Meet Chef Brenda, RDN

Everything that I learned from my formative years has driven me to pursue my career in child nutrition. Especially the positive experiences, influence, and support that I have received from my mother.

My mother worked at the elementary school I attended, as a lunch lady. She also maintained a substantial home garden every year – and still does to this day. She is also a fantastic cook!  On the farm, we had an abundance of fresh food from our garden and crops, animals that we raised, and milk from our very own cows. One of my favorite memories as a kid was going down to the barn to fill our 5-gallon milk jug. We would wait for the cream to raise to the top of the jug. Then we would remove the cream, place it in jars with a little salt, and then shake it for hours until it transformed into butter.

When I turned 12, my parents divorced, and we moved to the “Big City” of Nampa, ID. My mother raised me and my three siblings on her own. She continued working in food service for many years.  Including opening one of the first coffee shops in Idaho. Her love for crafted coffee was inherited from her Swedish mother. I had the opportunity to work in her coffee shop while pursuing my bachelor of science degree. That experience not only taught me a lot about coffee, but it also taught me a lot about being an entrepreneur.

I have been working in child nutrition since 2008. When I first started working with child nutrition professionals, I quickly fell in love with the people who put their hearts and souls into feeding America’s kids. Since then, I have made it my mission to create resources that empower child nutrition professionals to become more efficient, creative, and happy in their jobs. The best way that I can do that is to help them embrace nutrition, influence greatness within each other, and craft culinary cultures in their kitchens – which will ultimately inspire children to make healthy choices.