Something old, something new for ASFSA: now known as the School Nutrition Association, organization seeks more gov't. funding

Nation's Restaurant News, August 16, 2004 by Paul King

The American School Food Service Association kicked off its 2004 national conference, held in Indianapolis, with a new name, the School Nutrition Association, but a familiar problem: how to convince Congress to cough up more money for child nutrition programs.

Before a packed room of delegates, SNA counsel Marshall Matz called the recent bill reauthorizing the National School Lunch and Breakfast programs for another seven years "a very good bill." But he quickly cautioned attendees that their work would not be finished until several of the elements of the bill are funded so that they can be executed.

"It will become a great bill only if we get the money to fund it," he said, noting that the only entitlement programs, or those that receive funding automatically, are meal programs.

Among the provisions that still need to have money appropriated for them are those involving nutrition education programs, food safety, training and a pilot program that would eliminate the "reduced-price" category for school meals in five states. SNA members long have pushed for elimination of that category, arguing that it keeps a significant portion of students from receiving school meals because their families can't afford even the lower cost of a federally approved breakfast or lunch.

Matz and Barry Sackin, the SNA's director of public policy, told members that they would organize a "targeted campaign" to convince members of Congress to come up with the needed funds. Matz pointed out that it was the SNA's e-mail and phone campaign last year and earlier this year that resulted in so many programs being included in the reauthorization bill in the first place.

"You have become an incredibly efficient, well-organized lobbying group," Matz told the crowd. "Senators and Congressmen will tell you that they passed this bill because they care about our children but also because they know the consequences of not responding to your requests."

At the conference's opening session, attended by most of the 5,500 members who had registered, the association announced that it would adopt a new name for the first time in its 58-year history. Incoming president Karen Johnson said the ASFSA executive board believes that the name School Nutrition Association better reflects the organization's mission.

"This name better identifies what we're all about," said Johnson, "which is feeding children nutritious meals. 'SNA' sends a better message to the public of what we do."

Toni Fisher, foodservice director for a high school in Evanston, Ill., said the name and many of the educational sessions at the conference "should get people thinking more proactively about nutrition, rather than reacting to parents and the public."

Indeed, much of the conference was devoted to nutrition topics. Twenty-five interest sessions, more than a quarter of the total, addressed some aspect of nutrition, and many of those that were an hour long were standing room only.

Karen Johnson, who also is foodservice director for the 10,500-student Yuma, Ariz., school district, said members have expressed a keen interest in the topic.

"We are finding that the state foodservice associations are drawing more people to their conferences using a health-and-wellness theme," she noted. "In Massachusetts 49 percent more people attended this year's conference because they wanted information on nutrition.

"It makes me excited for the association," she added. "We've had more visibility recently, with the issues surrounding competitive foods and vending machines, and the media have been very helpful in portraying what we are trying to do."

Even the federal government is jumping on the nutrition bandwagon, Sackin pointed out. One of the provisions of the reauthorization bill is a requirement that by July 1, 2006, every school district that participates in the National School Lunch Program must have a wellness policy in place. That policy, the bill states, should include goals for nutrition education and physical activity, nutrition guidelines for all food sold in schools, and a plan for measuring its own effectiveness.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture had a strong presence at the conference, with USDA employees presenting several sessions on various studies and projects in which the department is involved.

USDA scientists also offered an information session about irradiated ground beef, which was approved last year for use by school cafeterias. Christopher Sommers. Ph.D., from the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service, gave a primer on irradiation, and Brenda Halbrook of FNS talked about the education pilot conducted last year by three school districts in Minnesota.

The pilot was used to assess the effectiveness of materials that the USDA would use to educate school administrators and parents about irradiation and irradiated foods. Halbrook told approximately 50 attendees that the information was effective in changing the view of about one in five people surveyed.