March 7, 2013 – SNA along with USDA will take part in the inaugural celebration of International School Meals Day (ISMD) on March 8, 2013. The purpose of the first ever International School Meals day is to raise awareness about the importance of teaching children around the world about good nutrition, to foster healthy eating habits in school and at home, and to share policies, practices, and research between countries.

Schools selected to take part in this year's activities will focus on topics related to the school nutrition environment, such as the menu choices available in the cafeteria, classroom instruction on nutrition education, or growing and/or cooking food at school. Students will then discuss these topics with students in the UK. Initially, 14 classrooms (grades 3-8) in the US are now connected with 14 classrooms in Scotland. USDA plans to expand the initiative to include partnerships with additional countries in future years.

The 14 participating US schools are:

• Nathanael Greene Elementary School, Chicago, IL
• JB Lancaster Elementary School, Madisonville, LA
• Rolling Terrace Elementary School, Montgomery, MD
• Harmony Hills Elementary School, Silver Spring, MD
• Oak Grove Upper Elementary School, Hattiesburg, MS
• Hampton Bays Middle School, Hampton Bays, NY
• Cartoogechaye Elementary School, Franklin, NY
• Sterling Elementary School, Pineville, NC
• AB Combs Elementary School, Wake County, NC
• Washington Elementary School, Mt Lebanon, PA
• Thomas Jefferson Middle School, Pittsburg, PA
• M.B. Henderson Elementary School, Dallas, TX
• Holmes Middle School, Alexandria, VA
• Parklawn Elementary School, Alexandria, VA

Don’t forget to join the ISMD conversation on twitter where you can share ideas with others @IntSchoolMeals and by using #ISMD13 hashtag.

You can also find out more at www.internationalschoolmealsday.com.