SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – There’s no question that school lunches have improved in recent years. One of the leaders of the Sweetwater Union High School District is gaining national attention for changes he has made to school cafeterias. He has been named the 2024 Director of the Year by the School Nutrition Association.
Surviving Nutrition Director Eric Spann told ABC 10 News reporter Natay Holmes that although he has been nationally recognized, the real praise is for students to enjoy their meals and come to class with full bellies. He said it’s important to know that he is there.
“We started really looking at our menu to see where we could add local California products,” Spann says.
Spann has been with the district for 13 years. He said he was happy to be able to provide free breakfast and lunch to students. Some students may even eat their third meal before going home for the day.
“A program called CACFP (Child and Adult Care Feeding Program) allows students to be fed at least 50 percent free or reduced-cost school facilities or in neighborhoods deemed unsafe.”
Mr. Spann also started a successful Farm to School program at one of his high schools. It started by raising and feeding 400 chickens on a high school campus.
“We were taking produce from the salad bar and feeding the chickens,” Spann said. “Once they started laying eggs, we entered into a contract to purchase eggs for the feeding program.”
In addition to the fresh, locally sourced food provided to schools, Spann made it his mission to help nutrition staff prepare meals. This includes cooking procedures and safe food standards.
“The first thing I did was introduce the staff to the actual gyuto.”
For his leadership, Spann’s work has been recognized nationally. He won the 2024 Director of the Year award.
“When I started, it was a difficult time for the nutrition program. We were just coming up from rock bottom… In the 13 years since I’ve been here, our program and nutrition services have I’m very proud of how much has changed.”
