Beyond the Cafeteria | June 2026

OPERATOR NOMINEES

INDUSTRY NOMINEES

CAST YOUR VOTE HERE!

OFF MY PLATE FOOD PROGRAM CONSULTANTS

WARREN COUNTY PS WARREN COUNTY, KENTUCKY

Kids learn best when they are well nourished. With that mindset, we identified an opportunity to increase teacher and school staff participation in our lunch program. The Challenge In the 2024–2025 school year, WCPS served 7,490 teacher and staff meals. The Solution: Employee Rewards Program We launched a simple, engaging incentive program designed to encourage consistent participation: • Staff members signed up for a Lunch Rewards Card • Each purchased lunch earned a stamp • After 5 stamps, the completed card was submitted to the cafeteria manager • Each completed card became an entry into a prize draw- ing Prize drawings were held on Oct. 3, Dec. 19, and Mar. 31. Each drawing awarded a 128GB iPad, making the program both impactful and cost-effective. The Results The results exceeded expectations: • Teacher/staff meals increased from 7,490 to over 21,275 • Nearly a 300% increase in participation

I created CNOS™ — the CNP Compliance Operating System — turning federal compliance from a re- active, last-minute scramble into a daily operating system that runs the program — across NSLP, SBP, and CACFP. For decades, child nutrition directors have been handed regulations, reviews, and corrective action plans — but never a system that ties it all together. Every state review becomes a fire drill, and great directors burn out carrying programs no system was ever built to support. CNOS™ solves that. It organizes everything a CNP operator needs into six connected pillars: Compliance & Audit Readiness, Systems & Operations, Staff Training & Accountability, Menu & Participation, Procurement, and Leadership: • The Audit-Ready Assessment — a free, 5-minute diagnostic that scores any program across all six pillars and identifies the weakest link. • The CNOS™ Diagnostic — a 90-minute deep dive that delivers a written 6-pillar gap report and a 90-day priority plan. • The 90-Day CNP Compliance & Systems Acceler- ator™ — a guided implementation that builds the full operating system inside the director's real program, on their real timeline. The result: programs stop running on memory and start running on systems. Audits stop feeling like emer- gencies. Directors stop carrying their programs alone. And kids get better meals, served by teams that aren't burning out. CNOS™ gave directors a clear, sequenced path to build it. Bold idea. Better meals. Together.

The Impact • Teachers and staff modeled healthy eating behaviors • Students saw trusted adults choosing school meals • The perception of cafeteria food improved organically Why It Works • Simple – easy to under- stand and participate in • Visible – reinforced daily through cafeteria inter- actions • Motivating – meaningful rewards with multiple chan- ces to win • Purpose-driven – aligned with student success and staff wellness

When teachers are fueled, they bring their best—and when students see that, they follow.

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