Eleanor Pratt Collection

Elanor PrattCollection No.: M004

Volume: 1.60 cu. ft.

Inclusive Dates: 1950 - 1991

Bulk Dates: 1961-1972

Provenance: Initial donation given to NFSMI before 2003, officially presented by deed of gift in September 2004. Accretion 1 donated to Child Nutrition Archives September 26, 2004.

Copyright: This collection may be protected from unauthorized copying by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code).

Historical/Biographical Sketch:
Born in 1925 in Franklin, Tennessee, Ms. Pratt attended business school in Chattanooga and later the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga and the UT campus in Knoxville, where she graduated in 1957. In 1960 she completed a master's degree in Institution Management from UT Knoxville.

Ms. Pratt began her career in School Food Service in Clarksville, Tennessee, in 1957, as a supervisor in the city school system overseeing and supervising the lunchroom personnel. She was in charge of seven schools in the city system, all of which were on the School Lunch Program. She planned a central menu for the seven schools, supervised purchasing, and handled personnel employment, supervision, and training.

In June 1960, Ms. Pratt went to work for the USDA Regional Office in Atlanta as a home economist. At the USDA she worked with school personnel responsible for School Lunch and School Breakfast programs in the nine individual states in the southeast region at that time. She developed and revised the guides available from the USDA, including Menu Planning Guide, Food Buying Guides, and Type A Menus. Ms. Pratt also assisted in evaluating state agencies to insure they complied with federal requirements and provided guidance and training for their staff. She developed training materials, taught workshops, and spoke at various meetings. In 1961, she worked with the Southeast Area Evaluation Project Committee, which produced Evaluation of School Lunch Training- A Report. Ms. Pratt also coauthored What's for Lunch with Louise Sublette and Lucille Bishop. In 1994 she retired after serving as home economist for thirty-four years at the USDA Regional Office in Atlanta.

Scope and Content:
The collection consists of training materials, including handouts, course outlines, examinations and answer keys, lists, checklists, and presentations; as well as resource material such as articles, publications and reports. Other training topics include menu planning, food safety, personnel relations and personnel development for managers, and equipment safety.

Series:
The collection is divided into several series:
Series 1: Training Materials - Boxes 1 and 2
Series 2: Course outlines, handouts, and examinations - Boxes 1 and 2
Series 3: Materials for "Work Simplification" training - Boxes 2 and 3
Series 4: Materials and publications for Foodservice Equipment purchasing, use, and safety training - Boxes 2 and 3
Series 5: Correspondence - Box 4
Series 6: Clippings - Box 4

Inventory:

Box 1
Inclusive Dates: 1950-1975

  1. Food Preparation. 1961-1963
    Seven items in folder: Articles clipped from journals on food preparation and recipes.
    USDA booklet, February 1961
    School Lunch Journal, September 1963

  2. Management. 1963-1972
    Thirty-nine items in folder: Handouts, course outlines, and training materials on food service management
    Organization and Management Developed by: Eleanor Pratt, Area Home Economist, USDA. Package outline, handouts, list of materials, with December 1962 issue of "Plentiful Foods" attached. 1963.
    Equipment Scheduling handout. Clemson, May 1972

  3. Menu Planning. 1961-1967
    Twenty-Four items in folder: Articles clipped from journals, handouts and information sheets on menu planning and basic nutrition.
    Group work on planning menus discussion outline, practical exercises and charts for July 24 and 25, 1961, Jacksonville, Alabama, workshop.
    Cost of 1/2 Cup Serving of Canned Vegetables and Fruits chart. USDA. March 1967

  4. Misc. 1967-1975
    Fourteen items in folder: Articles, charts, handouts, and newsletter. Topics include: management training, nutrition, Type A lunches
    USDA Development of Basic Nutrition Concepts for Use in Nutrition Education talk given by Ruth Leverton to nutritional education conference February 22, 1967.
    Type A Topics newsletter. March 1975.

  5. Personnel Relations. 1972-1973
    Thirty-two items in folder: Articles and handouts including poems on personnel relations, self and personnel evaluation checklists, charts, and forms. Mostly undated.
    Decatur City School Food Service Policies revised January 1, 1972
    Blai, B. (1973, August) Some Basics of Sound Human Relations. Personnel Journal.

  6. Purchasing. 1961-1973
    Seventeen items in folder: instructor's guides, course outlines, handouts for courses in determining quantity and purchasing foods.
    Improving the nutritive value of school lunches through organized food buying outline dated 1/9/61
    Bid specs ensure quality, lower costs. (1973) School Foodservice Journal.

  7. Safety. 1951-1968
    Thirteen items in folder: Articles clipped from journals and discussion outlines on safety, specifically in the school lunchroom workplace.
    "Color in Industry," Data Sheet 219. National Safety Council. copyright 1951.
    Good machine safety. (November/December 1968) School Lunch Journal.

  8. Sanitation. 1960-1971
    Twelve items in folder: articles and fact sheet on food poisoning, food borne diseases, and safety in food preparation, particularly of turkey.
    Hodge, B. E. (April 1960) Control of staphylococcal food poisoning. Public Health Reports.
    Bryan, F. L. and McKinley, T. W. (Nov./Dec. 1971) Prevention of foodborne illness from turkeys served in schools.

  9. Sanitation, Safety, and Storage. 1959-1961
    Two items in folder: tabbed course outlines with copies of articles from 1959, 1960, and 1961 attached.

  10. Serving School Lunches. Not dated.
    Eight items in folder: outlines, handouts, handwritten notes on ideas, tips, and suggestions for serving school lunch including portion control and attractive appearance of tray. Not dated.

  11. Storage. 1950-1962
    Nine items in folder: articles and booklets on food storage practice, refrigerators, and closing for summer.
    A look at the school lunch storeroom. USDA. June 1950.
    Leidigh, M. (April 1962) Receiving and Warehousing. School Lunch Journal.

Box 2
Inclusive Dates: 1958 - 1974

  1. Training. 1959-1962
    Two items in folder: Training tabbed outline with articles attached from 1959, 1960, 1961. Bonnell, M. (June 1962) Why have personnel problems? School Lunch Journal.

  2. Work Schedules. 1962-1967
    Twenty-six items in folder: course outlines, sample work schedule charts, examination with answer key, and three issues of "Plentiful Foods" newsletters with articles on work scheduling tips and suggestions.
    "Plentiful Foods" February 1962 newsletter
    Augustine, C. L. (May 1967) Scheduling by Computer. Journal of Home Economics.

  3. Work Simplifications - 1. 1962
    Clasp envelope containing seven booklets dealing with aspects of "work simplification". Copyright 1962.

  4. Work Simplifications- 2. 1951-1961
    Forty-five items in folder: handouts, course outlines, lists, charts, articles and topical booklets.
    Fatigue in Everyday Activities discussion outline. Home Economics Extension. C. M. Sullivan 10/1/51. HEE3548
    How to Use Portion Cost Charts. Koch Refrigerators Service Bulletin. March 15, 1961.

Non-Foldered Items:

  • School Food Service Policies and Standards Book- Southern States Work-Conference (2 copies) 1967 Food Service Sanitation Manual.
  • Institutional Sanitary Food Service Training Course Manual in Environmental Engineering and Food Protection. USDHEW Public Health Service. December 1965
  • Descriptive Details NSF Standard #2, Food Service Equipment, National Sanitation Foundation. December 1974
  • Problem Solving II, Test Your P.R. Quotient- 1970
  • Six Keys to Evaluating Extension Work. USDA PA-371. November 1958.
  • Evaluation of School Lunch Training- A Report. 1961
  • Handbook for Centralized Purchasing.1967
  • Foodservice Equipment Dealer- Volume II.

Box 3
Inclusive Dates: 1956 - 1973
All Non Foldered Items:

  • Design Criteria. School food service facilities. 1972
  • Sanitation of Food Service Establishments. A Guide for On-the-job Training of Personnel- 1962
  • Guidelines on Maintenance and Protection of Food Service Equipment- drafts
  • KOCH Food Service Information- 1957
  • Course Outline- Equipment Use and Care. School Lunch Program. Florida State Dept. of Education. 1963
  • Training Course Outline on Use and Care of Equipment- USDA- 1960
  • Instructors Guide- Organization and Personnel Management- 1969
  • What's for Lunch- 1963- ASFSA Convention.
  • Food Yields- Summarized by Different Stages of Preparation- Agricultural Handbook No. 102. USDA. 1956
  • Student's/Instructor's Manual- Organization and Management. 1973
  • Purchasing Pointers for Foods for Type A School Lunches. USDA. 1960
  • Student's Manual- Work Simplification- 1973

Accretion 1: 9-26-2004: .25 cu. ft.

Box 4
Inclusive Dates: 1958-1991

  1. Photograph: Eleanor Pratt - CN labeling. Public Affairs Staff. Photocopied and scanned, original returned to Miss Pratt.

  2. ELEANOR PRATT (WORKING FILE) Letters. 1960-1991
    145 items in folder (photocopies, originals returned to Miss Pratt): seventy letters of appreciation, undated resume for Eleanor Pratt, certificates, personal notes, newspaper clippings, letters planning or scheduling workshops and evaluations, evaluation reports, programs from conferences.
    Letter. Ruth Crabtree, Area Supervisor, School Lunch Program, Virginia Board of Ed. Aug 19, 1960.
    Letter. Alberta C. Frost, Director ACDA. April 4, 1991

  3. Three Pamphlets: Two from Florida. USDA, PA-371 Nov 1958

  4. What's for Lunch? ASFSA Convention 1963. By Louise Sublette, Eleanor Pratt, Lucille Bishop.

  5. Plentiful Foods Monthly List for School Lunch Programs. Dec 1962.

  6. A Guide for Planning Food Service in Child Care Centers. FNS-64. FNS. USDA. 1971.

  7. SE Area Conference. Strengthening Leadership Through Evaluation. May 29 - June 2, 1961. With "Evaluation of School Lunch Training" report.

  8. The National School Lunch Program. Background and Development. FNS-63. 1971