This year’s Annual National Conference in Boston was a smashing success, and as always an incredible opportunity to connect with our colleagues from across the country. With a line-up of inspirational speakers, the General Sessions were a huge hit among attendees; education sessions were loaded with insightful information on topics divided into four session tracks: Operations; Nutrition, Nutrition Education & Physical Activity; Administration; Marketing & Communication. There were also special “Hot Topic” sessions led by USDA on the new breakfast guidelines, sodium targets, new Meal Pattern Updates, Competitive Food guidelines, Professional Standards and much more.
School nutrition headlines are bigger than ever, and we didn’t shy away from the topic during the conference. SNA CEO Patricia Montague, along with outgoing President Leah Schmidt, presented attendees with an update on SNA’s public policy efforts, while incoming President Julia Bauscher gave a terrific incoming address to introduce her theme, “Engage. Energize. Excel!” You can watch Julia’s speech in its entirety.
If you were unable to attend the conference, never fear—you can access presentations from ANC 2014 online at the SNA website. We recommend the following in particular for those seeking information that can benefit school breakfast/breakfast-in-the-classroom initiatives:
- In the Nutrition track you will find “School Breakfast Can Help Alleviate Child Hunger,” presented by Jean Ragalie-Carr, RDN, President, National Dairy Council, as well as “Breakfast-in-the-Classroom Implementation: Dive into Operations & Financials” with Jon Dickl, Helen Phillips, and Donna Martin; finally, don’t miss “Grab n’ Go Breakfast: Nutrition on the Move” presented by Paul Rodgers.
- In the Communications & Marketing track be sure to take a look at “Building Stakeholder Support for Breakfast-in-the-Classroom” by Elizabeth Campbell, MA, RD, Food Security & Nutrition Consultant who is currently working with us here at SNF. You will also find “Oh My Stars and Monsters! Breakfast Promotions” presented by representatives from the Kentucky Department of Education in the communications section.
- Finally, in the Administration track don’t miss “Maximizing Breakfast, Afterschool, and Summer Revenues to Food Service” presented by Dora Rivas, MS, RD, SNS, Executive Director, Dallas ISD. Dallas ISD was one of the original school districts with Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom, and Dora is an incredible resource for school nutrition professionals looking for more information on how to successfully implement (and expand) school breakfast. Dallas ISD now offers universal breakfast to all students, district-wide.
In addition to SNA’s wealth of online information on ANC 2014, we went out in search of some blogs from folks in attendance to see their perspective of the conference. Here’s what we found!
The National Dairy Council provided lots of great online updates again this year, including a huge Facebook slideshow of photographs! Just before the conference Camellia Patey posted a terrific blog at The Dairy Report with information on NDC at ANC, as well as links to additional resources for Fuel Up to Play 60 and breakfast-in-the-classroom.
Over at USDA Blog, AMS Commodity Procurement Program Director Dave Tuckwiller blogged about his time at ANC 2014, sharing information on the commodity purchase program with school nutrition professionals. The folks over at Cambro also shared their post-conference impressions, including some terrific photographs of their mobile vending carts, including those designed for grab n’ go breakfast.
Other blogs that shared some great ANC 2014 highlights include this one from The Mushroom Council, including some beautiful photos, as well as a terrific rundown of ANC 2014 ‘Hot Topics’ over at The Central Restaurant’s The Central Blog.
Thanks to all who shared their ANC 2014 experiences online—we look forward to connecting with you again for ANC 2015!