For Immediate Release
Media Contact
Gavin M Northey
Email: news@aksna.org
Alaska School Nutrition Association to Lobby Congress in Support of School Meals
BETHEL, AK – MARCH 7, 2020 – Next week, Marybeth Whalen will represent Alaska’s School Nutrition Professionals in Washington, D.C. Each school day, School Nutrition Professionals serve approximately 50,000 lunches and 26,000 breakfasts in support of child nutrition and education in the great state of Alaska.
Whalen will participate in School Nutrition Association’s (SNA) 48th annual Legislative Action Conference (LAC). During the conference (March 8 – 10), Whalen will join approximately 900 peers from across the country in urging Congress to increase student access to healthy school meals and support efforts to simplify child nutrition programs.
LAC’s “Charge to the Hill” will allow Alaska’s Congressional Delegation to understand Alaska’s needs and opportunities to support child nutrition programs. Whalen is scheduled to meet with each of Alaska’s delegates or a member of their staff:
- Senator
Lisa Murkowski, Tuesday, March 10, 2020 at 2:30 p.m. - Senator
Dan Sullivan, Wednesday, March 11, 2020 at 8:30 a.m. - Representative
Don Young, Tuesday, March 10, 2020 at 10:00 a.m.
(All times Eastern Daylight Time)
Whalen will discuss the importance of school meal programs and provide insights on school meal program trends, successes and challenges. Attendees will also share SNA’s 2020 Position Paper, which calls on Congress to eliminate the co-pay for students who are eligible for reduced price meals, allow all states to use Medicaid data to automatically certify eligible students for free and reduced price meals, and develop guidance on ensuring students have adequate time to eat healthy school meals.
SNA’s 2020 Position Paper also addresses the importance of providing flexibility in school menu planning as well as streamlining overly complex child nutrition programs. USDA’s current and proposed rules to simplify menu planning ensure students continue to receive healthy meals at school, exposing them to a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.
About School Nutrition Association:
The School
Nutrition Association (SNA) is a national, non-profit professional organization
representing more than 55,000 school nutrition professionals across the
country. Founded in 1946, SNA and its members are dedicated to making healthy
school meals and nutrition education available to all students. To find out
more about SNA’s Legislative Action Conference, visit www.schoolnutrition.org/LAC.
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AKSNA is the state affiliate of the School Nutrition Association (SNA), a national, nonprofit professional organization representing more than 58,000 members who provide high-quality, low-cost meals to students across the country. Recognized as the authority on school nutrition, SNA has been advancing the availability, quality and acceptance of school nutrition programs as an integral part of education since 1946.