On October 10, Nebraska Appleseed will gather again to celebrate the outstanding contributions of individuals and organizations who have stood up for justice and opportunity for all during the 2024 Good Apple Awards. We are proud to recognize this year’s honorees.
The Milo Mumgaard Emerging Leader Award, named after Appleseed’s founding executive director, recognizes young, emerging leaders who have a vision for the best of what Nebraska can be and, through initiative, hard work, and dedication, are pushing to make their vision a reality.
“Kayte Partch is a dedicated public servant that works to ensure that every Nebraska kid gets the healthy and nutritious school and summer meals they need to learn and grow. She goes above and beyond to advocate for students and families with local school districts, through policy decisions, and program administration.
Through her role as Director of Nutrition Services at the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE), Kayte leads a team that supports feeding around 68% (around 226,000) of the 330,000 students in Nebraska each day during the school year.
Kayte is a close partner with Appleseed on all things Child Nutrition and has contributed to joint efforts to expand school breakfast, summer meals, & programs that provide free school meals like the Community Eligibility Provision.
Kayte was essential to Nebraska expanding and implementing Summer EBT for summer 2024. When Nebraska was considering whether to adopt the program, Kayte collaborated closely with NDE leadership to communicate the essential role that Summer EBT would play in reducing childhood food security and how the program would support the health, wellbeing, and academic achievement of students even when school is out. This behind-the-scenes effort, her personal advocacy and communications, and commitment to serving Nebraskans were essential to the adoption of this program that provided 190,000 children with $120 EBT cards to buy groceries.
Kayte should be recognized for her transparency, willingness to listen, community-mindedness, and communication – all skills that support the kids getting meals in every corner of our state!” – Eric Savaiano, Program Manager: Food & Nutrition Access, Economic Justice
Kayte Partch is the Director of the USDA’s Child Nutrition Programs at the Nebraska Department of Education, a position she has held since 2021. She’s worked in the Child Nutrition Programs since 2013 after spending two years working for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension in Adams County where her roles included nutrition education in schools, for daycare providers, and for community groups, as well as food safety education for school foodservice staff. Kayte earned her Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Nutrition and Health Sciences from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She is married with two daughters and two dogs. And Kayte is motivated to share about and support the important and valuable work the Child Nutrition Programs do to reduce childhood hunger and food insecurity; she enjoys seeing how these programs touch children and families in every community across Nebraska.
Join us in celebrating Kayte Partch at the 2024 Good Apple Awards on October 10, 2024 or make a donation in honor of this year’s honorees. For more information, contact Denni Mitchell at dmitchell@neappleseed.org.