal, pizza etc.) will be whole grain or wheat products.
Fruits/Vegetables – Students will be offered three servings of fruits and vegetables at lunch: one serving will be dark green or orange, and another will be a fresh or raw vegetable or fruit
Cooked Legumes – One or more servings of cooked legumes (dried beans, peas or lentils) will be offered each week.
Sodium – Lower the sodium intake will be accomplished by serving low sodium products.
Milk/Juice – The following choices will be available each day:
A. 1% or skim, non-flavored milk.
B. Flavored milk with 1% or less fat and no more than 4 grams of total sugar per ounce.
C. 100 % juice
The sales of extra entrée will no longer be available.
A community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm.
—George Bernard Shaw
It’s time to get to work. So we’ll conclude this Welcome Back message by recalling what we believe is the most revealing aspect of our service to the community.
Sodexo did not come into our state. Sodexo comes out of Rhode Island.
This inescapable truth may be expressed simply:
- The overwhelming majority of Sodexo employees live where they work.
- Most were born where they work.
- Most own or rent homes where they work.
- And most have children enrolled in the schools where they work.
Sodexo has called Rhode Island home for close to 20 years. When our partnership began, no one could have predicted with any degree of certainty the social, economic, and cultural changes that would impact our lives so powerfully over the next two decades. All we could know with confidence then was that significant, systemic change would take place and that, working together, we would spare no effort or expense to guide our youth and indeed our communities safely through whatever lay in store.
Our hands are on the helm. Our course is true.
Let the work – and the fun – continue!
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