Food Service staff reflect on School Hero Lunch Day
![Left: West High food service staff pose in front of a pink flag gifted to Michele Salzsieder. Right: A silver freezer wall is covered in colorful cards and drawings from Sullivan students]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1746552013/gbapsorg/y1lxmg8tyvbacccg1f9v/Foodservicestaffreflect2025.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1746552013/gbapsorg/y1lxmg8tyvbacccg1f9v/Foodservicestaffreflect2025.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1746552013/gbapsorg/y1lxmg8tyvbacccg1f9v/Foodservicestaffreflect2025.png","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1746552013/gbapsorg/y1lxmg8tyvbacccg1f9v/Foodservicestaffreflect2025.png","width":1100}])
Schools across the Green Bay Area Public School District showed appreciation for nutrition professionals on our Food Service teams on May 2, 2025.
With School Lunch Hero Day on May 2, West High School Food Service Head Cook Michele Salzsieder said she was overwhelmed with the appreciation she was shown.
Salzsieder is retiring at the end of this school year after 30 years in the Green Bay Area Public School District. Students, administrators and staff surprised her with several gifts in recognition of School Lunch Hero Day and her retirement.
“I retired after 30 years and received so much gratitude from them this Friday, that I was overwhelmed realizing how many people I touched,” Salzsieder said.
She received a decorative flag from two students, flowers from the West High School administration team and a membership to the Green Bay Botanical Gardens from her coworkers.
“The gifts paled in comparison to all the people that gave me a hug and kind words of how they will miss me and my personality,” Salzsieder said.
Not only did staff at West High School show Salzsieder the impact she’s made, but she said she’s heard from students at other schools around the District.
“In this last year a student who graduated from Preble [high school] when I worked there in 2013 reached out to me,” Salzsieder said. “She wanted to let me know how important I was in her life and that I healed her heart when she needed it most. I had no idea that I had that impact on her and was deeply touched.”
Food Service staff at Sullivan Elementary School shared their appreciation for students and teachers after School Lunch Hero Day this year.
Second graders in Mrs. Teresa Terzich’s class created thank you cards and drawings as a thank you to the Sullivan Food Service team. Food Service team member Ashley Sustman said the student’s work brightens up the kitchen.
“We love having all of them hung in our kitchen to now look at instead of our boring grey cooler wall,” Sustman said.
School Lunch Hero Day is celebrated annually each spring to recognize school nutrition professionals and recognize the difference these team members make for every child who comes through their cafeteria.
