Groton’s Neville honored for exceptional leadership

Groton Central School’s (GCS) food service director, Kelley Neville, was asked to attend the district’s Board of Education (BOE) meeting Feb. 28 to formally accept a donation for the district’s lunch program from Addie Clore. Clore is in eighth grade at Groton Jr./Sr. High School (GHS), an active member of the school’s FFA (Future Farmers of America) chapter and a junior member of the Farm Bureau.

Clore presented Neville with a check for $1,000, which was the result of a fundraiser to give schools additional funds for their lunch programs to help families who struggle with food insecurity.

The Tompkins County Farm Bureau, Crossroads Bar and Grille and the FFA chapters in GHS and TST BOCES joined forces this past September during National Hunger Awareness Month and were able to raise $6,000 so that every Tompkins County school district’s food service director — in Dryden, Groton, Ithaca, Lansing, Newfield and Trumansburg — was awarded a $1,000 check.

Clore and Abby Thomas, who is also in FFA and a junior member of the Farm Bureau, made videos throughout August and September with chef Jay Dietershagen from Crossroads Bar and Grille to donate to a GoFundMe page to support their local schools in ending hunger.

“Abby and I are looking forward to doing the fundraiser again this year with the support of the Farm Bureau and the FFA,” Clore said. “And chef Jay is talking about biking from the point of Florida back to New York to raise money.”

Neville explained that she intends to use the donation to fund the Chef’s Corner, a weekly opportunity for students to sample new foods they may not have tried before, and an afterschool dining club that was popular with students prior to the pandemic but had been curtailed as a result.

“I recently had a student come to me, with a fast-food burger in hand, who asked me, ‘When are we ever going to have that thing back when we can try new healthy foods?’” Neville said. “So, that was proof enough for me that that’s where the extra funds should go.”

Neville was surprised to see her husband, daughter, parents and siblings enter the boardroom, but she soon found out there was more reason for her invitation to the BOE meeting than receiving the donation to her program.

“Kelley has been emerging as a positive voice and leader among the food service directors in the region,” GCS Superintendent Margo Martin said. “She does not accept the ‘we can’t only because we never have’ mentality, and the board and the district saw this as the perfect opportunity to acknowledge how she has gone above and beyond in every way since she started.”

Four years ago, Neville submitted and received approval for an initial Community Eligibility Provision grant, securing free breakfast and lunch for every student in the district for the next five years.

Recently, despite being short-staffed and having to manually enter over 800 students into the system because of a software glitch, Neville submitted an updated application to extend the grant eligibility for another five years one year early due to more favorable percentages for the district, which would mean a greater reimbursement rate.

“Kelley rolled up her sleeves and completed the lengthy application despite the obstacles when, in reality, she could have waited another year to apply,” Martin said.

Neville is also a founding member of the Groton HARVEST initiative, which promotes nutritious meals for families under the premise that food security is a right, not a privilege.

The resulting work of HARVEST, in collaboration with the Park Foundation, has been new professional development for school food service workers throughout the region and, specifically for the Groton CSD, two greenhouses, new menu items and the equipment needed to prepare them, community initiatives to promote healthy food choices such as garden boxes, participation in community events to share healthy foods and menus, the dining club for students and the Chef’s Corner program.

In addition, Neville pursues grant funding through alternative revenue streams to try to minimize the strain on the district budget. As a result, she recently secured about $10,000 in kitchen equipment.

“Kelley has taken the cafeteria fund from operating in the red upon her arrival to operating in the black by making food from scratch rather than buying pre-packaged and being proactive with the state bidding process,” Martin said. “Meals now average a district cost of 80 cents each. They were up over a dollar when she arrived.”

Neville also volunteers to assist with community events such as the Groton Rotary- and GCSD-sponsored free spaghetti dinner during the pandemic, is a member of the Groton Fire Department, is active with youth sports and is a general help to anyone who needs to get a project going.

“Kelley has worked short-staffed for the past 18 months,” Martin said. “And with the shortage in the food supply chain, she has had to be both persistent and creative to continue to provide our students with healthy and delicious meals and has a leadership style that has her rolling up her sleeves to work with her team to make sure all our students are fed. She arrives at work at 6 a.m. and is often here until 4 p.m., certainly showing she is willing to go above and beyond the call of duty.”

For all these accomplishments and more, it is easy to see why Martin and the Groton BOE were compelled to honor Neville for the great and admirable work she does to benefit the students, families and community of Groton.

“This district has always supported me and never questioned me,” Neville said. “I am so proud to be here to do this for the kids — that’s why we’re here!”

Groton on the Inside appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Submit story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com or text or call Linda at (607) 227-4922.

In brief:

Ridge Runners spaghetti supper

The Groton Ridge Runners Snowmobile Club will hold a spaghetti supper from 4:30 to 8 p.m. March 12 at its clubhouse, 748 Salt Rd., 1 mile north of Route 90. Meals include all-you-can-eat spaghetti and meatballs, salad bar, dessert bar and beverage.

Cost is $10 for adults, $9 for senior citizens and $8 for children ages 5 through 12. Children 4 and under eat for free. This is a perfect way to enjoy a unique dining experience in a rustic country setting. Take-out dinners are also available.

Cub Scout Derby winners

Congratulations to all the Pack 10 Cub Scouts and their families for a successful Pinewood Derby Day on Feb. 19!

The den winners were Tommy Turanski from the Lions (kindergarten), Henry Watson from the Tigers (first grade), Joey Montreuil from the Wolves (second grade), Alex Turanski from the Bears (third grade) and Cayden Hale from the Webelos (fourth and fifth grades).

The open winners were Alex Turanski (first place overall), Henry Watson (second place overall) and Cayden Hale (third place overall). Bear Scout Bently Cooper took “Best in Show.”

GPL book club

The Groton Public Library monthly book club meeting will be held via Zoom March 17 at 7 p.m. This month’s book is “The Warmth of Other Suns” by Isabel Wilkerson. Call (607) 898-5055 or email director@grotonpubliclibrary.org to get your copy and the Zoom link.