Professional Work Deserves Professional Pay

Any conversation about higher wages has to start with the budget. Raises don’t happen just because the work is hard. They happen when the program can afford them. In school nutrition, strong budgets are built through strong participation—and participation is driven by professional decisions made every day.

School nutrition is not simple. Every decision has a financial impact. What’s on the menu affects whether students choose the meal. How students are treated affects whether they come back tomorrow. How the program is talked about in the school and community affects reputation. That’s why USDA requires professional standards training. This work takes skill, judgment, and responsibility.

When participation goes up, revenue increases. When revenue increases, programs have more flexibility to invest in staffing. Professional work leads to professional results—and those results help support professional wages.

But wages don’t follow effort alone. They rise based on how the work is defined, measured, and perceived by decision-makers and the public. Start building professional identity with these three action steps.

Action Step 1: Clearly Define the Job

Professional identity begins with language, and language quietly controls pay. The words used to describe a job matter. Titles that sound informal or outdated like lunch lady or kitchen helper can undermine the complexity of the work and limit wage potential. Professional titles and job descriptions should reflect the real skills required. An organization chart that shows leadership roles and levels of supervision helps others understand that school nutrition is a professional operation.

Action Step 2: Show the Value

Data helps show that connection. Compare school nutrition job pay to other district roles with similar responsibilities for cost control, people, safety and regulatory compliance. Benchmark wages against the local job market and area districts with a similar profile. Turnover data strengthens the case for higher wages by showing how vacancies, overtime, recruiting, training and onboarding are expensive. When staff are compensated fairly, they stay longer and programs run better, saving money over time. Compensation is a cost control strategy, not a liability.

Action Step 3: Make Professional Identity Visible

How school nutrition jobs are perceived affects how the work is valued. In many ways, school nutrition professionals manage greater operational complexity than the restaurant world. They balance large scale production, strict nutrition standards, food safety, labor management and cost control every day, with no room for error. Professional uniforms and positive customer service signal skill and credibility. Social media plays a powerful role in shaping public perception. When districts consistently tell their story showing leadership, high standards, teamwork and the skill behind school meals, public understanding improves.

Everyone Has a Role

Raising wages takes teamwork, but not everyone does the same work in the process.

• Directors lead Steps 1 and 2 by defining professional roles and using comparison data to speak up at the district level.

• Managers and supervisors support those efforts by maintaining standards, leading by example and using data for accurate forecasting, ordering and cost control

• Staff lead Step 3 through professional appearance, positive customer service, following standard operating procedures and ongoing skill building.

Final Thoughts

When professional identity grows, budgets strengthen, respect increases and wages can rise. School nutrition professionals are operational experts running one of the most regulated food systems in the community. It's time compensation reflects that reality. Remember, if you don’t embrace your role as a professional, no one else will.