Tuesday Morning - January 12, 2021 An Update on Federal and State Policy Issues from SNATable of ContentsCOVID-19 Policy Updates USDA Extends Nationwide Waiver on Food Service Contract Duration for SFAs Federal Policy Save the Date for the 49th Legislative Action Conference: March 8-10, 2021 Check out LAC 2021 Resources State Snapshots Nebraska Reintroduces the Hunger-Free Schools Act New Hampshire Creates Legislation to Prohibit Lunch Shaming New York Presents Bill to Establish Wellness Model New York Proposes Nutritional Facts Provided for School Meals Vermont Introduces Bill to Provide Meals to All Students Mark Your Calendars Upcoming SNA Webinars Congressional Management Foundation Webinar Mystery Chat Corner COVID-19 Policy Updates USDA Extends Nationwide Waiver on Food Service Contract Duration for SFAs On January 6th, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) extended the nationwide waiver "Food Service Management Contract Duration in the National School Lunch Program and Summer Food Service Program-EXTENSION." This extension permits School Food Authorities (SFAs) and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) sponsors to extend existing food service management company (FSMC) contracts through SY 2021-2022 or June 30, 2022. Back to the top School nutrition staff at Foster Elementary School in California welcomed students, ready to distribute meals-to-go for a day of distance learning. Federal PolicySave the Date for the 49th Legislative Action Conference: March 8-10, 2021 Mark your calendars for the 49th Legislative Action Conference, March 8-10, 2021—a virtual event—to experience The Power of One: The Impact of Many. Stay tuned for more details about this exciting event! Register now for #LAC21! Check out LAC 2021 Resources This week, SNA published resources for this year's Legislative Action Conference (LAC). These resources include LAC FAQs, Lobbying Tips, and the "Zoom the Hill" Guide. Keep an eye out for updates to these resources as #LAC21 gets closer. State Snapshots Nebraska Reintroduces the Hunger-Free Schools Act LB 117, adopt the Hunger-Free Schools Act, would require all public schools to provide the best educational environment by serving breakfast and lunch at no cost to all eligible students. New Hampshire Creates Legislation to Prohibit Lunch Shaming HB 202 requires school boards that provide free or reduced-cost meals to refrain from specific actions that may stigmatize any child who requests such a meal but cannot pay or has unpaid meal debt. New York Presents Bill to Establish Wellness Model S 810 directs the Commissioner of Education to establish a New York state model wellness policy that complies with the local wellness policies required by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. New York Proposes Nutritional Facts Provided for School Meals S 969 requires school districts to provide students with nutritional facts and ingredients before serving each school meal and allows for all meal information to be listed on the school district website. Vermont Introduces Bill to Provide Meals to All Students H 32 requires all public schools to make school breakfast and lunch available to all students at no charge. The Education Fund will make up the difference in costs for the meals that are not reimbursed through Federal funds or other sources. Back to the top Mark Your Calendars Upcoming SNA Webinars Next month, join us for our Webinar Wednesday and learn about USDA Foods. If you missed a particular webinar, catch up with SNA’s on-demand webinars. Advocating for SNA’s 2021 Position PaperTuesday, January 19, 2021, 3:00 PM ET Join SNA and the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) to hone messaging strategies and prepare you for a successful 2021 Legislative Action Conference (LAC) and advocacy filled year! This presentation will explain how the best citizen advocates research their Members of Congress; use their Members' profiles to adjust their communications; and connect the dots between SNA’s 2021 Position Paper and your Congressional representative's influence. In these fast-changing times, effective advocacy is more critical than ever as we work to ensure sustainability and success for school nutrition programs. Making the Most of USDA Foods Wednesday, January 27, 2021, 3:00 pm ET When it comes to USDA Foods, diverting what you will use and using what you divert has never been more important. Join ACDA and SNA representatives to learn how to make the most of USDA Foods as you plan for next school year. Congressional Management Foundation Webinar The VIRTUAL Citizen-Advocate's ToolkitTuesday, February 2, 2021, 3:00 pm ET Regardless of the COVID-19 pandemic, keeping in touch with constituents is among the most important job aspects for Members of Congress. With most Members of Congress taking steps to observe social distancing protocols, congressional offices quickly adopted the use of virtual platforms to communicate with the people they represent. This presentation will highlight and provide tips for effectively using virtual advocacy strategies for engaging lawmakers including virtual meetings, emailing staff, social media, online and telephone town hall meetings, and more. Mystery Chat Corner On January 12th, 1939, the American publisher Martin Goodman founded Timely Comics in New York, which would later be known as which famous publishing and film franchise? A: Marvel Back to the top