Angela Gomez

School Nutrition Foundation Member Award-LAC 2026

Years in School Nutrition: 8 years

Students Served: 9,000

J.T.M Food Group, “Jack Maas, Jr.” first-time attendee scholarship

Why School Nutrition?

As a second career K-12 Registered Dietitian, I believe that school meals is not only a part of “school nutrition.” School meals are also community nutrition and a key part of public health, and should be respected and resourced as such. This scholarship to LAC was important for me to add another set of skills to my figurative “School Nutrition toolbox”… Advocacy with politicians so that I could continue to push for policies that support School Nutrition Professionals and students.

Bringing It Back to My District

One key takeaway from LAC that will benefit both me and my team is that we are the experts in school nutrition, and our expertise needs to be at the forefront of policies that impact us and our students directly. This means that our advocacy must be a strategic year-around effort including, but not limited to, educating our communities and educating the politicians that are supposed to serve us.

The Impact of This Scholarship

SNF’s Conference Scholarship allowed me to attend LAC for the first-time and be inspired by fellow School Nutrition Professionals who are pushing to expand access to school meals and who are advocating for our programs, people, and students to be better resourced.