First Annual Fresh Perspectives Food Service Staff Conference Delivers a Day of Learning, Collaboration, and Celebration

Nearly 180 school food service professionals from 48 school districts gathered on June 18, 2025, at the Garfield Community Learning Center in Akron for the highly-anticipated Fresh Perspectives Conference: Local Food and Inspired Learning for School Food Service Staff.

The event, developed and coordinated by Kelly Rocco, Program Manager of the OSC, and hosted by Feed Our Future of the Cuyahoga County Board of Health in partnership with the Ohio Schools Council,

featured engaging presentations and hands-on sessions to enhance school nutrition programs. From the benefits and importance of scratch cooking, food safety, menu planning and team building, the day’s sessions reflected the essential and diverse roles food service professionals play in supporting student health and success.

Participants kicked off the morning with an opening session that included leadership and team building icebreakers, followed by a dynamic keynote presentation on the benefits of scratch cooking.

The day continued with focused learning opportunities, including:

• Knife Skills Sessions
• Breakfast Program Innovation
• Customer Service Strategies
• Food Safety Reminders
• Menu Planning and Production Records Trainings by OSC Preferred Partner, Health-e Pro
• Proper Sanitation Procedures

Conference attendees were provided lots of tools and resources, such as cutting boards, knives and other essential kitchen items, thanks in large part to generous contributions from the Feed Our Future grant, whose objective is to promote fresh, made from scratch local foods in the kitchens of our K-12 schools.

One of the highlights of the day came during the closing session, where thanks to the vendor fair participants, 12 scholarships, each worth $500, were awarded to participating districts to support their students. A huge congratulations to our scholarship winners: Bellevue City Schools, Black River Local Schools, Columbia Local Schools, Cuyahoga Valley Career Center, Danbury Local Schools, Fairless Local Schools, MCBDD-Windfall School, Northwest Local Schools, Rootstown Local Schools, St. Albert the Great School, Strongsville City Schools, and Struthers Local Schools.

“This was truly a day of inspiration and collaboration,” one attendee shared. “It’s not often we get to learn side by side with peers from across the region and walk away with real, usable ideas for our programs.”

With strong attendance, rich content, and a clear focus on practical takeaways, the Fresh Perspectives Conference proved to be a valuable investment in Ohio’s school nutrition workforce. And it’s only just the beginning, as the Ohio Schools Council plans to continue offering this conference in the years to come.