First Lady Michelle Obama(left) with
Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack

November 19, 2009 - First Lady Michelle Obama, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan joined students for lunch at two schools in the Washington, DC suburbs yesterday.  The visits further demonstrate the Obama Administration’s commitment to the federal school nutrition programs, particularly as Congress begins considering Child Nutrition Reauthorization.

The First Lady and Secretary Vilsack visited the Hollin Meadows Elementary School in Fairfax County, Va.  Both were on hand to recognize the school as a Healthier US School Challenge Gold Award winner.  Mrs. Obama and Secretary Vilsack participated in a roundtable with several school leaders, including Fairfax County School Nutrition Director Penny McConnell, RD, SNS.  They also spent some time with students, passing out fruit and visiting the school’s garden.  In speaking with the First Lady, McConnell commended the Obama administration for both their financial support and their emphasis on preventing childhood overweight and obesity.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan

Donning a chef’s hat, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan joined the school nutrition professionals working the lunch line at John Adams Elementary School in Alexandria, Virginia.  Secretary Duncan, visiting the school for the National Education Association (NEA’s) Education Support Professional Day, served the first and second grade students as they moved through the lunch line.  Alexandria City School District School Nutrition Directory Dr. Becky Domokos-Bays had the opportunity to meet Secretary Duncan, where she discussed the cost of providing healthy school meals and the need for school districts to recognize the school nutrition programs as an integral part of the academic day.

Related Links

First Lady promoted exercize and nutrition during visit with Va. school children - Washington Post

Remarks by the First Lady at Hollin Meadow Elementary School

For additional photos from both events, please visit SNA's Facebook fan page.

November 18, 2009 - Child Nutrition Reauthorization was the focus of a Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry hearing held yesterday, November 17, 2009. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack was among those testifying before the Committee.

In her opening statement, Chairwoman Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) reiterated the Committee’s commitment to addressing the high rate of children that suffer from hunger.  She also noted the high rates of childhood obesity, remarking that the federal child nutrition programs have an important place in addressing this issue. She discussed her guiding principals for Child Nutrition Reauthorization: increasing access and participation, improving the nutritional quality of meals, and improving the integrity and modernization of the school nutrition programs. Ranking Member Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) also spoke about the importance of the child nutrition programs, noting that the recent school meal pattern recommendations from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) will help improve the nutritional quality of the school nutrition programs.

In his testimony, Secretary Vilsack reaffirmed that child nutrition is a top priority for the USDA and the Obama Administration.   He noted the top Administration priorities for child nutrition reauthorization, include:

• Reducing barriers and increasing access
• Increasing the nutritional value of meals
• Increasing the health of the whole school environment, including competitive foods
• Expanding food safety requirements to all places where food is prepared and stored
• Strengthening school wellness policy implementation and increasing physical activity.

Secretary Vilsack fielded a variety of questions from Committee members.  The issues discussed included innovative ways to expand program participation, national standards for all foods sold on campus during the school day, modernizing school kitchens, and indirect costs. Secretary Vilsack also answered questions regarding food safety and what USDA is doing to improve communications to schools during recalls.

Those testifying during the second panel included:

• Dr. Margaret Bogle, Executive Director, Delta Obesity Prevention Research Unit, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Little Rock, Ark.
• Mr. Rich Huddleston, Executive Director, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, Little Rock, Ark.
• Ms. Rhonda Sanders, Executive Director, Arkansas Hunger Alliance, Little Rock, Ark.
• Ms. Jennifer Smith, Director, Compliance, Wal-Mart, Bentonville, Ark.

To watch the rebroadcast of the hearing and to read the testimony, please visit the link below.

Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry - click on November 17th.

November 17, 2009 -- Members of the School Nutrition Association have spoken, casting their ballots in the annual election for the Association’s top leadership positions. Ten new members to the Board of Directors will be installed in July 2010 and four members, representing different SNA regions, will join the Nominating Committee.

SNA congratulates the following candidates for their election to the Association’s Board of Directors and Nominating Committee, and thanks all the candidates for their enthusiasm and commitment to serve the national Association.

SNA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Vice President
Sandy Ford, SNS, Florida

Secretary/Treasurer
Beth Taylor, SNS, North Carolina

Member Services Committee Chair
Chris Neal, SNS, Washington

Nutrition Committee Chair
Diane Santoro, SNS, Florida

Research Committee Chair
Diane Schweitzer, PhD, SNS, Indiana

School Nutrition Employee/Manager Representative
Mary Betlach, Minnesota

State Agency Representative
To Be Announced

Northeast Regional Director
Jackie Fiorentino, SNS, Massachusetts

Northwest Regional Director
Ariane Shanley, Washington

Southwest Regional Director
Jody Houston, SNS, Texas

SNA NOMINATING COMMITTEE

Mideast Nominating Committee Representative
Sara Gasiorowski, SNS, Indiana

Midwest Nominating Committee Representative
Peggy Eller, Wisconsin

Southeast Nominating Committee Representative
Patsy Lynch, SNS, Georgia

West Nominating Committee Representative
Lyman Graham, New Mexico

These winning candidates will be installed in July during the Association's Annual National Conference in Dallas and will serve under the leadership of incoming President Nancy Rice, SNS.

Related Links:

SNA Election

November 17, 2009 – USA Today’s November 17 article, “Schools in the dark about tainted lunches” reports on failures in the federal government’s system to notify schools about potentially tainted foods supplied to school meals programs. The article is the first part in a series of stories on school lunches.

Through stringent food safety standards on professional training and food preparation procedures, as well as federal advocacy, the School Nutrition Association and its members are focused on protecting the health of America’s school children.

Please visit the link below for talking points on how school nutrition programs maintain superior food safety records, and how SNA has called on the federal government to improve its procedures to provide timely and accurate notifications to schools when they identify a food safety threat.

Related Links

Talking Points on Food Safety in the School Nutrition Programs