1. Etienne Melcher Philbin-

Directory Duputy, School and out-of-time programs from FRAC (Food Research & Action Center)

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Her main role within FRAC has been to help to expand child nutrition and school cafeteria meal programs. We think that Etienne would have valuable insight from an activist perspective as to how Covid-19 has impacted school cafeteria programs and workers’ ability to serve and deliver food to food insecure students

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2. Caroline Fassett-

Journalist from NJ.com

Writes about cafeteria workers during Covid-19.

 

Within the last year, she has produced many articles detailing how the pandemic has affected a multitude of different aspects of communities in New Jersey. In late January, she published the article: COVID disrupts lives of school bus drivers and cafeteria workers, from erratic schedules to pay cuts and health concerns. This article detailed the difficulties for cafeteria workers during Covid-19, and we thought that she would have insight from a journalistic standpoint as to how Covid-19 has impacted cafeteria workers. You can read some of her articles here.

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3. Tracy Perron-

Associate Professor in the School of Nursing

Her research falls under: bullying among school-aged children, school health, childhood obesity, and community health

Certified school nurse and certified school nurse

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Dr. Tracy Perron is a registered nurse as well as professor in nursing at The College of New Jersey. She has a background as a school nurse and has focused her research around pediatric nutrition especially in school settings. We thought that she would make an excellent addition to our panel since she could get her perspective as a health expert as to how the lunch system during Covid-19 has impacted students’ health.  

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