Sprout CNP

08/24/2026

A few weeks ago, Chef Garrett led a K–12 culinary training at Apex High School in Wake County Public School System, where participants learned from chefs, broke into teams to tackle different recipes, plated and presented their creations, and got to try it all together for lunch. 🍽️

And because no graduation is complete without a little fun… they wrapped up with a Chef Ambassador pledge, certificates, and a conga line! 💃🕺

From hands-on learning to celebrating new skills, it was a great day in the kitchen! 👏✨

WCPSS Child Nutrition

08/17/2026

A little behind-the-scenes look at Chef Cyndie, Chef Garrett, and Helen Smith in action! 🎥👩‍🍳👨‍🍳 They recently joined Urban School Food Alliance Executive Director Dr. Katie Wilson, incoming Executive Director Jeremy West, and Jill Kidd to film a new series of training videos designed to support school food professionals.

08/12/2026

¡Nos encanta escuchar directamente a los profesionales de nutrición escolar que se unen a nosotros para recibir capacitación culinaria práctica! 🌱

En el evento Utah Farm to School, los participantes tuvieron la oportunidad de aprender, practicar nuevas habilidades y conectar con otros profesionales junto a los chefs Cyndie y Andy.

¡Escucha a una participante contar su experiencia en la clase! 🎥👩‍🍳

08/11/2026

What makes a great training? Skills you can actually use when you get back to the kitchen. 👏

That’s exactly what participants experienced during Chef Cyndie and Chef Andy’s classes at the Utah Farm to School event. From hands-on knife skills to new recipes, the goal was to give school nutrition professionals practical tools they can put into action.

Hear directly from one participant about what she loved most! 🎥🔪

08/10/2026

Bringing local foods to school cafeterias, one recipe at a time! 🌱

Chef Cyndie and Chef Andy had a wonderful time joining school nutrition professionals from across Utah at the Utah Farm to School event. School nutrition teams from around the state prepared Utah Harvest of the Season recipes featuring locally grown ingredients while sharing ideas and inspiration for bringing fresh, local foods to students.

Thank you to everyone who made this event such a success and for your continued commitment to connecting students with fresh, local foods! 🍎🥕

08/07/2026

Chef Brenda grew up on her family's potato farm, so getting to talk with school nutrition professionals about Washington potatoes at this year's Washington School Nutrition Association conference was personal.

Stopping by the booth, you could talk with a local farmer, pick up standardized potato recipes, grab some potato swag, and get access to SproutCNP's free Knife Skills Course.

If you missed us at the booth, you can still get the course — no cost, no catch.
👉 Download the free Mini Knife Skills Course here: https://learn.sproutcnp.com/courses/mini-knife-skills

Washington State Potato Commission

08/07/2026

A huge thank you to the Washington State Potato Commission for sponsoring Chef Brenda Wattles to speak at the Washington School Nutrition Association's session last week.

Chef Brenda presented on Effective Kitchen Forecasting and Ordering to Manage Food Costs including practical strategies school nutrition professionals can put to work right away to reduce waste, tighten inventory, and protect their bottom line.

Grateful to the Washington Potato Commission for investing in school nutrition professional development, and to WSNA for the invitation.

08/04/2026

07/31/2026

All kitchen staff should know their meals per labor hour. If your team doesn't know this number, your budget is guessing instead of planning.

MPLH measures how efficiently labor hours convert into meals served — one of the clearest signals of whether staffing matches production, or whether labor costs are quietly eating your bottom line.

Here's the thing: it's not just a director's number. Everyone on your team should know it.
→ Track it by site
→ Compare against your own baseline
→ Use it to guide staffing before schedules lock in, not after payroll runs over
→ Share it with kitchen managers so they understand the number they're working toward

Every meal served efficiently is a dollar that contributes to financial solvency in your program.

07/30/2026

Hey, new director. Yeah, you — the one still figuring out where the light switches are in your own kitchen.

Every year, more new directors step into School Nutrition Programs for the first time, and every year, the same question comes up: am I doing this right?

Anne has been exactly where you are. Then she found SproutCNP’s Mentorship program.

That uncertainty doesn't mean you're behind. It means you're new — and new directors who ask questions and work with our team go further than the ones who try to figure it all out alone.

Join our free Director Community and learn more about SproutCNP Director Mentorship. 👉 [email protected]/?ismsaljsauthenabled" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://outlook.office.com/book/[email protected]/?ismsaljsauthenabled