School Nutrition Association • November/December 2022 • What’s Cooking @ SNA

School nutrition professionals need to be confident in catering to all students’ needs, especially those with food allergies. Managing allergies in a school kitchen can be complicated and intimidating—but learning more about best practices doesn’t have to be, thanks to SNA’s Food Allergy Resource Center, available at www.schoolnutrition.org/food-allergies, and made possible with support from the National Peanut Board.

In this collection of links, articles and tools, you’ll fi nd pertinent facts about the most common food allergies (including sesame, a recent addition to the “Big Nine” major food allergens), along with answers to common food allergy questions and scenarios. Explore resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including the downloadable Food Allergies in Schools Toolkit, which features tip sheets for school administrators and school nutrition professionals. Browse through the library of additional curated resources, such as videos from the National Peanut Board and links to food allergy advocacy organizations. Sign up to view SNA’s on-demand food allergy-focused webinars for additional training.

Still have questions about allergy reactions, treatment and research? Dietitians with special training in food allergies are standing by to answer queries submitted on the “Ask the Allergy Expert” page.

The more you know and understand about this important food safety topic, the better prepared you and your cafeteria team will be to meet the needs of students with food allergies safely and successfully.

Become a Better Advocate of School Meals

Legislators on Capitol Hill and in statehouses across the country want to hear from their constituents, and as a school nutrition professional, you have the power to help shape the policies that will advance school meal programs. You might assume your voice won’t have an impact, but effective communications strategies are the key to gaining attention and making a compelling case for positive change.

SNA recently debuted a new edition of its Advocacy Toolkit, a PDF resource that offers tips and advice to help empower you to be a confident voice for school nutrition. In the Toolkit, you’ll find explanations of the legislative process, including how a bill becomes a law, the differences between legislation and regulation and the rule-making process.

With these fundamentals under your belt, discover the specific tools you can put into place to leverage your school nutrition expertise through the SNA Action Network. These include online and in-person outreach to legislators and their staff, SNA’s annual Legislative Action Conference, plus maximizing education opportunities like town halls and cafeteria site visits.

Next, dig into communications strategies, and learn how to develop and deliver an impactful message. The Toolkit also includes a link to SNA’s PR Resources, which feature media and outreach guides, talking points, customizable brochures, presentations and letters to the editor and much more. You’ll gain insight into how to respond to calls to action in support of positive legislation or raise concerns about the negative impacts of problematic proposals.

The Toolkit also includes helpful advice for state affiliates developing their own advocacy plans, including tips for developing a position paper and hiring a state lobbyist. You’ll also discover email templates for contacting senators and representatives and step-by- step guides on writing messages to legislators, plus links to successful advocacy stories, important definitions and educational videos and web resources.

For opportunities to raise your voice and be an advocate of school meals, be on the lookout for SNA Action Alerts in your email so you can answer SNA’s calls to action about important school meals legislation. Download the Advocacy Toolkit at www.schoolnutrition.org/Advocacy-Toolkit. For updates on important policies and legislation and information on how you can help, sign up for Action Alerts at www.schoolnutrition.org/Takeaction.

#SNIC23: Getting Fresh in San Diego

GET A FRESH START ON 2023 by connecting and collaborating with your peers from school districts and vendor partner companies at SNA’s School Nutrition Industry Conference (SNIC), the most innovative conference you’ll find that is exclusive to the K-12 school foodservice segment. This year’s event, to be held January 15-17 in San Diego, will explore “Fresh Ideas in School Nutrition.”

SNIC23 will take full advantage of ts in-person, non-hybrid format, with pre-conference tour opportunities to visit San Diego Unified School District and a local dairy farm, along with numerous networking opportunities and a wide variety of educational sessions. Many popular legacy features of SNIC are back, including the Tabletop Showcase, Innovative Solutions Sessions, STEPS Strive to Thrive Wellness Challenge and the FAME Awards and Dinner hosted by Basic American Foods.

Visit www.schoolnutrition.org/snic to start exploring the details of the packed agenda. You’re sure to get excited about:

• fresh perspectives on managing supply chain disruptions by staying ahead of uncertainties through innovative practices

• taking stock of current participation trends and reducing barriers to program growth

• supporting employee well-being and mental health while leading teams through challenging times

Plus, USDA has been invited to provide a regulatory update and conduct a listening session to hear about key challenges in child nutrition.

Time is running out to take advantage of early-bird savings on registration fees before they expire on November 30, as well as SNA’s discounted hotel room block at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina. SNA’s conference rate will not be available after December 23 or prior to that date if the room block is full. Don’t delay, visit the website to learn more. Make your fresh start a fabulous one for 2023!

BE GENEROUS ON #GIVINGTUESDAY

Save the date and show your support for SNA members and school meals by donating to the School Nutrition Foundation (SNF) during this year’s #GivingTuesday campaign on November 29. This year, your donations will have twice the impact, thanks to the generosity of Tyson Foods, which will match all donations up to a total of $10,000!

Supporting SNF means supporting your fellow school nutrition professionals and the programs they operate. With the money raised on #GivingTuesday and through other fundraising activities, SNF offers scholarships and grants to SNA members to purchase equipment, attend conferences and grow their careers. SNA also works to advance school nutrition programs by promoting research, sustainability and innovation—and your donations on #GivingTuesday this November will help the Foundation continue that work. When you give to SNF, you gain the gifts of knowledge and growth, mentorship and inspiration, and community and possibility.

To make a #GivingTuesday donation, visit www.tinyurl.com/GivingTues22-SNmag on November 29. After donating, share your support (and maybe add a little bit of peer pressure!) on social media by tagging @SchoolNutritionFoundation and @SchoolNutritionAssociation, and using SNF’s #WhatsYourGift hashtag. Be sure to tag SNA colleagues and friends in your posts to challenge them to donate and spread the word about SNF’s efforts to uplift SNA members.

Research at the Ready

It’s important to have access to evidence- and research-backed information on current issues affecting school nutrition. Whether it’s information about nutrition standards, evaluation of new school meal practices, research on food safety or dozens of other related topics, SNA’s The Journal of Child Nutrition & Management (JCN&M) has the peer-reviewed, scholarly articles that will help inform you and other stakeholders in your school community. JCN&M is published digitally twice each year. The newly released Fall 2022 issue features research on the following topics:

• the effects of supply chain disruptions on the ability of school nutrition programs to meet USDA nutrition standards during the pandemic;

• difficulties inherent in the household income application process for free/ reduced-price meal benefits;

• the impact of a sensory-based nutrition curriculum used with Head Start students;

• the impact of COVID-19 on Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) operations in one state; and

• transparency and accessibility of school wellness policy documentation at the secondary school level.

This issue also includes abstracts from SNA’s 2022 Annual National Conference research posters and an update from the Institute of Child Nutrition’s Applied Research Division. Access these articles and recent JCN&M archives at www.schoolnutrition.org/JCNM.

Take the STEPS Holiday Wellness Challenge

JCNM. It can be a real challenge to stay dedicated to a fitness routine with decreased sunlight and an increased holiday todo list, so every extra incentive this time of year can prove helpful—especially since wellness efforts have proven immensely beneficial for physical and mental health. The latest STEPS Strive to Thrive challenge will run November 1 to December 31 and features numerous healthy activities for body, mind and spirit. Let’s get moving together and strive to thrive this holiday season!

When you track your progress through the Strive to Thrive app, you’re eligible to compete for participation prizes. In addition to physical steps for movement-based activity, you can earn bonus points by listening to wellness-related audio sessions on such topics as gratitude and meditation. Strive to Thrive, the wellness program exclusive to SNA members, is made possible with support from Jennie-O. Visit www.hekahealth.com/sna20 to learn more.

NEW ADVERTISING SALES PARTNER ANNOUNCED

SNA is pleased to announce that it has contracted with MCI USA to support its advertising sales for print and digital media. “MCI USA has the proven ability to support all our advertising needs, as we work together to strengthen our portfolio of products, providing outstanding service and a seamless experience,” says SNA Vice President of Marketing, Communications and Industry Relations Danielle Duran Baron. As the MCI USA team launches its onboarding process, they will be reaching out to work with SNA’s industry partners. For advertising inquiries, please contact Dan Kaste at Dan.kaste@wearemci.com, (410) 584-1993.

MAGAZINE CHANGES ON TAP FOR 2023

Remember, as of this issue, November/December 2022, School Nutrition will be published every other month. In 2023, look for your favorite professional publication to be produced on the following schedule: January/February, March/April, May/June (featuring the Annual National Conference preview), July/August, September/October and November/December. These six issues will be printed and mailed and also will be available in multiple digital formats on SchoolNutrition.org. Note that SNA no longer mails the printed magazine to members in its Employee section. Managers and directors are encouraged to share copies and/or PDFs with their team members. Contact the SNA Service Center, servicecenter@schoolnutrition.org, with any questions.