AKSNA Annual Conference

Bonnie Britt, Regional Sales Manager, from Wild Mike’s presented, Understanding the Clean Label Movement. She discussed the trend toward clean label and how School Nutrition Professionals can take action.

• Let’s talk about “Clean” Label
• Review definitions of “Clean” Label
• Is “Clean” Label a Passing Trend?
• Restaurant Standards
• K-12 Standards
• Challenges
• Product solutions
• At home Clean Label

Sue Lampert, USDA Foods Coordinator, Alaska Child Nutrition Programs, hosted the USDA Advisory Council Meeting and introduced New Products for SY19-20.

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Sue Lampert, USDA Foods Coordinator, Alaska Child Nutrition Programs presented theUSDA Foods Update.

• Changes for SY19-20
• Request driven orders
• USDA Foods for Processing
• Submitting Orders
• Administrative Fee
• Direct USDA Foods
• Processed USDA Foods
• Meal Pattern Requirements
• Changes in Orders
• USDA Tools

Dr. Katie Wilson, SNS is President of Ktwilson Consulting, LLC, and former USDA Undersecretary Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services,  presented Successfully Managing the Complexities of School Nutrition Programs. Her presentation discussed:

• School Meal Basics
• Desired Outcomes
• Expenses
• Revenues
• Strategies for Success

Jo Dawson, SNS, Program Manager, Alaska Child Nutrition Programs, presented the State Agency Update.

• Federal Government Shutdown
• Menu flexibilities and new items
• Statistics, including the decreasing reliance on District General Fund subsidies
• Common findings in Administrative Reviews
• Professional Standards
• Grant Opportunities
• CNPweb Upgrade

Jenni Ragland, Salvation Army; Sue Lampert, USDA Foods Coordinator, Alaska Child Nutrition Programs; and Beth Seitz, NSLP Coordinator, Child Nutrition Programs, presented, Disaster Preparedness.

• Types and characteristics of disasters
• Notification
• Process

Lyssa Frohling, Alaska’s Farm to School Coordinator with the Division of Agriculture presented the Farm to School Update.

Farm to School Goals:

• Educate youth about healthy local food production and sustainability
• Provide healthy local meal options to our children in school meals
• Connect farmers with schools

252 Alaskan schools from 29 districts participate in Farm to School activities. There are several exciting upcoming events:

• Alaska Ag Day, 7 May 2019 (First Tuesday of May)
• Farm to Summer Week
• National Farm to School Month, October

Sue Lampert, USDA Foods Coordinator, Alaska Child Nutrition Programs, presented Net Off Invoice; Is it right for your district?

• What is NOI
• Requesting NOI products
• Competitive Bid
• Monthly/Annual responsibilities

Dr. Katie Wilson, SNS is President of Ktwilson Consulting, LLC, and former USDA Undersecretary Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services, presented Six Pillars for Success.

1. History: You can’t move forward if you don’t know where you have been
2. Business: You need to know the business of school nutrition
3. Networking: Learning from others can give you a new perspective
4. Customer Service: If I had a choice, would I choose your restaurant?
5. Tell your story: Everywhere to everyone
6. Passion and Attitude: Nothing is impossible to those that want to make it happen

Commissioner Dr. Michael Johnson is pleased to provide a welcome message in recognition of Alaska’s school nutrition professionals for the 2019 Alaska School Nutrition Association’s annual conference.