Food-service director plans a tasteful trip through China

School District 5 Food Service Director Bertha Morrison will take foreign delicacies to a whole new level next month.

She heads for Beijing on Nov. 6, then spends the following 2 1/2 weeks tasting the culture, customs and cuisine of China.

Morrison was invited to join the People to People Ambassador Program, an unsought honor that came as a surprise when the letter arrived in her mail in February.

"As part of the delegation," Morrison said of her once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, "I'll have a great way to expand our food nutrition information with others in the group, as well as with the Chinese people."

President Dwight Eisenhower established the People to People Program in 1956 as part of his dream for a better world. Each year, delegations from many professional fields travel the world hoping to spread understanding and share knowledge for everyone's benefit.

The Kalispell woman is traveling with the School Nutrition Association delegation.

Morrison said she neither sits on their board, serves as an officer, nor applied for the trip, qualifications that often launch professionals into similar experiences in other areas. In fact, she was a bit skeptical when the invitation arrived, until further investigation proved it was a legitimate offer to broaden her professional horizons.

Morrison has worked in the District 5 food service program for 25 years, the last six as its director. She oversees a staff of 33.

School officials added their endorsement to her trip by sharing the cost with her. She also received a $200 scholarship from the School Nutrition Association's Montana affiliate.

In China, she said her group of 44 - 34 of them professional food nutrition associates - will land in Beijing, then travel to Guilin, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

During the 17 days, Morrison will take part in professional workshops and discussion groups, and tour schools, distribution centers, food manufacturing plants and a central kitchen.

"This is just to expand my knowledge of food nutrition," both with her American colleagues and the Chinese people, she said.

"China is moving more into children's nutrition. They're getting more into the school lunch programs and food centers for children."

The group is scheduled to meet with government officials to explore nutrition-related rules and regulations, she said, and meet other food professionals in the four cities.

In her absence, Morrison's staff is pitching in to take over duties involved in cooking and distributing about 3,000 lunches a day to District 5 and Trinity Lutheran School students and staff.

Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com.