Educational Service District 123

ESD 123, ESD 105, and ESD 101 Nutrition Cooperative:

Feeding the Future Together

What we do:

Team Nutrition is part of a Washington State Mentorship Program that works directly with ESD 123, ESD 105, ESD 171, and ESD 101 school district food service personnel to offer training, resources, and support within their programs. We customize our services based on the needs of each district in our Co-Op. These services include but are not limited to:

• Recipes – update, standardize, and credit current recipes. Introduce new recipes with an emphasis on whole foods and scratch cooking.
• Menu – assist in meeting meal pattern requirements and developing cycle menus.
• Production Records – create pre-filled production record templates for the cycle menu.
• Special Diets – work with parents, administrators, nurses, and food service staff to create a safe operating procedure for special dietary needs.
• Training – provide training to meet annual professional standards requirements; provide culinary training for school food service personnel.
• Grants – assist in locating and writing grant applications.
• Nutrition Education – support in providing additional resources to facilitate student education.
• Administrative Review – help with preparing documentation for the Administrative Review.
• Farm to School Coordinator – assist in connecting local food producers to school districts; provide educational materials, help facilitate field trips, and more. 

Who we are:

Joanna Livingston joined ESD 123 after a 27-year career in School Food Services working for the same company. She began her profession as a dishwasher at ESD 112 back in 1996 and during that time, she grew in her knowledge and passion for feeding students healthy and nutritious meals. She became a food service director in 2007 for a small private school and eventually came to Moses Lake School District where she became the Assistant Director of Dining Services.  

Joanna strives to serve and support students and food service staff at ESD 123 and 105 in their needs to expand and promote school nutrition. She continues to learn and grow in her passion to promote health and wellness through the foods our districts serve to students across the state. 

Joanna Livingston, 
Team Nutrition Mentor
[email protected] 
509-544-5712

Josie Norrish is our Regional Farm to School Coordinator, serving ESD 123 and ESD 105. She has experience working on small farms throughout the United States, Central and South America, and is continuously learning about food service in Public Schools through her position. She is eager to use her passion and skillset to help facilitate connections between local food producers and school districts.
Josie Norrish,
Farm to School Coordinator
[email protected]  
509-703-1629

Want to Learn More?

Interested in participating in our Nutrition Mentorship Program and want to learn more?

Reach out and tell us about your needs here.  

Learn more about the Farm to School Program here.

Hear what Food Service Directors are saying: 

Nichole McKernan
Soap Lake School District

My experience with Team Nutrition has been so helpful.  I am a new Food Service Director and they have offered support in every aspect of my new position.  I needed assistance in getting ready for an OSPI audit and the team helped me pass the audit by getting in compliance with many items I was unsure of. I now understand the Farm to School program, and I am excited to participate in that next year! 

Carrie Hoburg
Finley School District

I started my new position as Food Service Director in January of 2023. My administration signed me up for Team Nutrition, and it was the most valuable tool I could have asked for. Three months into the new position, I had an audit and if it were not for my mentor helping me through the steps, I would have been lost. This past year and a half having Team Nutrition has helped me gain knowledge and peace of mind knowing that I have a team to reach out to for answers and advice. The culinary trainings I have attended have been fun and I have used the skills and recipes to help my staff and menu!

Amy Hickok
Kahlotus School District

Team Nutrition has enabled our district to establish and maintain standards of food menu items that are compliant with USDA mandates. Furthermore, Team Nutrition has several modes of professional development that allow food service workers to better understand the complexities of meeting the USDA mandates. I appreciate the opportunity for our district to partner with Team Nutrition