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.

SNA  Announces New Lockbox Mailing Change 

Mailing in a payment to SNA? The lockbox address is changing on October 12, 2021. Please take note of the information below to ensure that your payment is sent to the correct address:

SNA Depository, PO Box 719297, Philadelphia, PA 19171-9297

SNA is working hard to ensure a smooth transition to the new lockbox address, and we encourage you to begin making the necessary updates. SNA is here to help! If your school district requires an updated W-9 or vendor forms, or if you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected].

 SNA Welcomes USDA Supply Chain Funds

SNA applauded the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) distribution of $1.5 billion in supply chain assistance funds for schools through USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). SNA President-Elect Lori Adkins, SNS, joined Deputy Under Secretary for USDA’s Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services, Stacy Dean in discussing the importance of the new funds for school meal programs, struggling with the impact of widespread supply chain disruptions and rising costs.

SNA’s recent national survey of school nutrition directors found virtually every program is struggling with shortages of menu items, supplies and packaging, as well as rising costs.

“School meal programs are paying much higher prices in the scramble to place additional orders and find new vendors when their deliveries are shorted, cancelled or delayed,” says Adkins. “SNA is extremely grateful for USDA’s ongoing support and regulatory waivers for school nutrition professionals as they confront supply chain challenges. These new funds will help school meal programs manage higher costs, while allowing students to continue enjoying nutritious, American-grown foods in school meals.”

According to USDA’s release: USDA will provide $1 billion for schools to purchase food for their meal programs and another $300 million for states to purchase foods to be distributed to schools. An additional $200 million will be used for cooperative agreements to purchase local foods for schools with a focus on buying from historically underserved producers.

MSNA State Membership Dues Increase

The MSNA Executive Board has approved an increase to the MSNA state memberships of $1.50. This increase will take effect in February of 2022. SNA will be sending out renewal letters to members that will have their renewal date for February that will reflect the state dues increase only. The membership form will reflect the changes starting in February for all new members. 

MSNA Members in the News!

MSNA President Cheryl Pick was interviewed by Jason DeRusha of "Drivetime with DeRusha" for a radio segment on "Eats & Back to School."

MSNA's Past President, Carrie Frank, Dover-Eyota Public Schools, was featured in the Food Service Director for speaking on her experiences in sourcing local food amidst supply chain issues.

MSNA’s Public Policy Chair, Darcy Stueber, Mankato Area Public Schools, represented MSNA when she testified in favor of HF1729. Read about it in this article from the Duluth News Tribune.

Darcy Steuber, Director of Nutrition Services for Mankato Area Public Schools and Ross Larson, food service director for Waseca Public Schools talk about the supply chain shortages with the The Free Press of Mankato MN.