Norwalk-La Mirada’s Anna Apoian receives national award

NORWALK – The national, non-profit School Nutrition Association (SNA) has named Anna Apoian, food service director for Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District, the National Director of the Year.

The award recognizes the extraordinary contributions of school nutrition directors who manage effective school meal programs providing healthy, appetizing meals to students.

A little more than a year since COVID-19 created new logistical challenges for school nutrition directors, SNA continues to applaud the dedication, ingenuity and compassion shown by its members who have excelled in keeping students fed during the pandemic.

When the pandemic hit, Apoian led her team in re-opening schools for meal distribution as the county guidelines changed. She was first to start pantry style meal distribution with assistance from the superintendents, executive board administrators, board members, local churches, and police in distributing meals at two drive-up locations.

More than 5,000 households in the area benefited from this outreach. As the county slowly reopened, the nutrition services team also began to reopen the school kitchens for non-congregate meal service, three times a week, to keep the community connected to the schools. The meal programs began with two schools, to six, to eight, and 25 by the end of the first school year.

Apoian started an “Extra Eats” program, which included food for suppers and snacks. This helped the community when supermarket shelves were sparse and assisted in preventing future lay offs for her staff by securing more federal and state revenue for the budget.

Prior to the pandemic at a previous district, she and her team installed deli bars for made-to-order sandwiches and salads, a panini room for hot sandwiches and a pizza oven where students see the pizza being baked. Her students also enjoy scratch-made signature salsas and dressings for produce bars.

She also directed a Breakfast-in-the-Classroom program, which continues to serve 90 percent of students. At her current district, freshly prepared burritos, breakfast sandwiches and smoothie bowls have helped increase participation by 20 percent. Apoian creates new recipes to be more inclusive of students’ special dietary restrictions, including no-bake energy bites for a vegan meal entrée and the Green Monster smoothie. Her menu focus is on plant-forward, while continuing to serve 100 percent USDA beef and antibiotic free poultry, in healthful portions.

In her tenure, Apoian has been committed to improving communication and general wellness in her community. She hired parent-to-parent nutrition educators, created a sustaining employee wellness program, provided physical activity training for elementary teachers by professional trainers, began Active Recess at eight elementary school sites, updated wellness policies and has been in charge of the Wellness Committees since 2004.

She also started “Your Chew,” a monthly newsletter for employees. To keep parents involved and updated, Apoian attends district level parent meetings quarterly and uses feedback to make adjustments to menu options.

Apoian has dedicated many hours to volunteering for California SNA and local chapters, helping to restart the defunct local chapter that supports nine area districts. Over the summer of 2020, she created the Summer Series-Friday Fun to keep local chapter members connected and provide support and a sense of community for professionals during an uncertain time. She has been a member on the state SNA board of directors, president elect of the regional SNA chapter, and served in numerous other state and local SNA leadership roles.

Committed to professional development, Apoian continues to promote the benefits of being a member of state and national SNA, attending and presenting at various conferences and workshops. She has also conducted trainings at 28 neighboring districts and in 2019, she presented team building to 300 frontline workers at an annual workshop.

““It’s inspiring to see directors like Anna Apoian, who strategically incorporate invaluable feedback from students, parents and district administration into bettering her program,” said SNA President Reginald Ross, SNS. “Her outside-the-box thinking has helped make her program a true success for students. We congratulate her on this deserved national award.”

The regional Director of the Year Award was created to recognize school nutrition directors who exhibit an extraordinary commitment to their school meal programs. The directors are responsible for maintaining the quality of the program through student interaction, menu planning and a commitment to serving nutritious, tasty and well-balanced school meals.

Through effective oversight of all aspects of foodservice operations, including budgeting, staffing, training, marketing and community outreach, school nutrition directors ensure the overall success of school meal programs.

On May 5, Apoian was honored during the first-ever “Our Heroes: Celebrating the 2021 SNA Award Winners” virtual event. Nominees, nominators, state leaders, Board of Directors, Leadership Development Committee and Back to School Summit attendees will be invited to celebrate the accomplishments of this year’s SNA award winners.