Angela Richey; Nutrition Services Supervisor; Roseville Area Schools and St. Anthony New-Brighton School District; Roseville, Minnesota
A registered dietitian by trade, Angela Richey brings a strategic, student-centered approach to every menu decision and every ingredient that makes its way onto students’ trays.
Her biggest goals have been to incorporate more local ingredients and scratch cooking into school menus. With support from USDA grants and long-standing partnerships with local organizations like The Good Acre, she’s been able to source and serve Harvest of the Month items and local entrées that wouldn’t otherwise be accessible through traditional vendors. Programs like Minnesota Thursdays have also helped connect kids to the amazing produce, grains and protein grown in their home state.
She has also been able to add dishes like Beef Sambusa, which one student described as “a Somali Hot Pocket.” It’s combined on the menu with a Somali-style rice in collaboration with local spice makers and based on a student-created recipe. It’s these types of meals that don’t just nourish bodies but also tell stories, reflect student identities and connect cultures. Angela says, “Those are the sorts of things that happen when we push more towards scratch cooking.”
And while on-the-bone chicken might seem unusual in school foodservice, it’s opened up important conversations in the cafeteria. “One principal shared how a student made the connection between their lunch and the animal it came from,” she says. “That’s a cool, teachable moment. It's really important that they see and connect where their food is coming from.”
Creating recipes from scratch takes culinary know-how as well as understanding USDA crediting and nutrition guidelines from the ground up. Still, she thrives on the challenge, drawing inspiration from progressive districts, shared recipe databases, and school nutrition advocates. Angela says, “What's great about K-12 foodservice directors is that we’re not in competition with each other. It's not like the restaurant industry. We can just e-mail a director and say, ‘Hey, I saw this on your Facebook page. Can you share the recipe?’”
Another moment of growth came from a discussion in a previous school district position with St. Paul Public Schools about whole grain rice that turned into a deeper cultural conversation. After hearing from Hmong families about their preferences for white rice, she worked with her team to find a balanced solution that honored those requests while staying within regulations. The result? White rice incorporated into the menu throughout the day — even at breakfast.
And while she champions scratch cooking, she also recognizes the importance of individually wrapped items from General Mills. “We wouldn’t be able to do our in-classroom breakfast program without them,” she shares.
Whether it’s breakfast, lunch, an after-school snack, or summer feeding programs, her team serves it all. But it’s about more than meals. Angela says, “I love setting kids up for a successful life. I truly view our programs as modeling what a healthy meal should look like.”
Angela is always working to build a stronger connection between food and curriculum. With her team, she’s produced a series of videos that teachers can share twice a month to accompany the Minnesota Thursdays program. “One of the videos went viral,” she shares. “It featured the Three Sisters Salad, and we partnered with our Native American parents and family liaisons to tell that important story.”
Her leadership style is collaborative and forward-thinking. Recent contract negotiations led to a pay bump for team members, and she’s continually working to restructure roles to make the most of each person’s background — like bringing a chef-trained team member into more creative work alongside her and her assistant director.
Her advice for anyone entering school nutrition? She encourages colleagues to lean on each other, to share struggles and wins, and to stay grounded in student feedback. Angela says, “I try our meals with students as much as possible to make sure they’re coming out the way we intended.”
Thank you, Angela, for your dedication, leadership, and all you do to elevate school meal programs.