Sponsor Spotlight: Maves Ranola with Lutheran Services Florida

Maves has been with LSF for over 12 years and oversees all aspects of the nutrition and CACFP operations for Head Start sites and family homes. Maves’ career began in nutrition and dietetics, first serving families through WIC before moving into Head Start. She brings 18 years of CACFP experience to her work.  Maves has always been passionate about community nutrition and is committed to strengthening these programs that make a daily difference in children’s lives.

 

“I’m one of those people who really just believes in the power of nutrition access and how nutrition impacts a child’s ability to learn, grow and thrive, especially with the population that we serve.”

 

Under Maves’ leadership, LSF continues to expand its CACFP work into other areas of the State. The team at LSF is committed to creating strong, sustainable programs that build healthy Floridian communities. In fact, Mave believes that LSF is a successful sponsor because of their devoted team that sees the CACFP as a platform that can have lifelong impacts.

 

“I believe that our success really comes from teamwork, communication and a strong sense of purpose. We see CACFP not just as a compliance program, but as access to nutritious meals and snacks that support health and development, and also as a platform to teach children and families about healthy habits.”

 

That’s why the most important advice Maves would give to others sponsoring the CACFP is to invest in your team. Prioritizing training for staff and helping them to understand the “why” behind their work ensures that everyone on the team can play their part in the collective effort to feed children. In addition, when staff are invested in the mission, they will spread that same message with the providers they work with and to others in the community.

Maves sees the CACFP as a mechanism to get nutritious meals to children and, beyond the meal, as an opportunity to teach children lifelong healthy habits. As a dietitian, Maves is passionate about nutrition and teaching children to explore new foods. She also understands that when children understand good nutrition, they also bring those lessons home to their families – expanding the impact of the CACFP on families’ nutrition.

 

“CACFP is about access, right? So, it’s about ensuring every child in our program receives healthy meals that help them fuel learning and development. We want to make sure when the kids come in at the start of the day, they have a nutritious breakfast and are ready to learn. For many families, CACFP helps ease the stress of food insecurity and they know that when they leave their children with us, we are providing breakfast, lunch and snack. We want to make sure that the meals we do provide are getting them the nutrition that they need because we don’t know what they have at home. Beyond the meals itself, CACFP provides opportunities to teach children lifelong habits.”

 

Seeing the difference that the CACFP makes daily is what motivates Maves to continue working in the CACFP. She is constantly reminded – whether it's from a child trying a new vegetable or a parent successfully helping their child navigate a food allergy – that the work she does matters.

Looking ahead, Maves is excited to strengthen family engagement efforts around nutrition and wellness. This year, LSF received nutrition funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to expand its garden to table education program. With these funds, LSF will be providing families with Earth Kit Boxes to start their own gardens at home and will give them the training and tools they need to bring their garden to the table.