SNA’s Annual National Conference: Salt Lake City, Utah, July 12-15, 2015

The School Nutrition Association’s Annual National Conference is just around the corner, and we can’t wait to see all of you in Salt Lake City, Utah in July. This year’s theme is “Explore. Discover. Inspire” — and we’ve never been more ready for all three.

If you’ve never been to Salt Lake City, we promise you’re going to love it; if you have been, you must be as excited as we are to return! Make sure you check in here at Beyond Breakfast during the conference for stories and highlights from the conference, but even more importantly make sure you’re following us on Facebook and Twitter for real-time updates from education sessions, keynote speeches, and the SNF booth.

And speaking of connecting on social media, make sure you’re following SNA on Facebook and Twitter, and Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom on Facebook and Twitter, too.

ANC is the biggest school nutrition conference of the year, and it gives us an amazing opportunity to connect with colleagues and friends from Alaska to Florida, and everywhere in between. In addition to the opportunity for professional networking, continuing education sessions, and informational panel discussions, we also enjoy presentations from inspiring keynote speakers. This year we’ll hear from NFL Analyst, Pro Football Hall of Famer, and Super Bowl Champion Howie Long in the first general session and best-selling author Laura Schroff (An Invisible Thread); our final session features Les Brown, a highly sought-after motivational speaker who has traveled the world sharing his secrets for success.

Naturally the Exhibit Hall will give us all a lot to talk and think about, and we’re already mapping out our own daily schedule of Education Sessions—with a focus on school breakfast, naturally! Sessions are broken down into four “key areas”—Nutrition (1), Operations (2), Administration (3), and Marketing & Communications (4). Here are a few Education Sessions we’ve got our eye on at the moment:

• Sunday, July 12: At 1 p.m. we’ll be sitting in on ‘Grab & Go Breakfast: Successes and Challenges’ to hear from Project BreakFAST, a Minnesota-based intervention program working to expand and promote the SBP.
• Sunday, July 12: Also at 1 p.m. Senator Nancy F. Stiles will be the Richard B. Russell Leadership Series speaker. Her topic is “Leadership: Is Not Acquired, It Is Earned!” After 30 years in school nutrition, Stiles successfully ran for office and she’s earned a reputation as a leader with vision and common sense. This is sure to be an inspiring hour—get there early, sits will fill fast!
• Monday, July 13: Join Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom at 2:15 p.m. for “Lessons Learned from Breakfast in the Classroom—Part One.” You’ll hear from the Partners—FRAC, NEAHIN, SNF—about best practices and strategies to expand breakfast participation with breakfast in the classroom. We’ll also be discussing funding opportunities for districts with high free and reduced rates.
• Monday, July 13: At 3:30 we’ll go directly into Part Two of our “Lessons Learned” session. This session will be interactive, and we’ll send you away with user-friendly tools to help you evaluate your program to determine whether BIC is right for your district. Don’t worry if you can’t make Part One—it’s not a prerequisite!
• Tuesday, July 14: Early birds won’t want to miss the 8:30 a.m. session on maximizing USDA foods, though it’s a tough choice up against Community Eligibility Provision! The 2:15 p.m. Roundtable Session on School Garden Best Practices is also sure to offer a lot of fresh inspiration.
• Wednesday, July 15: We hope you are sticking around for Wednesday afternoon’s education sessions, which include topics as varied as food safety, procurement, unpaid meal charges, and Smart Snacks—and that’s just a few. We really like the look of “Green Serving Options Made Simple,” a training program to help address the cost of “going green” and strategies to help you “green” your school nutrition program.

Make sure you stop by the SNF booth to learn more about Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom, and the many opportunities for scholarships, grants, and professional development available to you through your SNA membership and the School Nutrition Foundation.