When it comes to procurement, school nutrition programs have a host of challenges to overcome. According to a study conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics in…
Procurement is a persistent challenge for school nutrition programs. Consider these five strategies to improve the situation. https://nutristudentsk-12.com/news/fresh-bites-blog/procurement-challenges-persist-5-strategies-help/

Since the pandemic hit in March 2020, school nutrition programs have been able to adapt and tackle the challenges of getting millions of children. Despite labor shortages,…
Without Congressional action, pandemic-era waivers including free school meals are set to expire on June 30. https://nutristudentsk-12.com/news/fresh-bites-blog/pandemic-related-waivers-set-expire/

The School Nutrition Association has released its 2022 Position Paper outlining the organization’s legislative priorities for the year. In the paper, SNA calls on Congress to…
School Nutrition Association has released its 2022 Position Paper outlining legislative priorities for the year ahead. https://nutristudentsk-12.com/news/fresh-bites-blog/sna-publishes-2022-position-paper/

States and school districts are breathing a collective sigh of relief as USDA has announced $1.5 billion in federal funds to support school meal programs deal with the challenges…
USDA announces $1.5 billion to support school meal programs in the wake of rising inflation and supply chain disruptions brough on by the pandemic. https://nutristudentsk-12.com/news/fresh-bites-blog/usda-distributes-15-billion-help-school-meal-programs/

Pivot, pivot, pivot! If you’re like most foodservice professionals, this year has brought unprecedented challenges to your program. You may have been forced to turn on a dime and…
We’ve made 5 days of easily adaptable menus and support resources available for free to help navigate supply chain disruptions. https://nutristudentsk-12.com/news/fresh-bites-blog/supply-chain-help-here/

How long will we have to keep going like this? It’s a question that school nutrition professionals across the country are asking. While it feels like a small step towards normalcy…
Pandemic fatigue and burn out are real, especially for school nutrition professionals. Here’s a few ideas to keep things positive. https://nutristudentsk-12.com/news/fresh-bites-blog/five-ways-school-foodservice-professionals-fight-pandemic-fatigue/

The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with weight gain among adults, but little was known about the pandemic’s effect on the weight of children and teens. A new study…
Childhood obesity is up during the pandemic. How do school meals factor in on these rates? https://nutristudentsk-12.com/news/fresh-bites-blog/study-pandemic-increased-childhood-obesity/

If school year 2020-21 was challenging for school nutrition programs, it is looking like the upcoming school year isn’t going to be any easier. Throughout the summer, social media…
School nutrition programs nationwide are feeling the crunch of COVID-related supply chain issues. Utilizing USDA Commodities can help alleviate some of the stress. https://nutristudentsk-12.com/news/fresh-bites-blog/experiencing-supply-chain-challenges-were-here-help/

A new nationwide survey of 1,368 school foodservice directors from the School Nutrition Association (SNA) released last week revealed serious concerns for the upcoming school…
Nationwide survey of school foodservice directors anticipates continued challenges from the pandemic. https://nutristudentsk-12.com/news/fresh-bites-blog/sna-survey-reflects-worry-coming-school-year/

After a year and a half of Zoom meetings, virtual conferences, and social distancing, it’s so refreshing to hit the road once again and reconnect with you at a few state-level…
Announcing two new winners for free, one-year subscriptions to NutriStudents K-12 from SNA conferences in Iowa and Wisconsin! https://nutristudentsk-12.com/news/fresh-bites-blog/and-winners-are/

With so much focus on student academic achievement, it may feel like time has been whittled away from the lunch period in favor of more instructional time in the classroom.…
New research suggests school-age children eat more fruits and vegetables when given more time during lunch periods to eat. https://nutristudentsk-12.com/news/fresh-bites-blog/time-eat-making-time-school-lunch/

Thank you to everyone who entered our drawing for a free one-year subscription to NutriStudents K-12 by sharing your summer contact information with us. Our winner is: Kim…
The winner of our recent drawing for a free one-year subscription to NutriStudents K-12 is Seminole County Public Schools https://nutristudentsk-12.com/news/fresh-bites-blog/seminole-county-schools-wins/

Thank you to everyone who entered our drawing for a one-year-free subscription to NutriStudents K-12 in May. Our winner is: Tonyia Hyland Foodservice Director Adena Local School…
The winner of our May giveaway for a free one-year subscription to NutriStudents K-12 is the Adena Local School District in Frankfort, Ohio. https://nutristudentsk-12.com/news/fresh-bites-blog/adena-local-schools/

SY20/21 was crazy. Changing USDA waivers, social distancing guidelines, safety protocols, distance and hybrid learning and eating. We know you’re exhausted and looking forward to…
Planning 21/22 school lunch menus is simple with NutriStudents K-12. Do it today to save time and stress at the beginning of the year. https://nutristudentsk-12.com/news/fresh-bites-blog/plan-21-22-now/

Allergen-Free Menu Full of Flavor According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 1 in 13 children have a food allergy. That’s about 8 percent of…
Food allergies are on the rise. CDC resources and the NutriStudents K-12 allergen-free menu can help. https://nutristudentsk-12.com/news/fresh-bites-blog/cdc-offers-food-allergies-toolkit/

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, millions of families were suddenly struggling to put food on the table. Providing consistent meals to their children was no longer as easy…
Hunger advocacy organizations, the School Nutrition Association (SNA) and others lobby for free school meals for all kids. https://nutristudentsk-12.com/news/fresh-bites-blog/are-universal-meals-future/

There are lots of sources for individual school lunch recipes. The hard part of building out a menu rotation is putting those individual recipes into days and then into weeks that…
We’ve added 5 new menu weeks comprised of student favorites and a few new entrees upon special request. https://nutristudentsk-12.com/news/fresh-bites-blog/5-new-menu-weeks-shuffle-deck/

Need hard numbers to justify subscribing to NutriStudents K-12? Want to know the financial ROI from NutriStudents K-12? Consider in a normal school year: It takes just 5…
In a normal school year, clients report participation increases of 10% or more after starting with NutriStudents K-12. Just five additional meals a day is all that’s needed to cover the cost of a monthly subscription. https://nutristudentsk-12.com/news/fresh-bites-blog/breakeven-5-additional-meals/

There’s no doubt COVID-19 has reshaped child nutrition programs for the foreseeable future. Since March 2020, foodservice directors have had to adapt nearly every aspect of their…
Several trends have emerged from the COVID-19 era that will shape school nutrition programs in 2021 and beyond. https://nutristudentsk-12.com/news/fresh-bites-blog/7-school-nutrition-trends-2021/

COVID-19 Emergency Menus COVID-19 Foodservice Guide 3 Free Menu Days Cafeteria Connection Subscription Grocery menus have been called the "secret sauce" to COVID-19 meal…
Grocery menus meet USDA guidelines for the SFSP and simplify distance-learning school meals. https://nutristudentsk-12.com/news/fresh-bites-blog/grocery-menus-simplify-sfsp-service/