January 19, 2012—No one knows better than school nutrition operators the many bumps, ruts and blind curves that mark the road they travel each day to serve kids healthy school meals. But the way may have gotten a little smoother—at least for the 520-plus operators and industry representatives that gathered in Orlando, Fla., January 15-17, 2012, for SNA’s annual Child Nutrition Industry Conference (CNIC). Working to “Create Your Roadmap for Change,” attendees shared sources of motivation and inspiration in a dynamic learning and networking event that drew a record number of participants.
CNIC kicked off with words of wisdom from Pat Williams, senior vice president of the Orlando Magic professional basketball team. Williams spoke on the qualities of great teams and described his philosophy on leadership: If you have “a leader that is on fire [with passion], it will burn up the place!” But individuals must also commit to being “the best teammate ever,” he cautioned, noting that great teams are committed to each other and to excellence and to the highest qualities imaginable.
Several lively presentations focused on trends and innovations in marketing to kids. Brian Wansink, PhD, director of the Cornell University Food & Brand Lab, revealed findings from his Smart Lunchroom Movement research. Noting that “It’s not nutrition until it’s eaten,” Wansink went on to bust several common myths about children’s eating behaviors and offered ideas for increasing participation—and consumption of healthy foods. Be a “foodservice hero,” he encouraged attendees.
Phil Lempert, Food Advocate and Media Personality, also shared his expertise on kid consumer trends, highlighting 10 top food trends, which include food trucks, the “ethnic food revolution” and an increased emphasis on the “Farm to Fork” journey.
Panelists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service previewed and clarified areas of implementation of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. This included important details about direct certification, procurement training and compliance monitoring. Special Industry Information sessions offered targeted presentations to industry attendees.
Personal wellness was a key focus in this year’s CNIC agenda and a priority for program cochairs Julia Bauscher, SNS, director of nutrition services, Jefferson County (Ky.) School District, and Gary Vonck, vice president of education sales, KeyImpact Sales & Systems, Naperville, Ill. Attendees were offered an opportunity to “Wake Up & Walk” each morning before breakfast; groups also participated in either an afternoon walk or tai chi session; and energy-filled general sessions focused on the importance of taking the necessary steps to improved health and fitness. Among these was the event’s closing session, featuring the inspirational journey of Ali Vincent, the first female winner of NBC’s popular “The Biggest Loser” weight-loss reality television series. Vincent’s honest and engaging presentation made such an impression that she has been invited to give an encore at SNA’s Annual National Conference in Denver this summer.
Ample opportunities for networking between operators and industry are a hallmark of CNIC. Innovation Stations offered operators special advance previews of recently introduced or in-development products, services and solutions. And for the first time, attendees enjoyed a dynamic “MyPlate Mixer,” a unique meal presentation based on the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the new MyPlate nutrition guidance.
For more CNIC 2012 coverage, visit SNA’s Facebook page or coverage on Twitter with the hashtag #CNIC2012. Additional coverage will appear in the April issue of School Nutrition magazine.
Tray Talk - Schools Resolve to Get Students Moving!
This month on Tray Talk we are discussing how schools are finding creating way to promote active lifestyles to kids.
The new Tray Talk Video shows how Provo City School District took a page from First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! notebook and got their students moving.
Teachers are in on the action too. Kim Ramsey at Rivers Edge Elementary (Virginia) developed a “Read and Ride” program which allows students to take turns reading while exercising on the classroom’s donated stationary bikes and treadmill.
Read the full story about getting students moving at the Tray Talk Website – http://www.traytalk.org/schools-resolve-to-get-students-moving/
January 17, 2012 – The SNA Nominating Committee currently is in search of a few good candidates that want to follow in the tradition past SNA leaders by helping to improve the Association and the lives of America’s children. Can you recommend potential candidates to run for the national Board of Directors and Nominating Committee regional representative positions, to be elected in fall 2012?
Open Board of Directors positions in this upcoming election include Vice President, Mideast Regional Director, Midwest Regional Director, Southeast Regional Director, West Regional Director, Education Committee Chair, Public Policy & Legislation Committee Chair, Research Committee Chair and Industry Representative. Representatives also are needed for the Nominating Committee from the Northeast, Northwest and Southwest Regions.
If you would like to recommend well-qualified state and regional leaders, please use the Potential Candidates Recommendation Form. Submissions must be received no later than March 31, 2012. The Nominating Committee will meet in July prior to the Annual National Conference to select the candidate slate for the 2012 Election.
Potential Candidates Recommendation Form
January 13, 2012 – Hurry! The Early Bird registration deadline for SNA’s 2012 Legislative Action Conference (LAC) is fast approaching! Register by January 20th and you will save $50 off the regular registration fees. LAC will take place at the JW Marriott Hotel in downtown Washington, D.C., March 4-7, 2012. To register, visit www.schoolnutrition.org/lac.
Although the LAC room block is sold out at the JW Marriott, we are currently working with the hotel to see if more rooms can be added. We are also researching for an overflow hotel. In the meantime, we are compiling a waiting list for those in need of rooms and contacting those guests that have multiple reservations with hopes that more rooms will become available.
To assist in securing appropriate hotel accommodations for your visit to Washington, please forward the following information to SNA’s Meetings Center at meetings@schoolnutrition.org: first and last name, arrival and departure dates, as well as bedding preference (i.e. single/double).
At LAC 2012, you will gain firsthand knowledge of the inner workings of the democratic process, as you learn about the legislative and regulatory issues facing school nutrition programs. You also will have the chance to visit Capitol Hill, where you can let the elected lawmakers of the U.S. Congress know your priorities as a child nutrition expert. Plus, you will hear valuable updates from representatives of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as well as political insights from keynote speaker Charlie Cook, one of Washington’s most highly respected political analysts and commentators.
Highlights of this year’s LAC will include:
Make plans today to join us in our nation’s capital for four inspiring days as we walk the halls of Congress, network with colleagues and discuss the state of our programs! To learn more about LAC 2012, visit www.schoolnutrition.org/lac. The special Early Bird registration rate deadline is January 20, 2012, so don’t delay—register today!
LAC 2012
Register for LAC
LAC Hotel & Travel
January 12, 2012—Now that 2012 is underway, numerous foodservice trend watchers are sharing their predictions for this year’s top food trends. Among some of the trends identified are healthful kids’ restaurant meals, whole-grain items in kids’ restaurant meals and Peruvian cuisine.
Some of the top food trends for 2012 identified by The Food Channel in conjunction with Culture Waves, the International Food Futurists and Mintel International are outdoor cooking, amateur and professional chefs using online tools such as YouTube to showcase their skills and restaurant chefs creating branded farms to showcase the products that they have grown.
According to trend consultants Hartman Group, consumers should expect to see a wide variety of local berries and tree fruits appear in beverages, baked goods and snack foods. Hartman Group also anticipates seeing more snacks containing naturally-occurring protein and fiber from beans, pulses, nuts and seeds, rather than added soy and whey protein and inulin. Additional trends to watch for include grass-fed meat, healthy fats, portion control, farro and kettle potato chips.
What can diners expect to see in restaurants in 2012? The National Restaurant Association’s “What’s Hot in 2012” survey of approximately 1,800 professional chefs identified some of the top restaurant trends to watch as healthful kids’ meals, whole-grain items in kids’ meals, children’s nutrition as a culinary theme and gluten-free and food allergy-conscious items.
Contributors for the McCormick 2012 Flavor Forecast® identified the new year’s top 10 flavor pairings. Among these are dill with mint, melon and cucumber; cumin with sofrito; grapefruit with red pepper; and ginger with coconut.
For additional information from these trend reports, see the following websites.
The Food Channel: Top Ten Food Trends for 2012Butter, portion control, tart cherries and stevia. Welcome to 2012
National Restaurant Association “What’s Hot in 2012” Survey
McCormick 2012 Flavor Forecast®
January 10, 2012—The holiday season is a time for making spirits bright. Helping those who are less fortunate feel the joy of the season is a special gift, and School Nutrition Association headquarters staff set out to do just that by seeking ways to help the local community.
After learning how heavy flooding in the metropolitan area damaged Prince George’s County (Md.) Public Safety Assistance Program’s (PGPS) entire stock of shelf-stable foods and equipment, the Association decided to help the program start over by holding not just a canned and boxed goods drive, but two drives for canned and boxed goods—one in November and one in December.
PGPS did not have any equipment to hold the food, so they were grateful when one employee kindly donated seven storage bins. The Association also worked with the Prince George’s County Department of Social Services-Transitional Housing Program to “adopt” a family. Employees brought in warm clothing and fun gifts for the family in need. Chief Operating Officer Patti Montague, CAE, even decided to give the children a Nintendo Wii gaming system that the Association had used as part of a fitness demonstration during an Annual National Conference.
Staff members returned to work from the holiday break to thank you letters from each child from the family that expressed how happy they were to receive the gifts.
As a business whose vision and mission involves the healthy development of children, the School Nutrition Association believes that a child’s emotional health is an integral part of his or her well-being. The Association hopes to continue embracing the local community with future giving opportunities and invites members to share how their state affiliates give back to the community during the holiday season or any other time.
January 9, 2012—Can’t wait until your issue of School Nutrition magazine arrives in your mailbox each month? Starting January 2012, you now have a new way to access your favorite professional development magazine. School Nutrition has launched a digital edition, available through the web at SchoolNutrition.org. This additional service—you will still receive your print magazine each month—is being made available to SNA members at no charge. The digital edition is a complete replica of the print issue—cover to cover.
Why digital? SNA knows that its members find School Nutrition to be one of the most valuable benefits of your national membership, and we want to ensure that it’s available to you in multiple formats to best meet your reading needs and preferences. Maybe you want to start reading an article at home in your living room, but finish it up at a computer at work. Can’t wait for the mail to deliver your print copy? Read the magazine online first and then save your print edition for future reference.
School Nutrition’s new digital edition also offers some fun features. For example, a search function allows you to type in a key word or phrase—say, “low-sodium”—and instantly see a list of live links to every reference found throughout the issue, including advertisements. This could be helpful if you are trying to do a quick search for available products to meet certain nutrition specifications, as well as to find editorial content on a hot topic! Indeed, all the web links in the magazine will be live. Want to check out a research report mentioned in a NewsBites item? No need to carefully type out long web addresses filled with random letters and symbols; simply click and you are there. And if you want to bring an article or ad to the attention of a colleague or supervisor? Bypass the copy machine; you can turn to an easy e-mail function.
At this time, the digital edition is available via web browsers; a mobile app is under consideration for the future. Each issue will be available to all visitors to SchoolNutrition.org for two months; after that time, SNA members will have exclusive access to the archives. Take some time this month to visit www.schoolnutrition.org/snmagazine and give the digital version of School Nutrition a test-drive.
So, what will you find in the January issue? This month’s feature articles take a look at equipment. Your job as a school nutrition professional is about more than serving nutritious meals to students—it’s also about using the right equipment and performing the necessary maintenance on these vital pieces of equipment. The January issue of School Nutrition, SNA’s award-winning flagship publication, examines how equipment fits into the overall school nutrition operation, as well as highlights operators’ experiences with various aspects of the equipment management process.
Make sure that you make the right decision when purchasing equipment by making sure that you are doing the research through asking the right questions. Discover the right questions and the corresponding points to consider in “Pop Quiz!”
Menu decisions in K-12 school nutrition operations are, to a significant degree, dictated by the preparation and service equipment you have available. School nutrition professionals share their experiences regarding the important role that equipment has on school menus in “Which Comes First? The Apple or the Appliance?” Bonus Web Content: Mission: Readiness is a nonprofit, nonpartisan national security organization led by more than 250 retired generals, admirals and other senior military leaders who are calling for smart investments in the next generation of American children, including increased access to healthier school meals. Read some of the thoughts leaders of this group have about the link between equipment and the school menu.
Learn more about the part that the investment in equipment plays in central production decisions in “Kitchen Open or Kitchen Closed?” Operators from school districts around the country discuss the decisions that they have made to open or close central kitchens.
Preventive maintenance is essential to keeping equipment used in school nutrition operations running properly, efficiently and for the long haul. “’Tis Better to Spare a Care Than to Despair and Repair” takes a look at what you can do to maximize the life of your tools of the trade.
A taco renaissance is taking the nation—and its schools—by storm. Find out the details in “!Viva el Taco¡”. Bonus Web Content: This issue of School Nutrition includes the debut of a new regular Food Focus feature: “Kitchen Wisdom Says…” is a highlighted recipe that has been reviewed, modified and/or tested by members of the magazine’s new corps of “Kitchen Wisdom” volunteers. Don’t miss a suggested modified version of the highlighted recipe.
School Nutrition –January 2012
January 6, 2012—NSF International, an independent global organization that certifies products and writes public health standards for food, water and consumer goods, announces its call for nominations for the 2012 Food Safety Leadership Awards Program.
The program recognizes individuals that demonstrate outstanding food safety leadership. The nomination categories are education/training, system improvement, equipment design, packaging innovation, product development, research advances and technology breakthroughs. Nominations, which will be evaluated based on creativity, innovation, design, contribution to the advancement of food safety and overall quality of contributions made, must be submitted by February 3, 2012.
Entries may be mailed to Mary Ellen Krueger, NSF International, 789 N. Dixboro Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48105. For more details or to enter online, visit www.nsf.org/business/newsroom/fs_awards.asp.
NSF Food Safety Leadership Awards Program
The School Nutrition Foundation is postponing The New School Meal Patterns: What You Need to Know webinar, scheduled for Wednesday, January 11, 2012.
Unfortunately, it is our understanding that the publication of the Final Meal Pattern Regulation has been delayed, and as such will not be published in time for the scheduled Wednesday, January 11th webinar.
The webinar will be rescheduled as soon as possible after the publication of the final meal pattern regulation.
As soon as we have a new date, we will send out an email notification. You will not need to re-register for this webinar.
Please know that we appreciate your interest and respect your busy schedules.
Thank you for understanding.
For more information on SNF's Webinar Wednesday - www.schoolnutrition.org/webinar
A Tray Talk Success Story - Ohio Students Ask for More Spinach!
Sailorway Middle School’s cafeteria in Ohio had been offering fresh fruits or vegetables every day for years, but when Cafeteria Manager Evie Hess realized many of the fourth graders weren’t taking the fresh produce, she knew it was time to mix up the menu!
So one day Evie ordered fresh strawberries and baby spinach and served them with low fat poppy seed dressing. Her assistant said, “No way are they going to eat this!” but the class scooped up every single serving and students were asking for more the rest of the week!
Read the complete story including Evie’s other creative ideas for increasing fruit and veggie consumption and the comments from some of Sailorway’s students at http://www.traytalk.org/success_story/ohio-students-ask-for-more-spinach/
January 4, 2012 – Can you believe it? The start of another New Year is upon us once again! And that can only mean one thing: SNA’s Child Nutrition Industry Conference (CNIC) is nearly here! There is no better way to mark the start of 2012 than by packing your bags, grabbing that plane ticket or setting that GPS, and heading out the door for a conference that will fuel your mind and body for the year ahead. This year’s theme, “Create Your Roadmap for Change,” will be the backdrop for three powerful days of learning that will help you navigate your school meals operation or business through the challenges, changes and opportunities of the coming year.
CNIC is being held January 15-17, 2012, at the Omni ChampionsGate Resort in Orlando, Fla. If you haven’t yet registered but would still like to attend—it’s not too late! Simply fill out the onsite registration form and turn it in at the CNIC Registration desk when you arrive. There, SNA staff will set you up with an official conference badge and program to take part in the entire conference.
If you’re already registered and starting to pack for your time in the Sunshine State, you’ll want to be sure to pack your athletic clothing and shoes so you can take part in the many wellness activities planned throughout the conference. Each morning during CNIC, you will have the opportunity to take part in the Wake Up & Walk activity, a brisk morning walk around the ChampionsGate grounds that’ll allow you to keep up with your exercise regime and ready your mind for the day’s learning.
Also, on Monday, January 16, you’ll have the opportunity to take part in the Image of Us Wellness Event, a follow-up activity to a session led by fitness enthusiasts Gary Vonck and Kim Schwabenbauer, who will stay on hand to lead groups through a non-competitive 1 mile run/walk or 3 mile run/walk. You can also choose to join the Omni’s fitness instructor for a relaxing session of Tai Chi. Be sure to mention and sign up for your preferred activity when you check in at Registration!
With so many learning and wellness opportunities at CNIC 2012, you’ll return home energized to make the most of 2012 both personally and professionally! For more details about CNIC, including speakers, events and more, click here. See you in Orlando!
CNIC 2012
CNIC Onsite Registration Form
January 3, 2012—Fuel Up to Play 60 is now accepting applications for its nationwide funding initiative for K-12 schools enrolled in the in-school wellness program. The funding initiative provides money to help schools jumpstart and sustain healthy nutrition and physical activity improvements. Any U.S. school can enroll in the free program and thus be eligible to apply for up to $4,000 to help increase awareness of and access to nutrient-rich foods and physical activity opportunities for students.
The funds can be used for a variety of different program-related activities, such as student engagement and motivation, in-school promotions, family engagement, tracking and measurement and overall Fuel Up to Play 60 program implementation.
The next application deadline is February 1, 2012.
More information about Fuel Up to Play 60 and the funding initiative can be found at http://school.fueluptoplay60.com/funds/funds_for_futp60.php.
Fuel Up to Play 60, an in-school nutrition and physical activity program, was launched by National Dairy Council and the National Football League, in collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The program, implemented in more than 70,000 schools across the nation, encourages students to eat healthy, be active and implement long-term, positive changes for themselves and their schools.
Funding Opportunities for Fuel Up to Play 60