Greater Nashua
Hudson’s Atherton receives state recognition for food service contributions
HUDSON — Karen Atherton, food services director for the Hudson School District, was recently named State Director of the Year by the School Nutrition Association. Atherton got her start in the food service industry working as a restaurant server when she was 16 years old. “My career began at a Dutch pantry in Mansfield, Pa., waitress to restaurant manager,” she said. Her career in institutional food service began when she moved to New Hampshire and took jobs at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, colleges and boarding schools. After a five-year hiatus following the birth of her twins, Atherton joined the district’s Food Services Department in 2006. She said the district’s food service program has “experienced meaningful growth and innovation” since she took the helm in 2023. “One of my first major initiatives was overseeing the renovation and relocation of the ...