In terms of underrepresented prominent members of the State College School District administration, few people deserve more acknowledgement than State College Food Service Director Megan Schaper. Schaper, a soon to be retiree, has held the role of Food Service Director here in State College for 33 years now, and has been able to bring exponential growth and change to the way the district handles meals, access, and affordability.
“When you can have a job where you really enjoy what you’re doing, and you can actually impact other people and make other people’s lives better, there really isn’t anything better,” Schaper said.
For Schaper, her long-standing role as Food Service Director is significantly more than just a job. Although the role might appear to be fairly straightforward from the outside, the many layers and intricacies of the job makes her work substantially more rewarding. Far beyond the common thought of planning meals, keeping stock, and listening to students, Schaper’s work continues well after the school year ends.
Among the many affordability-driven programs promoted and funded by the State College Area School District in conjunction with the federal government, is the Non-Congregate Summer Meals program. This program has helped community members potentially facing food insecurity keep a steady stock of healthy groceries and other food items provided by the school district. The same program also offers lunch to students on a regular basis, helping defeat food insecurity for those who may be on free or reduced lunch programs.
“Families get excellent fresh, high quality food, and they have a lot of agency in choosing the things that are going to work well for their family. So it’s just a really great program,” Schaper said.
Within the school itself, Schaper’s role is still not as simple as many believe. Schaper oversees the hiring process, menu selection, inventory management, student and parent concerns, and federal regulations for nutrition, all while keeping the quality of food as high as possible.
In order to keep the funding from the federal government active, Schaper must keep the nutritional values of all school meals within a strict set of guidelines, often enabling creative solutions to potential problems.
“A big part of my job is not only making sure I plan the menus, but making sure I plan menus that meet all of the nutrient requirements,” Schaper stated. “[The meals] have enough calories, but not too many calories and not too much salt and not too much sugar and not too much fat…. So there’s like all these rules around what a school lunch needs to be, and that’s part of my job to make sure that we do that,” she continued.
Towards the end of June, Schaper will be passing the title of Food Service Direction onto Marissa Schaeffer, the former Executive Chef of the Nittany Lion Inn. Aside from the intense management experience that comes with the role of Executive Chef, Schaeffer has also been training under the wing of Schaper ever since her selection to take over the role.
“…I certainly got the sense that she had a lot of passion for the same kind of things that I have passion for,” Schaper said. “…when she starts talking about the possibilities and the things that she wants to try, it’s just I know it’s going to be a really great fit.”
Schaeffer intends to continue the efforts of her predecessor in regards to quality meals and creative options, and she remains undeterred in the face of intimidating circumstances. Having been the daughter of a chef, Schaeffer feels comfortable in an intense culinary environment.
“…this challenge and this new frontier, I love it… all this information that Meg and I are going over every day is an enormous amount of information, and there will be an adjustment period of time. But like any challenge, if you’re up for it, you start to live it,” Schaeffer said.
The fruits of Schaper’s 33 years of nonstop endeavors have certainly been noticed at schools all across the district, and a continuation of improvements will certainly be made by Schaeffer.
