COMMITTEES Industry
butter sculpture pays tribute to school nutrition staff “Nourishing Our Future”
Industry Feature
health and wellbeing of children each and every day,” said Bordeau. “It gave me a huge sense of pride to be part of this industry that does so much for our nation’s children. It was a true honor and extremely humbling that myself, along with Rachel, were chosen to represent thousands of child nutrition professionals throughout all of New York State.” News of the butter sculpture went viral with hundreds of news organizations across the globe showcasingtheartwork,whilealsoacknowledging the hardworking school nutrition teams and the integral role they’ve played in keeping our children fed throughout the pandemic. The sculpture was constructed over 10 days using “scrap butter” - butter from damaged packaging or similar circumstances that make it unsuitable for sale and consumption. The sculpture was eventually deconstructed and transported to a Western New York dairy farm where it was responsibly recycled in a methane digester and converted to renewable energy. ADANE is pleased to honor food service workers in this capacity, and we are grateful to work with all of the dedicated School Nutrition Directors and staff who help ensure students have access to the nutritious foods they need to thrive, especially during these uncertain times. Thank you for all that you do!
Above: Syracuse City School District Director of Food and Nutrition Services Rachel Murphy, RD (left) and Broome- Tioga BOCES Senior Food Service Director Mark Bordeau “attended” the butter sculpture unveiling as cardboard cutouts. Left: Up close of the food service worker is depicted in butter.
BY GREG SZKLANY ADANE
While the press conference to reveal the sculpture was done virtually through live-streaming, there were still a few special guests “in attendance” in the form of life-size cardboard cutouts, including Mark Bordeau, Senior Food Service Director of Broome-Tioga BOCES and Rachel Murphy, RD, Director of Food and Nutrition Services with Syracuse City School District.
School nutrition workers were honored by American Dairy Association North East (ADANE) when the organization unveiled its annual 800-pound butter sculpture virtually at the New York State Fair in September. Despite the cancellation of this year’s Fair due to COVID-19, ADANE kept the butter sculpture tradition going, using the 52nd annual display to pay tribute to those who ensure our children are nourished and learning- whether in school or at home – including dairy farmers, school nutrition staff, teachers and parents. The two-sided, butter masterpiece depicted a dairy farmer providing milk - to a child learning from home with his mother and “virtual” teacher, present in the laptop screen - to a child learning in school, with a school nutrition worker delivering a meal tray to the classroom. Both settings illustrated the vital contributions and commitment to “nourishing our future,” wherever children learn by dairy farmers and school nutrition teams.
“I was thrilled when I heard that this year’s butter sculpture was recognizing child nutrition professionals and the positive impact they have on the
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FreshBites
WINTER 2021
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