DCPS Food Services Staff Earns Praise

 The school nutrition professionals of the Daviess County Public Schools district takes pride in serving delicious and nutritious meals – approximately 4,000 breakfasts and 10,000 lunches each day. 

The food services staff is also dedicated to meeting the needs of 307 students across the district who have food allergies, and an additional 47 children who have diabetes and who also require menu monitoring. 

Lisa Sims, DCPS food services director, said her staff works closely with school nurses and parents to develop menus that meet these challenges. Their goal for kids with allergies or diabetes is the same as their goal for all students: Making sure kids have access to good meals so they can do their best in the classroom. 

Jennifer Logsdon’s son was recently diagnosed with an allergy. Mrs. Logsdon contacted the lunchroom manager at Burns Elementary School, and says Donna Ebelhar “went above and beyond the call of duty” to ensure the well-being of her child. Ebelhar even called the manufacturers of each item on her cafeteria menu to obtain a list of all ingredients so the allergy doctor could order appropriate blood work that helped them identify the allergen, which was corn.

Ebelhar continued to communicate with the family, providing copies of upcoming menus so Mrs. Logsdon could coordinate what she was serving at home to ensure that her son’s intake of corn stayed within acceptable limits. “She truly cares about each child as if they were her own,” Mrs. Logsdon said. “I feel very blessed and comforted knowing she is watching out for my son every day while he is at school.” 

Sims agreed. “Donna does go above and beyond in her daily work and is much appreciated by parents, students, staff and by me!” she said. 

As for Donna Ebelhar, she is very modest about her contribution. “I feel it is part of my job and responsibility to make sure that all our kids have a nutritious meal and that they get plenty to eat, regardless of whether they have an allergy or not,” she said. “I am very passionate about my job and want to make sure that my staff and I are aware of what needs to be done every day and in every situation.”