Quick News  

  • Registration for the School Nutrition and Industry Partner (SNIP) conference is open! SNIP will be held November 8-10, 2023. Learn more here.
  • Plan a cafeteria visit with your legislator! SNA members can invite legislators to tour their cafeterias using the Cafeteria Visits 101 Toolkit, designed to serve as a step-by-step guide to help plan a successful Congressional visit to school cafeterias. 
  • National School Lunch Week is approaching, on October 9-13! Power up your #NSLW23 celebration with resources here from SNA.
  • Looking for Annual Conference resources? Check out "Conference Resources" on the conference page to find speaker resources, food demonstration recipes, and more.
  • Congratulations to MSNA President, Cheryl Pick, for receiving the President's Award of Service at the School Nutrition Association Annual National Conference (ANC) in Denver! Check out the other winners here.
  • The Minnesota School Nutrition Association (MSNA) is excited to announce the outcome of the 2023 Board Member Election! The election occurred May 28 through June 11. Congratulations to our 2023-2024 MSNA Vice President Glen Ritter, St. Michael-Albertville District 885, and congratulations to 2023-2025 Leadership Development Committee (LDC) member Amy Kimmel, Spring Lake Park School District. Learn more about these two new board members here.
  • MN Passes Free Meals for All Starting SY 23/24: MSNA commends Governor Tim Walz and the Minnesota Legislature for moving to permanently offer all students breakfast and lunch at no charge starting in SY 2023-2024. The MSNA 2023 Position Paper, released in January, underscored the need for all students to have equal access to school meals and for necessary reimbursements and funding to be directed to school nutrition programs to ensure long-term sustainability... continue reading here.
  • Read MSNA's 2023 Position Paper
  • Interested in attending MSNA or National Conferences? Two MSNA members, Lori Landowski and Vickie Speltz, share their experience attending conferences and discuss how important it is to always keep learning. Watch the video here!

Nominate a Colleague You Admire!

There is no time like the season of giving to recognize the hard work of our colleagues in the school nutrition profession who go above and beyond. The SNA Awards program highlights the outstanding and important work of SNA members and state affiliates. Members and state associations are eligible for a variety of honors that recognize their achievements in school foodservice, leadership, membership recruitment and professional development. Nominations must have been submitted online by Wednesday, March 1, 2023.

Employee of the Year Award
Manager of the Year Award, in honor of Louise Sublette
Director of the Year Award
National Industry Member of the Year Award  

SNA’s CEU bundling policy changes in January

What’s new: SNA is simplifying its Continuing Education Unit (CEU) bundling policy to allow for more flexibility and make it easier for SNA members to count CEUs obtained from applicable training.

Effective January 1, 2022:
• CEUs no longer have to be a minimum of 1 hour to be accepted for the SNA Certificate Program and SNS credential renewal requirements.
• You do not need to bundle shorter training sessions in the same subtopic code to reach 1 hour. However, a training session must be a minimum of 15 minutes to be accepted.
• Though not a requirement, SNA still encourages training to be at least an hour.

MSNA Members in the News!

9/5: MSNA Public Policy Chair and nutrition director in Mankato Area Public Schools, Darcy Stueber, joined Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan and Leah Garden from Hunger Solutions on Minnesota Public Radio to discuss the start of the Free School Meals for Kids program. Listen to the interview here and check out photos here.

8/24: Julie Kronabetter, MSNA Nutrition Chair, and Nutrition Director for Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District 191, is pleased that Minnesota is the fourth state to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students. Read more in the Sun This Week article. 

8/24: "Since I’ve taken this job in 2020, every year it’s changed." Katie Wahl, director of nutrition for Robbinsdale Area Schools was interviewed by CCX media on free meal preparation.

8/20: MSNA Public Policy Chair and Nutrition Director at Mankato Schools, Darcy Stueber, spoke with the Mankato Free Press on participation in the free meals program.

8/6 - 8/9 Annual Conference Interviews
  • During the Annual Conference, WCCO-AM radio interviewed past President Cheryl Pick on meal budgeting.
  • WJON-AM provides exhibit show photos and insights from MSNA members Cheryl Pick, Noah Atlas, and Michele Hawkinson.
  • KTSP (FOX) News spoke with MSNA President Michele Hawkinson regarding the start of school preparations with the start of free meals.
  • MSNA Member Sarah Motl and the owner of Deeply Rooted discussed plant-based option lunch options. Check it out on St.Cloud Live.
  • KARE-11 (NBC) News interviewed MSNA Board Members Emily Malone, Jess Pena and Chery Pick about sampled exhibit show items and preparations for free meals.

7/17: Congratulations to MSNA President, Cheryl Pick, for receiving the President's Award of Service at the School Nutrition Association Annual National Conference (ANC) in Denver! Check out the other winners here.

6/28: Winona Area Public School (WAPS) district is serving up food and fun for the summer. Check out Lunch Bus & Beans!

6/13: MSNA President-Elect and School Nutrition Director for Tracy Area Public Schools, Michele Hawkinson, speaks on the shortage of food service workers in this StarTribune article.

5/31: MSNA Public Policy Chair and director for Mankato Public Schools, Darcy Stueber, was featured in a Civic Eats article, discussing her challenges ensuring students are fed, as well as her journey in advocating for free school meals in Minnesota.

5/2: Jess Pena, MSNA Nutrition Chair and School Nutrition Director for Red Wing Public Schools, has been appointed by SNA to be the Midwest Region Representative for the Public Policy & Legislation Committee.

3/17: Walz signs universal school meals bill into Minnesota law. Read what Gov. Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan said, as well as learn about the bill's implications, in this MPR News article. 

3/9: Mankato Area Schools nutrition director and MSNA Public Policy Chair, Darcy Stueber, urged congress to fund school meal programs. Read what Darcy had to say here. 

3/6 In honor of National School Breakfast Week, Jess Pena, MSNA Nutrition Chair and School Nutrition Director for Red Wing Public Schools shares with CBS News popular items for high school breakfasts and how it impacts students’ health. Watch the video here.

3/6: Cheryl Pick, MSNA President and Foley Public Schools nutrition director, was interviewed by WCCO-AM on current challenges in school nutrition and details of the Legislative Action Conference in Washington D.C. Read her interview here.