September 2014

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Power Your Own Press With Help From School Nutrition

School nutrition has been at the forefront of the news media in recent months, and now, School Nutrition magazine invites you to take media matters into your own hands by learning how to manage news-making opportunities for positive promotion for your school nutrition operation. The September 2014 issue of School Nutrition, the flagship publication of the School Nutrition Association, looks at how to prepare yourself and your cafeteria when members of the media come to call-and how to get them to tell your best stories.

In "Media Matters," PR expert Elizabeth Cowles Johnston offers step-by-step instructions on how to take the national news headlines and spin them into positive promotions locally. This article offers advice for creating your own PR toolkit, choosing the right channel-be it TV, op-eds, letters to the editor, newsroom or site visits or communications via the school district-for sending your message, and creating talking points that will resonate.

After you've invited a camera crew into your cafeteria, learn how to make the lunchroom look its best with "Let's Go to the Videotape!" SN Managing Editor Kelsey Casselbury speaks with multiple directors who are veterans in preparing for cafeteria site visits involving camera crews. From ensuring the salad bar looks its best to showcasing the colors of the food-and ensuring you have appropriate permissions for students and staff alike-make each aspect of your operation shine on screen.

Bonus Web Content: Once your cafeteria is ready for its close-up, make sure that your staff members are ready for their on-screen debut, too!

But whatever will you say to those reporters? In "It's Easy For You to Say," SN Editor Patricia L. Fitzgerald reviews tips for the best way to prep for an interview, from toning down the school nutrition jargon to making the most of media opportunities for education.

Of course, it's up to you to do your part in getting positive images out there, and Dayle Hayes, MS, RD, a school nutrition blogger with a prolific social media presence, shares how you can make the most of your smartphone camera in "Click It, Share It, Post It, Tweet It, Pin It, Eat It!" Find her top six tips for taking fantastic school food and cafeteria photos that you'll want to share with your community.

The September 2014 issue of School Nutrition also features a look back at the 2014 Annual National Conference (ANC) in Boston with photos and highlights, as well as a wrap-up of the exciting celebrations held for School Lunch Hero Day 2014. Finally, flip to this month's Food Focus, which spotlights an evolution of an American classic-potato chips.