Ponca City Schools nutrition manager recognized with regional award

The national non-profit School Nutrition Association has named Elizabeth Glaser from Ponca City High School the Southwest regional Manager of the Year.

Considered the highest honor a school nutrition manager can earn, the award recognizes a cafeteria manager who has demonstrated dedication and ingenuity to improve his or her school meal program.

With a flair for designing on a dime, Glaser successfully redecorated dining spaces and serving lines by repurposing and finding deep discounts to stay on budget and on trend.

Taking cues from popular restaurant and retail establishments, Glaser recreated similar serving lines and menus in the cafeteria, implementing new options including sweet chili wild wings and build-your-own Caesar salads.

To encourage effective staff training, Glaser changed the format to reflect an interactive quiz show style of questions, complete with a Jeopardy soundtrack. She provides new creative ideas and group activities to keep staff development interesting for participants.

She takes on challenges in the cafeteria and is committed to finding solutions. When struggling with scratch-made whole grain foods, Glaser dedicated over a week to work side-by-side with the bakery staff to tweak methods and produce whole grain menu items much more acceptable to students.

Glaser is an active member of the SNA of Oklahoma, having served as state president and other various chair positions over the last 25 years. She goes above and beyond for her colleagues in school nutrition, from co-founding the SNA of OK Beauty Pageant and Talent Show to helping to raise funds to send members to SNA conferences.

Each year, Glaser helps organize the student server staff, menu and decorations for her district’s annual Teacher of the Year banquet. Her love of community is in everything she does. She has organized food booths at the annual Freedom Celebration and various community birthday events. Glaser also helps design several floats for the town’s Lighted Christmas Parade and has raised funds to send Christmas cards and cookie vouchers to former students serving in the military.

“Elizabeth Glaser sets a high standard in the cafeteria and works relentlessly to surpass it,” said SNA President Lynn Harvey, EdD, RDN, SNS. “Her creativity, hard work and dedication to her staff and students make her an ideal Manager of the Year.”

In July, Glaser will be honored during the Red Carpet Awards Ceremony at the School Nutrition Association’s Annual National Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.