Darla Koff, child nutrition specialist
Caesar Rodney (Del.) School District
Nominator: Paul Rodgers, child nutrition supervisor, Caesar Rodney School District
“I first met Darla Koff in June of 2015, when I was hired as the Child Nutrition Supervisor for the Caesar Rodney School District. At that time, Darla was the Assistant Kitchen Manager at the Caesar Rodney High School, a position she held for a couple of years prior to my arrival. Darla had no formal college education, though of course she had her high school diploma, but like many people Darla did not know what she wanted to be when she grew up.
I remember my first Kitchen Managers meeting in which I asked everyone in the room, “Where do you see yourself in three to five years?” Darla immediately responded by saying, “Someday I want to be just like you, Mr. Rodgers!” Yes, many in the room started to laugh and chuckle, but Darla was not kidding; she was very serious. This was an “ah ha” moment for Darla; she just realized what she wanted to be when she grew up.
Throughout the past eight years, Darla Koff has worked very hard, growing within the department, earning her own Kitchen Manager position at Allen Frear Elementary/Charlton School, then moving up into her current position, Child Nutrition Specialist, working in the district office for the Caesar Rodney School District, Child Nutrition Department. During this time, Darla also enrolled as a student at Wilmington University, where in January 2021 she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Management and in May 2023 will have earned her Masters in Organizational Leadership with a concentration in Human Resources.
Lastly, while achieving these goals over the past eight years Darla has also earned her SNS Credentialing, passing the School Nutrition Association SNS exam her very first time. In addition, Darla holds and has maintained her Level IV Certificate with the School Nutrition Association. Darla has also attended the Introduction to School Nutrition Leadership held at the Institute of Child Nutrition in Oxford, Mississippi and attended Produce Safety University hosted by the USDA in Columbia Maryland.
• Menu Planning: As the Child Nutrition Specialist, Darla is responsible for everything food related. She is responsible for implementing a four-week cycle menu for four different age groups: pre-K, K-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Darla is responsible for purchasing, analyzing nutritional/allergy information, recipe writing, HACCP identification, etc. of over 150 items. Darla is always in constant communication with all our building nurses to ensure carb count information is up to date and accurate. She also works collaboratively with these same school nurses on meals with that require special dietary restrictions and/or accommodations.
• Focus Groups: Darla routinely holds focus groups and/or taste-testing sessions with students of all age/grade groups to ensure new menu items will be well received. The interaction between Darla, the students and the administration of each school is so genuine. Darla always goes above and beyond to ensure accurate data is collected, but also making everyone feel like they are the most important person in that moment.
• Social Media: When it comes to social media for our department, Darla is it! She handles everything on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. Upon any visit on our Facebook page “CRFood4U” our community stakeholders will find pictures of our staff members, pictures of our students, pictures of our menus/food items, pictures of our decorations and contest. Darla does a fantastic job at marketing our department through these outlets.
• National School Lunch/Breakfast Weeks: Darla is always the one that gets everyone excited and pumped up when participating in National School Lunch and Breakfast Weeks. She constantly encourages, providing ideas and using “out of the box” creativity when getting her Kitchen Managers excited about these activities.
• National and Local Food Shows: Darla is constantly looking for that next great thing to put on her menu. Therefore, she is constantly attending food shows, both nationally and locally near the state of Delaware.
Since 2015 Darla has attended the following food shows:
• SNA, ANC 2017 – Atlanta
• SNA, ANC 2018 – Las Vegas
• SNA, ANC 2019 – St. Louis
• SNA, ANC 2022 – Orlando
• Maryland SNA Show 2022 – Ocean City, Md.
She is a member of the School Nutrition Association. Delaware School Nutrition Association and the American Commodity Distribution Association.”