August 28, 2012 – For nearly 30 years, SNA’s School Nutrition Foundation (SNF) has been supporting the educational needs of SNA members like you. Thousands of school nutrition professionals have received scholarships to further their careers and gain knowledge so they can continue to nourish the lives of millions of children. With the generous support of members and industry partners, the SNF scholarship program has grown to eight different funds with more than $1.6 million in scholarship awards.

It’s a new school year for your students—and for you! Take a look at the scholarship opportunities designed to help you achieve your professional goals:

• Schwan’s Food Service
  Through an annual donation of $50,000, this scholarship enables SNF to “foster good nutrition in school lunch programs and to improve school foodservice management.” Scholarships of up to $2,500 are awarded; 20 individuals earned scholarships for the coming school year.
• Winston Industries “Build Your Future”
  Scholarships of up to $2,500 are awarded. Twelve recipients earned funding to help their educational dreams in 2012-13.
• SNF Professional Growth
  This program is funded by SNA members through designated fundraising events. Scholarships of up to $2,500 are awarded, and nine recipients received funds for the coming year.
• Kathleen Stitt Award
  A $500 scholarship is presented to one graduate student or faculty member participating in the Child Nutrition Showcase at ANC, and is intended to help defray ANC travel expenses.
• Nancy Curry Award
  Funded by Handgards, Inc., and friends of Nancy Curry, this scholarship is for SNA members employed in school nutrition. One $500 scholarship is awarded per year.
• ANC First Timers Award
  Funded by Winston Industries, this scholarship awards $500 to defer the costs of attending ANC for the first time. Twenty school nutrition professionals were able to attend ANC Denver with these funds.
• GED Jump Start
  This scholarship helps cover the cost for SNA members to attain a GED.
• Winston Industries Equipment Grant
  This program awards equipment to one school district seeking to improve its school meal kitchen facilities.
• In addition, at July’s SNA Annual National Conference (ANC), SNF announced plans to establish the Josephine Martin Endowment to provide funds each year to enable an SNA member to attend the annual Legislative Action Conference in Washington, D.C., for the first time.

Whatever your reason for going back to school or enhancing your professional development, SNF is dedicated to making your goals attainable. Visit www.schoolnutrition.org/scholarships for additional details about SNF’s scholarships, as well as downloadable applications and submission deadlines.

August 27, 2012 – Have you registered for the STEPS Challenge yet? A new school year is the perfect time to make healthy changes to your lifestyle and there’s still time to sign up before monthly challenges begin on September 1st.

September’s challenge, ‘Focus on Fruit’, encourages participants to get more fruit into their diet everyday. Participation is easy:

• Download the September Tracking Sheet and print it out
• September 1st-30th, award yourself points for eating delicious and nutritious fruit
• At the end of the month, add up your points. Did you earn 50 or more? You’re eligible to receive a prize!
• Submit your tracking sheet to SNA before October 5th to be entered in the prize drawing. Five lucky winners will each receive a 1-year subscription to Health magazine!

Start off the school year right with a healthy eating plan. Encourage friends and co-workers to participate with you to eat healthier together, stay motivated, and stick to it. Get started at www.schoolnutrition.org/steps.

About the STEPS Challenge
The STEPS Challenge is SNA’s personal wellness program. Created just for school nutrition professionals, the program is free and all SNA members are eligible to participate. The STEPS Challenge is designed to make better health and wellness simple and attainable for busy school nutrition professionals. Program benefits include access to healthy recipe ideas, fitness tips, online wellness resources, a downloadable toolkit, monthly challenges, prize drawings, and more. To sign up or learn more about the challenge, visit www.schoolnutrition.org/steps.