HERE - Missouri School Nutrition Association

SNAC Bites – March 2015
Welcome to the March 2015 issue of SNA Communication (SNAC) Bites! SNAC Bites highlights new SNA programs
and provides content for your state association newsletters, chapter meetings, and social media.
This issue includes:
1. Discover Solutions for Your Program at ANC!
2. Upcoming SNA Webinars: USDA Professional Standards, Social Media and More
3. SNA Seeking Nominations for National Board and Standing Committees
4. Spring Membership Drive: Let’s Recruit and Win!
5. New SNS Study Guide and Preparation Resources Available
6. School Nutrition Professionals Head to Capitol Hill Calling for School Meal Funding & Flexibility
7. Directors: Your Key to Excellence
8. Nominate a Member of Your Staff for the ANC First Timer Scholarship
9. Achieve Your Educational Dreams with a SNF Scholarship!
10. Mythbusting School Meals
11. SNA Wants Your Input on the Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee
12. Celebrate Your School Lunch Heroes
13. Upgrade 10 Kitchens in Your School District with the Winston Equipment Grant
14. Make STEPS Part of Your Spring Routine!
15. Kids MyPlate Video Contest
16. Calling All SNA Chapter Leaders: Attend Chapter Leadership Day!
17. SNF Celebrates School Nutrition Heroes at LAC
1. Discover Solutions for Your Program at ANC!
100+ education sessions at ANC Salt Lake City, July 12-15, will address everything from procurement to
professional standards. You can’t afford to miss the school nutrition event of the year, where attendees will be
learning, networking, and discovering new products. As an added bonus, NFL superstar and TV personality
Howie Long will keynote the opening general session! Register today at www.schoolnutrition.org/ANC. Early
bird rates expire May 8!
2. Upcoming SNA Webinars: USDA Professional Standards, Social Media and More
We hope you will join us for the upcoming SNA webinars including:
 Tuesday, March 10 at 2pm EST: Recruiting Tips, Tools and Incentives
 Wednesday, March 25 at 2pm EST: Creating Hunger-Free Schools Through CEP
 Wednesday, April 1 at 2pm EST: Everything you need to know about the Final Professional Standards
Rule for school nutrition program personnel!
 Wednesday, April 29 at 2pm EST: first webinar in the “Get Social” social media educational series
sponsored by the National Dairy Council, designed to help you understand how to use social media to
promote your program. More information coming soon!
For a full listing of upcoming SNA webinars and an archive of previous SNA webinar recordings and
presentations, please visit: www.schoolnutrition.org/webinars.
3. SNA Seeking Nominations for National Board and Standing Committees
Serving on the SNA national board or on a SNA national committee offers exciting opportunities to grow
professionally, develop new skills, work on issues from a national perspective and make a contribution to the
school nutrition profession. The SNA Nominating Committee is currently seeking nominations for open Board of
Directors and Nominating Committee positions for the 2015 election. To submit a nomination for one or more
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March 2015
of the open positions, please complete the Potential Candidate Recommendation Form and submit it to SNA
headquarters by May 30, 2015. For questions, please contact Jean Geraghty at jgeraghty@schoolnutrition.org or
(800) 877-8822, ext. 135.
SNA needs members who want to play an active role in shaping the future of school nutrition programs. There
are 20 open committee positions for 2015-16. Each committee is charged by the Board of Directors to complete
work assigned by the President, based on the Association’s Strategic Plan. Please return the committee interest
form by March 13, 2015. If you have any questions, please contact Deborah Van Balen, Executive Assistant, at
dvanbalen@schoolnutrition.org, or (800) 877-8822, ext. 114
4. Spring Membership Drive: Let’s Recruit and Win!
We have the opportunity to win big this spring and boost our membership to strengthen our association! Our
mission is to recruit as many new members and retain as many current members as possible to meet or exceed
our 3% membership growth goal. Our state association could be the Membership Division Champion! Plus, if
YOU recruit members, you can win, too! If you bring in 5 or more new members to SNA this year through the
Annual Membership Campaign, you will be entered in a raffle to win an all-expenses paid spa day for two or 1 of
7 complimentary registrations to ANC 2016! For more information about the Annual Membership Campaign and
how you can win big by recruiting, click here.
5. New SNS Study Guide and Preparation Resources Available
Thinking about becoming a School Nutrition Specialist (SNS) or know someone who wants to earn this
professional credential? Now is the time to get started as SNA is offering a new SNS Exam Preparation
Resources Bundle for the SNA members only price of $109 + $6 S&H. The bundle includes the following:
 School Nutrition Specialist Credentialing Exam Study Guide – 2015 Edition
 School Food and Nutrition Service Management for the 21st Century – 6th Edition, authored by Dot
Pannell-Martin & Julie A Boettger
Each resource is also available separately in the SNA Bookstore for a member’s only price of $59 + $6 S&H
(each). For additional information about the SNS credential and preparing for the exam, please visit
www.schoolnutrition.org/sns or email certsns@schoolnutrition.org.
6. School Nutrition Professionals Head to Capitol Hill Calling for School Meal Funding & Flexibility
On Tuesday, March 3, nearly 1,000 school nutrition professionals from across the country headed to Capitol Hill,
to urge Congress to provide greater funding and flexibility for school meal programs as part of Child Nutrition
Reauthorization 2015. The initiative is part of the School Nutrition Association's (SNA) 43rd annual Legislative
Action Conference (LAC), March 1-4. Monday at LAC, Senator John Hoeven (R-ND) announced the Healthy
School Meals Flexibility Act which provides practical relief for struggling meal programs while preserving the
goals of nutrition standards.
7. Directors: Your Key to Excellence
Attention school nutrition directors – want to receive a comprehensive snapshot of your nutrition program’s
performance? Complete the questionnaire on the Keys to Excellence data dashboard, and you’ll receive a
personalized assessment of your program, with scores in various key areas. Log-in today and start improving
your program!
8. Nominate a Member of Your Staff for the ANC First Timer Scholarship
Do you know someone who would benefit from attending SNA’s Annual National Conference in Salt Lake City,
UT on July 12-15, 2015? This scholarship, sponsored by PepsiCo, provides multiple $500 scholarships—each of
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March 2015
which may be used to cover registration and travel expenses associated with attending ANC—to school nutrition
employees and managers who have never attended ANC .District directors, who are active SNA members and
are registered to attend ANC 2015, may nominate one member of their staff for this scholarship. For details and
to submit an online nomination, click here.
9. Achieve Your Educational Dreams with a SNF Scholarship!
Achieve your educational dreams with an education scholarship from the School Nutrition Foundation!
Education scholarships provide SNA members with funding for tuition and books for the following school year.
To be qualified to receive an education scholarship, you must be: an active SNA member who is currently
employed in school foodservice and enrolled (or will be enrolled) in a degree program in a program of study
which falls into the SNA Keys to Excellence subject areas. SNF is now accepting applications! For details and to
apply online by the April 6th deadline, click here.
10. Mythbusting School Meals
If you’re a district director and planning on attending ANC 2015, listen up: the District Directors’ Section Meeting
will address messaging for those ‘hot topics’ with the media and parents, helping you to address the common
misconceptions regarding school meals. Tired of bloggers, parents, and media personalities spreading myths
about your profession? Be sure to attend this session and equip yourself to proactively communicate the truth
about school meals today! Registration for this session is included in your ANC conference registration (district
directors only).
11. SNA Wants Your Input on the Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee
The Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee describes findings from the
Committee’s review of the scientific evidence on diet, nutrition, and health. It serves to inform the next edition
of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, slated to be released before the end of the year.
The report is now open for public review and comment. SNA is reviewing the report and comments will be
reviewed by SNA’s Nutrition Committee and approved by the Board of Directors. If you would like to submit
feedback as SNA develops its submission please submit your comments here by March 18th at 5:00pm EST.
12. Celebrate Your School Lunch Heroes
Mark your calendars for School Lunch Hero Day: May 1, 2015. Schools nationwide will be honoring their
cafeteria employees with celebrations, gifts, and thank-yous. Will you be recognizing your cafeteria line workers,
cooks, lunch aides, and cashiers? Learn more and get inspired to say thanks at
www.schoolnutrition.org/HeroDay.
13. Upgrade 10 Kitchens in Your School District with the Winston Equipment Grant
Now in its eighth year, the Winston Industries Equipment Grant program will award 10 pieces of equipment
from Winston Industries to one school district in need of improving its school meal kitchen facilities through a
competitive grant process. To apply, you must: be an active SNA director-level member, who has been a
member of SNA for at least one year. For details and to apply by the April 3rd deadline, click here.
14. Make STEPS Part of Your Spring Routine!
Believe it or not, spring is around the corner – which means more time to get active outdoors! Be sure to take
advantage of longer days and warmer temps via SNA’s STEPS Challenge – the April challenge rewards you for
getting physical with walking, biking, hiking, or whatever you’d like to do. Learn more about the challenges and
prizes at www.schoolnutrition.org/STEPS.
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March 2015
15. Kids MyPlate Video Contest
SNA is proud to have worked with the Kids Partner Group as part of the MyPlate Strategic Partnership to launch
and promote a video contest for kids! The Check Out MyPlate Video Search is challenging kids across the country
to submit a video telling us how they eat healthy using MyPlate and get moving with their favorite physical
activity. The video must be approximately 60 seconds or less and include an image of MyPlate, at least one
healthy eating tip, and their favorite physical activity. Videos may be submitted in the following age categories: 2
– 10, 11 – 13, and 14 – 18. Each age category will have one Grand Prize winner awarded $1,000 and one RunnerUp awarded $300. The goal of the search is to encourage kids to have healthy eating and physical activity habits;
and to raise awareness around USDA’s MyPlate as a healthy eating guide. Tools and resources to promote the
contest to kids in your district can be found at www.CheckOutMyPlate.com.
16. Calling All SNA Chapter Leaders: Attend Chapter Leadership Day!
Need ideas to reinvigorate your chapter? Want to network with other chapter leaders from across the country?
Chapter Leadership Day (CLD) is a unique event just for you! If you’re a local or state SNA chapter leader , don’t
miss this annual interactive, informative and fun event. CLD will take place on Saturday, July 11, from 8:00 am to
12:00 pm at SNA’s Annual National Conference in Salt Lake City, UT. It will feature topics such as developing a
strong leadership team, planning effective and engaging meetings, building membership, and more. Registration
is required. The cost is $25, which includes breakfast.
17. SNF Celebrates School Nutrition Heroes at LAC
On Monday, March 2, 2015 during SNA’s Legislative Action Conference (LAC), more than 250 SNA members and
guests gathered for the 2015 Celebration of School Nutrition Heroes. The event, which supports the School
Nutrition Foundation, provides funding for education, research, and scholarships for SNA members. The five
heroes who were recognized are: Coletta Hines-Newell, SNS (IL); Jill Kidd, MS, RD, (CO); Cathy Potter (TN);
Robert Rusan (MO) and Nancy Younglove (NY). Videos on each of the heroes will be available for viewing here.
The School Nutrition Foundation thanks everyone who attended the 2015 Celebration for their participation. A
special “thank you” goes to Colorado SNA, the SNA of New Mexico and Georgia SNA which purchased tables for
the event; and to New York SNA and Illinois SNA which purchased tickets for the Celebration. Start thinking now
about the SNA member you want to nominate as a School Nutrition Hero for 2016. The call for nominations will
be made following ANC in July!
We hope SNAC Bites is a helpful tool for you as a state leader.
For questions or feedback, contact StateSupport@schoolnutrition.org.
SNAC Bites Newsletter
March 2015