What are you doing May 30th and May 31st? Mark your calendars and spend both days with us at the 2018 Healthy Kids, Healthy Programs Summit. Register by May 11th for the two-day summit and join school nutrition professionals from across the Commonwealth at the Four Points by Sheraton in Norwood, MA to promote healthy students and healthy school nutrition programs. The schedule for Day One includes a keynote speaker you won’t want to miss, an insightful panel about enhancing or starting a School Breakfast Program moderated by the President of Project Bread, networking and educational opportunities and impactful breakout sessions throughout the morning and afternoon.
Be sure to register for the SNA of MA Reception immediately following the Summit on May 30th from 3:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Relax with your peers and vendors while enjoying light snacks and a free beverage (included with your $10 registration cost) in the ballroom of the Four Points by Sheraton. Participate in a scavenger hunt designed to help you learn about available products and services. Get fun facts about your vendors and school nutrition. This is networking at its best!
Day One begins at 8:00a.m. with a warm welcome from Robert Leshin, MPA Director of the Office for Food and Nutrition Programs and Karen McGrail, MEd, RDN, LDN, Director of The John C. Stalker Institute of Food and Nutrition.
We’re honored to have Dr. Marlene Schwartz, Director for the Rudd Center for Obesity & Food Policy from the University of Connecticut as the morning keynote speaker. With almost three decades of experience researching nutrition and physical activity policies in schools and preschools throughout Connecticut, Dr. Schwartz will present on, “School Wellness: National Trends, Local Solutions.” Dr. Schwartz will review what actually gets implemented in School Wellness programs, share the effect of food marketing on children, and detail the relationship between school breakfast consumption and obesity. Walk away with the evidence to promote wellness initiatives in your district.
In the afternoon, gather for a panel with school community members and moderator Erin McAleer, President at Project Bread to discuss “Building a Strong Breakfast Coalition.” Uncover how to champion district and local support to grow a successful School Breakfast Program. Each panel member will highlight the impact of their School Breakfast programs on students and share what has worked well for their schools.
School nutrition directors are encouraged to register managers for the “Engaging Your Customers” Learning Track. In the morning, managers can participate in the “Exceptional Customer Service” session to improve customer service skills using concepts from The Guest: Everything You Already Knew About Great Customer Service. In the afternoon, managers can join the “Empowering Staff to Improve the Customer Experience” session to explore the difference between customer service and customer experience along with the potential issues that may be impacting your program.
Each day of the Summit provides 5½ continuing education hours to meet USDA Professional Standards training needs. Don’t forget to register by May 11th. Today is the perfect day to sign-up and cross that off your to-do list!
The two-day conference is sponsored by the Office for Food and Nutrition Programs at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and The John C. Stalker Institute of Food and Nutrition.
