Greetings from Nashville, TN! The SNA ANC has kicked off with a bang; the first day of sessions has been entertaining and educational! We started our day off right–first breakfast, and then a “Got Breakfast?” panel, where panelists discussed all of the great things about serving breakfast in the classroom: improved academic performance, reduced tardiness…
A few weeks ago we talked about the Fuel Up to Play 60 program. Fuel Up to Play 60 is a joint effort of the National Dairy Council and the National Football League; it is a fun, interactive program that allows participants to decide how to make their schools a healthier place. With Fuel Up…
The School Nutrition Association’s annual conference is only a week away and your resident Beyond Breakfast blogger will be in attendance! I’m heading to Nashville for the July 9-13 conference, and I am thrilled to again have the opportunity to learn from experts in the field of child and school nutrition. My LAC 2011 experience was so…
Today’s guest post was written by Ed Bruske, a.k.a The Slow Cook. Washington Post reporter-turned-food appreciation champion, Ed now works as a chef for clients with special needs. Ed also brings his message of food appreciation to students after school at Georgetown Day School. I met Ed at LAC 2011 but I have been reading…
Are you thinking about implementing breakfast in the classroom in your school district? Do you need more information about alternative models for school breakfast programs? Are you interested in areas of school breakfast planning like menu planning and marketing and promotion? The new Breakfast in the Classroom Resource Center has everything you need to help…
The National Dairy Council and the National Football League have teamed up to create the Fuel Up to Play 60 program. This nationwide movement is designed to help fight childhood obesity by empowering kids to take control of their own health. If your school participates in the National School Breakfast Program, and is enrolled in…
I was perusing the Food Research and Action Center’s Facebook page this week when this great story about a school breakfast video contest came up. I’m so glad FRAC shared this—see why I love social media so much? It’s such a great way to keep up on all the latest news. These days most organizations…
One of the most memorable and interesting conversations I had at the 2011 Legislative Action Conference in Washington, D.C. was about oatmeal. Now some of you might not think the words “interesting” and “memorable” belong in the same sentence as “oatmeal,” but I beg to differ! Oatmeal is very interesting, and when you learn more…
Last fall I wrote about what happens during school holidays and snow days for students who receive most—or all—of their meals at school. American schools are letting out for summer: the longest extended period of the year in which children are not attending school. I have been thinking lately about the kids who rely on…
Last week we said goodbye to the food pyramid—our pictorial guideline for nutrition for almost 20 years—and said hello to MyPlate, our new visual guide for healthy eating. Introduced by first lady Michelle Obama, USDA Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Surgeon General Regina Benjamin the new 2011 food guide was unveiled at a press…