Michelle Obama Honors District 196 Food Service Managers at White House

Famous and influential people visit the White House every day. But on Oct. 17, the White House visitors included a group of District 196 elementary school food service managers, who were being honored for achieving the silver level of the USDA HealthierUS School Challenge.

Seven of 18 active food service managers, two retirees, and two from the district staff—including manager Mindy Wychor—joined food service managers from throughout the country at a reception on the south lawn of the White House. First Lady Michelle Obama, a champion of the HealthierUS School Challenge, hosted the gathering and met with the honorees.

The challenge is a voluntary initiative established in 2004 to recognize those schools participating in the National School Lunch Program that have created healthier school environments by promoting nutrition and physical activity. In February 2010, Obama introduced Let’s Move!, incorporating the challenge into her campaign to raise a healthier generation of children.

Barb Griffiths, district food and nutrition supervisor, said the U.S. Department of Agriculture looks at factors like nutrition patterns and education, wellness policies, the physical education program and the participation rate in the school lunch program. The district learned in May 2010 that it had achieved silver status.

Karen Kidwell, a food service manager at said it was a great honor, years in the making. She's proud to be recognized for the work the food service staff does, and said it was great to see peers from all over the country.

Seeing the South Garden of the White House for the first time was a “goose bump” moment, Kidwell said.

She also got to shake Obama’s hand and thank her; she was gracious and friendly, Kidwell said.

Kidwell said students at school call her the “lunch teacher.” She said there's satisfaction in getting students to try foods that they had never tried before, such as chick peas or watercress.

She said she feels “lucky to be a lunch teacher.”

Each food service manager who attended paid their own way. No tax dollars were used to finance the trip.

District 196 staff and elementary school food service managers who attended the reception were: Juanita Kalhaneck (retired food service manager), Sandy Nelson (retired food service manager), Karen Kidwell (Thomas Lake), Gail Offermann (Northview), Cindy Landgrebe (Deerwood), Susan Hoese (Red Pine), Jean Decker (Echo Park), Mindy Wychor (), Mary Overgaard (Parkview), Wendy Knight (district food and nutrition coordinator) and Barb Griffiths (district food and nutrition supervisor).

Other elementary school food service managers who were not able to go to Washington, D.C., were: Shannon Morrison (Rosemount), Mindy Wohl (), Sue Kruger (), Marge Mills (), Bonnie Rowland (Woodland), Susan Sherman (Pinewood), Michelle Durenberger (Shannon Park), Geri Doane (OakRidge), Linda Wicker (Glacier Hills), Susan Ambrus () and Pattie Barahona ().