Author: Gavin M. Northey

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) 48^th 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.

For Immediate Release

Media Contact
Gavin M Northey
Email: news@aksna.org

Alaskan Schools Encourage Students to Eat Nutritious “Out of This World” Breakfast

Anchorage, AK  – Feburary 28, 2020 – To encourage more families to take advantage of the healthy choices available for school breakfast, Alaska’s school districts will celebrate National School Breakfast Week during March 2-6, 2020.

Each day, 26,000 students across this great state of Alaska enjoy a nutritious school breakfast.  School breakfast provide students a tasty, nutritious source of energy for a successful learning experience.  Studies show that students who eat school breakfast are more likely to:

• Reach higher levels of achievement
  in reading and math
• Score higher on standardized tests
• Have better concentration and
  memory
• Be more alert
• Maintain a healthy weight

The National School Breakfast Week (NSBW) campaign theme, “Out of This World,” reminds the entire school community that school breakfast provides a healthy and energizing start to the day for students. School nutrition professionals and students will be encouraged to show their enthusiasm for school breakfast from March 2-6 as districts celebrates with special menus, cafeteria events, and more.

The “Out of This World” campaign is made possible by the School Nutrition Association and Kellogg’s®.

Contact your local School District to learn more about NSBW activities and menus.

Parents and students can follow the fun on www.Facebook.com/TrayTalk using the hashtag #NSBW20.  To learn more about NSBW, visit www.schoolnutrition.org/SchoolMeals.  

About National School Breakfast Week

National School Breakfast Week was launched in 1989 to raise awareness of the availability of the School Breakfast Program, a federally assisted meal program operating in public and non-profit private schools and residential child care institutions since 1975. 

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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.

For Immediate Release

Media Contact
Gavin M. Northey
Email: news@aksna.org

Elizabeth “Libby” Edelman Recognized with 2020 Dean Hamburg Award for Commitment and Dedication to Alaska School Nutrition

Anchorage, AK – Februrary 5, 2020 – Elizabeth “Libby” Edelman of Valdez, AK was recognized at the 52^nd Annual Alaska School Nutrition Association (AKSNA) Conference with the Dean Hamburg Award.  Edelman is the third recipient of the award which recognizes commitment and dedication to school nutrition.

Also recognized at the Annual Conference, Walter Williams of Dillingham, AK, and Tanya Dube of Anchorage, AK, with the President’s Award recognizing their service to the AKSNA Board

Adrianne Schwartz of Juneau, AK was also recognized with the President’s Award; Schwartz was the 2019 Alaska and Northwest Regional School Nutrition Association (SNA) Director of the Year.

School Nutrition professionals across the Great State of Alaska serve 76,000 nutritious school breakfasts and lunches to energize Alaskan students each school day.  Nutrition professionals such as Edelman, Williams, Dube, and Schwartz are committed to supporting Alaska’s education system and fighting childhood hunger.

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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

For Immediate Release

Media Contact
Gavin M Northey
Email: news@aksna.org

Alaskan School Districts Celebrate National School Lunch Week

Anchorage, AK – October 13, 2019 – To recognize the National School Lunch Program, serving 30 million children each day, Alaskan schools will celebrate National School Lunch Week (NSLW) from October 14-18, 2019. The theme, “School Lunch: What’s on Your Playlist,” spotlights how today’s school cafeterias are serving up healthy menu items that kids want to eat, with increased choice and customization.

School Nutrition professionals across the great state of Alaska serve nutritious lunches to more than 50,000 children each day.  Many Alaskan schools will join schools around the nation celebrating NSLW, with fun activities and events to promote healthy school lunches.  Students and parents are encouraged to check with tehir local School District’s web site or school to find out what activities are being hosted in their schools for NSLW.

The “School Lunch Playlist” campaign is made possible by the nonprofit School Nutrition Association. Parents and students can follow the fun using the hashtags #NSLW19, #SchoolLunchPlaylist and #SchoolLunch. For more information on National School Lunch Week, visit https://schoolnutrition.org/nslw/.

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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.

For Immediate Release

Media Contact
Gavin M Northey
Email: news@aksna.org

Adrianne Schwartz Announced Alaska and Northwest Regional Director of the Year

JUNEAU, AK – MAY 17, 2019 – The Alaska School Nutrition Association (AKSNA) is pleased to announce Adrianne Schwartz of Juneau School District has earned the distinctions of School Nutrition Association (SNA)’s 2019 Northwest Region Director of the Year and AKSNA’s 2019 Director of the Year.

Within her first year as supervisor of the food service program, Schwartz added hot lunches and salad bars to all school sites, skyrocketing student lunch participation. Schwartz also implemented a school-sponsored Universal Breakfast program at the district’s elementary and middle schools, as well as their alternative high school. Working with a local interagency group, Schwartz reaches outside her school duties to address how the district meets hunger needs throughout the whole community. A strong advocate for professional development and supporter of the Alaska School Nutrition Association (AKSNA), Schwartz encourages her staff to attend state agency trainings and conferences when possible. Leading by example, she creates fun events around special school nutrition promotions, including National School Lunch Week and National School Breakfast Week. Schwartz leads a monthly School Nutrition Advisory Committee and sits on the state USDA Foods Advisory Committee in an effort to ensure children in her district and across the state have access to healthy meals.

Schwartz will be honored in July during the Red-Carpet Awards Ceremony at the SNA’s Annual National Conference, July 14 – 16, 2019 in St. Louis, MO.

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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.

This press release is posted on behalf of HealthySchoolRecipes.com. This posting is for informational purposes only and shall not be construed as an endorsement of the site or its content.

HealthySchoolRecipes.com launches an essential resource for school nutrition professionals who plan menus or prepare food for child nutrition programs. The site brings together recipes from schools and education departments across the country, as well as non-profit organizations and product manufacturers, into a beautiful, searchable, and easy to use resource that meets the unique needs of school nutrition programs.

The site was created by a team of school nutrition and culinary experts who understand that finding good recipes (that are flavorful, that work and that credit properly) has been a constant challenge for school nutrition professionals.

“Digging through numerous websites and PDF files is time consuming and can be a barrier to improving school nutrition menus”, said Executive Director, Catharine Powers. “Meals are served in over 93,000 schools each day, with over 31 million lunches and 11 million breakfasts eaten by students every year. School Nutrition professionals need better resources for creative, healthy menu items that meet the needs of today’s students”, she explained.

Along with Executive Chef Samantha Cowens-Gasbarro and an accomplished advisory team of school nutrition experts, Powers has created the solution and is confident that site will have a lasting positive impact on the meals that are served to kids in schools.

Key features:

• The site and all resources are FREE to all users.
• Hundreds of recipes are currently available with more added every day.
• Users are invited to add their recipes to share with the school nutrition community, as well as rate and comment on recipes submitted by others.
• Expert content in form of blogs, newsletters, and how-to videos.

For Additional Information visit: HealthySchoolRecipes.com

Contact Information:
Catharine Powers
PO Box 5212
Akron, OH 44334
Phone: (330) 416-5943
cathy@healthyschoolrecipes.com