Jen Montague is the Portland Public Schools’ new Food Service Director. Her appointment was approved by the Board of Public Education at its Oct. 1 meeting and she joined the district on Oct. 14.
Montague said she is honored and excited to join the PPS Food Service Team. Her qualifications include a master’s degree in nutrition; four years of experience as a school food service director at a district similar in size to PPS; one year writing nutrition education materials for the USDA Child Nutrition Programs in Washington, D.C.; five years teaching nutrition and food service management at Flathead Community College in Montana; and the last four years providing direct nutrition education to support pediatric patients with obesity at MaineHealth.
Montague has experience working collaboratively with community stakeholders to secure grants and build new systems, including cooperative purchasing with local farmers and ranchers, and she's looking forward to working with the fishing industry here in Maine. She worked with other districts to develop recipes and process products (like a lentil-beef crumble) that make sense for school food. The systems and partnerships she built in her previous roles continue to be utilized by districts across western Montana.
After several years working in a slightly different capacity here in Portland, Jen is eager to resume working within a school district. She knows a good food service program will contribute to improved learning, belonging and engagement for students. She was inspired by her interviews with the PPS hiring committee, and believes the district and the greater Portland community are supportive and eager to move forward with the types of goals she shares. These goals include improved food quality through more scratch cooking, more nutritious foods in accordance with improved USDA guidelines around added sugar, more local purchasing, and – most importantly – a more diverse menu that reflects the tastes and needs of the students PPS serves.
Jen is the parent of two children in the district.