North Sanpete lunch ladies honored

6-18-2020

ARLINGTON, Va.—Two school nutrition workers in the North Sanpete School District have received top recognitions in school food service at the state and multi-state levels.

Jeannette Turpin, school lunch manager at Spring City Elementary and a school lunch worker in the district for 26 years, was named “manager of the year” by the School Nutrition Association of Utah.

Then this month, she was selected as manager of the year in the West region, which covers several western states. The award was announced out of the SNA national office in Arlington, Virginia.

“She always does extra things to make school lunch fun, but also follows all of the nutritional guidelines,” says Karen Seely, school nutrition director for the North Sanpete District. “She tries new menus. She puts on events for the kids. She just works really hard.”

“Turpin personally prepares many of the dairy-free, gluten-free, low-carb and other specialty meals for students with dietary restrictions and food allergies,” according to a press release from the national SNA.

Meanwhile, Karmen Ivory, cook and cashier at Pleasant Creek High School, was named “employee of the year” by the SNA of Utah, and subsequently was named West region employee of the year.

Ivory started her career working under Turpin in Spring City. When Pleasant Creek alternative school opened, the Spring City team was assigned to prepare lunches for the students.

When meal preparation for Pleasant Creek was transferred to the North Sanpete High School team, Ivory transferred to North Sanpete but continued to take charge of delivering lunch to Pleasant Creek.

“She gets along really well with the kids and makes them feel important,” Seely says. “She just has a way with the kids that is fun to watch. She’s very dependable. We always turn to her if we need something done.”