Whidbey woman receives award

Gene White of Clinton, president of the Global Child Nutrition Foundation, was recently presented with the Silver Friend of Child Nutrition Award by the National Foodservice Achievement Management Excellence (FAME) Award program.

White was honored at the FAME award ceremony held Jan. 10 at the Sawgrass Marriott Hotel in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. during the School Nutrition Association’s Child Nutrition Industry Conference.

White was recognized for her dedication of more than five decades of service to the cause of providing healthy meals for students in American schools.

White spent more than 20 years as a foodservice director in a rural district in California, where she began her crusade to provide healthy meals for students. Her first successes were working with governors Ronald Reagan and Jerry Brown to sign legislation to gain funding for nutritious school-meal programs.

White served as the state director of California, and also as the president of the American School Food Service Association, known today as the School Nutrition Association. She was able to work extensively with policy makers on a state and national level to continue her advocacy of feeding children around the world.

Though retired, White’s dedication to the cause of child and school nutrition has not changed. She consults for the United Nations World Food Program and has used her experience to continue to establish school nutrition programs around the world. Her work has taken her to Tunisia, Paraguay and Latin America.

The Silver Friend of Child Nutrition Award is given to an advocate of child nutrition that supports the feeding of children beyond the scope of normal professional duties.

For 21 years, the FAME Awards have honored school nutrition professionals who raise industry standards by stepping up to challenges within their school districts and communities. This prestigious program is sponsored by Basic American Foods, Schwan’s Food Service, Inc., and Tyson Foods, Inc.

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