Our founder and CEO, Nancy Close, is from the restaurant family behind the first Afghan restaurant in the United States. Nancy grew up in, and eventually bought, that business, Caravan Serai, which birthed Caravan Kids Catering in the early 90s. That business is now known as CKC Good Food, a company known for combining delicious food and powerful experiences for clients, that has become one of the largest woman-owned food service partners in the nation. Among her many honors, Nancy was inducted into the Minnesota Women’s Business Hall of Fame in 2023. Nancy is also sole owner of Menu Freedom, which was launched in 2014 to extend CKC Good Food’s intellectual property nationally.
As former foodservice manager, Laurie trains schools on food safety guidelines and regulations, and service and reporting procedures; and helps prepare them for compliance reviews. She has been in the foodservice industry for more than 20 years, 13 of which were specifically in school foodservice positions managing student populations of up to 2,300 students. She is a certified School Nutrition Specialist, a ServSafe Certified Instructor and Exam Procter, a Registered Dietetic Technician, has achieved Level 3 Certification with the School Nutrition Association and has earned her Minnesota food manager certificate. She has an associate’s degree in applied science as a dietetic technician.
Shelly has worked in the foodservice industry for nearly 30 years, most recently as the foodservice director for the Staples-Motley (Minnesota) School District. While at the district, she became one of the first clients of NutriStudents K-12 and one of our biggest fans. She maximized the use of the full NutriStudents K-12 system to increase participation, decrease waste and achieve a dramatic financial turnaround. Unlike the years prior to NutriStudents K-12, she had a budget surplus nearly every year she used NutriStudents K-12, which helped her fund unplanned equipment purchases and maintenance. Prior to working for the district, Shelly was kitchen manager for May Creek Assisted Living in Walker, Minnesota, for 9 years.
James has parlayed his extensive front-line foodservice experience into a training and customer service, and menu/database development role with NutriStudents K-12. He began working for CKC Good Food, the sister company to NutriStudents K-12, in 2008, and has held roles including foodservice manager at two different client locations, chef, server, procurement representative, chef trainer and menu planner. He got his start in foodservice during high school, serving meals to residents of a senior living facility. James is ServSafe Certified and has a certificate of completion for the NUTRIKIDS Advanced 101 Program.
Andrew brings vast industry experience and a client-centered approach to his responsibilities with NutriStudents K-12. Always seeking to simplify tasks for clients, he is currently developing a complex new tool to automate menu selection and purchasing for our clients. He's also the creator of our proprietary Commodity Forecasting Tool and other analytical tools that support our value to clients. He has worked in foodservice since 2011 as a prep cook, kitchen manager and portion coordinator. Andrew is ServSafe certified, and has studied accounting, business management and music education.
With experience in both school foodservice and mainline food distribution, Jeanne provides valuable school nutrition expertise to the NutriStudents K-12 team and our clients. She serves as our Registered Dietitian, analyzing menus and recipes for nutritional content and compliance with federal guidelines. She was previously the director of foodservice for the Superior, Wisconsin, school district for 16 years, overseeing an annual budget of nearly $3 million, and the service of 6,500 breakfasts, lunches and after-school dinners daily. Prior to Superior, she worked in sales/marketing for food distribution company Upper Lakes Foods for 13 years. She is a past president of the Wisconsin School Nutrition Association.
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