In the Public Eye: Reilly makes difference as RSU 14 Director of School Nutrition

Jeanne Reilly is serving as Director of School Nutrition
for RSU 14 and oversees all meals, food preparation, and
nutritional programs offered to students who attend
Windham and Raymond schools.
SUBMITTED PHOTO  

Editor’s note: This is another in an ongoing series of Windham and Raymond town employee profiles. 

By Andrew Wing

In the RSU 14 school district, there are many different positions, and each has an impact upon student lives no matter if it’s in the classroom, on the playing field, or even in the cafeteria when they are eating school lunch. Because lunch is a critical component to student health and well-being and especially for low-income students, RSU 14’ Director of School Nutrition Jeanne Reilly has been leading the way to ensure students have the nutrition they need throughout the day to learn.

As the Director of School Nutrition for RSU 14, Reilly is responsible for planning all menus in accordance with U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations, overseeing and implementing the preparation of the menus, purchasing food and supplies, staffing and training the kitchen staffs in every building, managing the budget, and working on recipes and menu development.

Reilly grew up in New Jersey, before moving to Maine by the time she was in middle school. She attended Southern Maine Community College for a degree in Dietetics and the University of New Hampshire for a degree in Food Systems Management.

She’s worked for RSU 14 since 2009, initially as a shared Director of School Nutrition between Windham and Westbrook schools, then adding in Raymond, before eventually just serving RSU 14 schools.

Having been in the food industry for her entire career, she’s worked for the Women Infants and Children program, hospital dietetics departments, and in long term care as a Director of Food and Nutrition. Her career in school nutrition started in Westbrook about 25 years ago, but when she got to RSU 14, she wanted to just stay in the nutritional role as she felt she found her passion there.

“In RSU 14, I feel my passion for influencing the health and well-being of children by providing them with delicious and nutritious food is supported,” said Reilly. “In our department, we believe healthy, delicious food is the fuel that students need to help them thrive and succeed.”

Her list of duties and responsibilities is long which makes for a tough job and Reilly said two areas are the most challenging parts of her work.

“Currently, the most challenging aspect is dealing with the supply chain crisis and staffing our kitchens,” said Reilly. “We have struggled having enough of the food on hand that we need to feed our customers, and the increased cost has made things more of a challenge. As for staffing, just like every other food service establishment in the United States, we are struggling to keep our kitchens fully staffed as we don’t have both enough employees or applicants.”

Despite those challenges, Reilly said that she loves her job, and treasures one thing above all else.

“I absolutely love that we are building healthy eaters,” said Reilly. “We are influencing the palates of children and their families by introducing them to new foods and new food concepts.”

In Reilly’s long career, she has had and experienced a lot of memorable moments working her job, especially the past 13 years at RSU 14, but her most memorable moment on the job has been during the past two years during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“The way we have been able to meet people’s need for healthy food, the way our team has continually adapted our service model and met the challenges that the pandemic has presented has been incredible,” said Reilly. “It has been exhausting, but also gratifying to see the strength and resiliency of our school nutrition team.”

There is no denying that Reilly has made such a profound impact on RSU 14, especially during the pandemic. But on the same token, RSU 14 has also made an impact on Reilly, and she said the most important thing she has learned while working with RSU 14 is teamwork.

“I like to say teamwork makes the dream work, and I believe this is really true as I feel that the administration in RSU 14 supports our mission that healthy food fuels hungry minds,” said Reilly. “Our school nutrition team is the best team around, and their positive attitude and commitment to feeding our students delicious and healthy meals makes our program thrive and succeed.” <