Food for Thought: Why School Breakfast Matters – A Lot

A guest blog by Dennis Van Roekel, National Education Association I remember the students who came to my class without eating breakfast. They were tired, unable to concentrate and always asking to visit the nurse’s office. These children thought more of their next meal than geometry or algebra. As a former math teacher with 23…

In Celebration of National School Breakfast Week 2013

A guest post by School Nutrition Foundation Senior Program Manager, Paula Zdanowicz, MPH It’s a fact: not only is breakfast considered the most important meal of the day, but eating breakfast at school helps children learn. Many school districts participate in the federally-funded School Breakfast program, but participation levels are low. More than 25 million…

The Josephine Martin National Policy Fellow: A conversation with Dr. Martin and the 2013 Policy Fellow Sandi Walter, SNS

Has childhood nutrition ever been more in the spotlight than it is today? And now, more than ever, the role of school nutrition professionals in public policy demands engagement and leadership. In an effort to help support school nutrition professionals pursue their goals in the public policy arena, the Josephine Martin National Policy Fellow was…

2012 Nutrition + Physical Activity Connection Summit Boosts School Breakfast

This week GENYOUth held their Nutrition + Physical Activity Learning Connection Summit, which brought together players from across the nutrition and physical activity spectrum, to explore the connection that physical activity and nutrition have with learning and behavior. In addition to GENYOUth, the summit partners included National Dairy Council, the National Football League, the American…

September is Childhood Obesity Awareness Month

While hunger is a very real issue affecting children across America, obesity is another—and the two are not mutually exclusive. A child facing malnutrition may also be facing an obesity risk, which is why school foodservice is such important work; we are fighting the same battle, on different fronts, every single day. Here at Beyond…

Reflections on ANC 2012: Exploring New Horizons

As always, the Annual National Conference was exciting, educational, and entertaining. The long days were filled with opportunities to learn, share, network, and of course, have fun. There was a palpable energy in the air each day we spent in Denver, as school foodservice professionals gathered at the year’s biggest conference. At the School Nutrition…

Resources for Your Summer Feeding Program

Just like the song says, “School’s out for summer!” For some of you the school year has already wrapped up, and the rest of you are not far behind. Here at Beyond Breakfast we know that summer vacation means a lot of things—free time, rest and relaxation, playing outside—but behind the summer fun lurks a…

November 2 Breakfast Webinar Focuses on Growth Strategies, New Meal Patterns

Mark your calendars and join us for the November 2 webinar (part of the Webinar Wednesday series) entitled “The Future of School Breakfast: Strategies for Growth and Expansion.” SNF is offering this webinar in partnership with General Mills Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition; as always, the webinars are free, and can help school food…

Meal Patterns: Information & Resources

Last summer we brought you information about meal patterns from the Annual National Conference in Nashville. At the conference we held sessions for school nutrition professionals, where the discussion centered around the USDA-proposed meal pattern changes that are on the horizon for school meals. We wanted to follow up with some additional information for our…

2011-12 Webinar Wednesday Series Update

Our Webinar Wednesday Series has begun for the 2011-12 season, and we are off to an amazing start. Our first webinar, “Best Practice: Menu Changes to Meet the New Proposed Meal Patterns,” was a smashing success with over 800 attendees on the live call! Sponsored by the National Dairy Council, the webinar explored menu and…