Hi, I'm Michele.

Michele is a graduate of Michigan State University with a Bachelors of Science in Dietetics and Human Nutrition. Currently, Michele is completing her supervised practice hours to become registered as a dietitian through the Morrison Chartwells Dietetic Internship. From this internship so far, she has learned how to demonstrate exemplary professional behaviors and convey leadership within the community and throughout the nutrition profession.

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Food Service



School Nutrition Rotation
Leadership from dietitians is rapidly growing in school nutrition programs around the country. Throughout my school nutrition rotation at the District of Clayton, in the greater St. Louis area, I was able to receive training in the financial management of school food service and focus on nutrition and wellness in the district. School nutrition and food service was my concentration during my dietetic internship. I spent 13 weeks in this rotation to be able to gain practice experience and be a successful school food service director in the future. Below is a summary of projects I completed.
Nutrition and Wellness 
Each week I provided nutrition lessons incorporated with fruit and vegetable taste testing to the 3 and 4 year old preschool students in the District of Clayton. I showed the kids eggplant, pomegranate, spaghetti squash and more. I also went to another school district in southern Missouri and gave nutrition lessons to 13 first grade classes. These lessons were planned using MyPlate and took place in P.E. class. The students were placed in relay groups and had to hop, skip, or run to the other side of the gym to get a food model to add to their plate. 
“The children were very engaged and eager to share their knowledge about grapes with Michele. The next day a child who had been fighting a cold brought grapes in his lunch. He said, ‘These are good to eat if you don't feel good, right?’ He remembered learning that grapes have Vitamin C.”
                    Kristen Retter, Clayton preschool teacher

Meatless Monday bulletin board in Clayton High School
To promote sustainability in the community while also incorporating nutrition, I initiated a "flexitarian" movement and implemented "Meatless Mondays" at both the high school and middle school. One station in the cafeteria was a completely meatless meal while other areas such as the nacho line got additions of black or pinto beans.

I emphasized to staff and students how food production contributes to a large portion of all green house gas emissions globally and how reducing meat consumption one day a week can make a difference. I presented the topic to the district's wellness committee and to the employees who work in the cafeteria. I also created a bulletin board outside the cafeteria for high school students to see.
A large amount of evaluations were received for our salsa bean dip
Salsa Bean dip was introduced to middle school students at Wydown Middle School. The demonstration featured a sampling table of the Salsa Bean dip with corn chips and highlighted various examples of legumes. This recipe was chosen to promote the idea of Flexitarianism and educate students about plant based protein meal options.
Rainbow fruit and vegetable trays for elementary students

The food service director and I put forward "Rainbow Day," a Department of Elementary and Secondary Education initiative to encourage students to eat a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables in various colors. The goal of the event was to teach students that different colored fruits and vegetables contain different vitamins and minerals. We set up trays that included all colors of the rainbow and offered them to all students in each elementary school including those who brought or bought their lunch. Students who consumed their whole “rainbow of veggies” received a sticker as a reward. Each school received $200 from DESE for participating.
November and December Food Focus Board

I also helped the food service director at Clayton to put forth monthly food focuses. I created a bulletin board that she could easily update each month as the Chartwells food focuses change. I printed materials for her for every month for the rest of the year so that she could easily keep this concept going. To further push the food focus I planned a red and orange fruit and vegetable menu for a lunch in December.

 Cornell Research Project
The Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition and Chartwells are interested in determining what influences the taking and consuming of fresh fruits and vegetables. The BEN Center and Chartwells partnered to conduct a nation-wide study through the Chartwells Dietetic Internship Program to investigate these questions. At Clayton, we noticed that the foods kids take are changing. It was especially evident in the elementary schools and middle school where kids would fill their plates with spinach leaves, red pepper strips, and even cherry tomatoes. Food waste was the lowest at Wydown Middle School where 86% of what was taken was consumed. At Glenridge Elementary School, 67% of what was taken was consumed. The data we collected will help not only Cornell, but will help our staff at Clayton create menus more appropriate for our students.

 Management
My preceptor at Clayton planned a training at Fontbonne University for chosen employees from the St. Louis area. These employees showed note worthy efforts in their respective districts. This training included an introduction to basic culinary and knife skills in the display kitchen at Fontbonne, a pizza recipe throwdown, and presentation I gave on food safety and sanitation. The objective of my presentation was for the associates to have a clear understanding of basic food safety and sanitation standards established by the Missouri Health Department. Essentially, this kitchen master works course was to give Chartwells employees exemplary skills in cooking and sanitation and to bring these skills back to their kitchens to train their coworkers.
Fresh ingredients for the pizza throwdown

I was able to assist and learn from the food service director in many ways throughout the whole operation. I placed orders for commodity and non commodity items, checked in deliveries, wrote menus, and imputed items into the Compass nutritional analysis tool Webtrition. Furthermore, I learned about the financial end of the operation by observing meals per labor hour, menu trends, and payroll and also was able to assist the director in employee conflicts.

 This rotation also gave me the opportunity to be a part of the corporate regional team. I attended district and region wide meetings with the regional registered dietitian, chef, and marketing manager and was also able to meet the newest president of Chartwells K-12.

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