Support Your School Nutrition Colleagues at SNF’s Celebration of Heroes on Monday, March 2

Will you be attending SNA’s 43^rd Annual Legislative Action Conference in March? If so, we hope you will join us on Monday, May 2, 2015, for the School Nutrition Foundation’s Celebration of School Nutrition Heroes. Our 2014 Celebration of School Nutrition Heroes was so successful that SNF is bringing it back with the dual goals of honoring the School Nutrition Heroes in our ranks, and to help raise funds for the Foundation.

Our Heroes

Almost thirty nominations were submitted for consideration for the School Nutrition Heroes. Nominees came from sixteen states and included school nutrition professionals from every region. The five School Nutrition Heroes for 2015 are:

• Coletta Hines-Newell, Director of Food Services, Arlington Heights School District 25 (Illinois). In addition to her creative work in school nutrition, she started a charity called Many Hands, Many Blessings, with a mission to raise funds for local food banks. You can follow Arlington Heights School District 25 on Twitter at @ahsd25.
• Jill Kidd, MS, RD, Director of Nutrition Services, Pueblo City Schools (Colorado). Connect with PCS on Facebook and Twitter, and then take a minute to read our 2011 interview with Jill Kidd on universal breakfast-in-the-classroom.
• Cathy Potter, Cafeteria Server/Helper, Maryville City Schools (Tennessee). In addition to her work in Maryville schools, Potter is the founder/director of Heaven Sent Home, a temporary emergency shelter for abused or misplaced women and children.
• Robert Rusan, District Chef, Maplewood Richmond Heights School District (Missouri). Rusan’s district is extremely active on social media, with multiple pages on Facebook and Twitter—visit their home page to connect. Chef Rusan’s program includes school breakfast, school gardens, meet the chef events, and much more; you can follow Chef Robert Rusan on Twitter at @ChefRobRu.
• Nancy Younglove, Food Service Director, North Rose-Wolcott Central Schools (New York). Younglove is the Central Area Director for the New York School Nutrition Association, and a tireless anti-hunger advocate. You can connect with North Rose-Wolcott schools on Facebook and Twitter.

Learn more about our five school nutrition heroes here.

Sponsors and Support

AdvancePierre Foods is the Premier Sponsor for the 2015 Celebration; they, along with four representatives from our Benefactor level sponsorship will escort the five School Nutrition Heroes into the ballroom the evening of the event, and the guests of the Premier Sponsor and Benefactors will be invited to an exclusive, VIP reception before the event. Visit our SNF Heroes page to learn more about sponsorship opportunities.

Other opportunities to support the event are available. Here is how you can support the celebration, and your fellow school nutrition professionals:

• Celebrate a School Nutrition Hero ($2500): Create a one-page tribute to a school nutrition hero, including a photo of that person and a description of how this school nutrition hero has made a positive impact on school nutrition.
• Advertise in event tribute book: $2500 for full-page, $1500 for half-page, $750 for quarter-page.
• Tables and Tickets: Tables of ten seats are available–$1500 for school nutrition professionals, $2500 for industry members ($1000 is tax-deductible); individual tickets are also available, $150 for school nutrition professionals and $250 for industry members ($100 is tax-deductible).

For more information please email snf@schoolnutrition.org.