I enjoy celebrating National School Breakfast Week and so do students. Just look at all these happy faces! Every student you serve breakfast to gets an instant academic boost. You can feel proud that you're fueling them up for learning. Learning more about our Turbo Chef pizza oven was the topic this week in the VHS kitchen. There were serious recipe creations going on and I gladly volunteered to be a taste tester. This is innovation at its finest and I'm impressed. There are many more ideas and sources of inspiration in SN Magazine and Served Digizine in the digital resources section below. Lastly, please take a minute to help take action to save our program from congressional funding cuts and advocate for positive reform. Thank you for being the best of the best!

With gratitude,

Kathy

The School Nutrition Association's (SNA) Legislative Action Conference was held this week in Washington, DC and a strong group of Indiana members attended to meet with legislators and speak to USDA. They voiced concern about a number of things including their proposed changes to meal pattern requirements (decreased sodium, sugar) and how it would negatively impact our programs. The SNA Position Paper is urging Congress to do four things:

1. Allow schools to offer meals at no charge to all students.

2. Permanently increase higher reimbursement rate funding. Current funding will end in four months and reimbursement will be reduced. Decreased federal funding will fail to cover costs, leaving school meal programs in crisis.

3. Maintain current nutrition standards for menus instead of adding new unachievable rules.

4. Reduce the red tape and administrative burden on school nutrition programs.

Right now you can help take action by signing up to send a prewritten letter to congress. It's an easy 30 seconds that will make an important impact. Click here: https://schoolnutrition.org/advocacy/sna-action-network/?vvsrc=%2fCampaigns%2f102059%2fRespond

We are starting to organize the Summer Food Service Program. Free meals will be served to students in summer school at TJE and TJM with an open period for the public to bring in kids 18 and younger to receive free meals. The program begins May 30. More information will come soon on how to apply to work and what training is required. Not every school or location in a community is eligible to serve free meals, though. The census map identifies low income areas and if the address of a location is in the "red," the site qualifies. Click on the Area Eligibility link below to see red areas in Valpo or for an address anywhere in the U.S. It is very interesting and based on recent census information.

Any permanent employee (including substitutes) interested in any of these positions can apply by emailing a brief letter of interest to Kathy Kane, Director at kkane@valpo.k12.in.us.

Non-employees can apply by completing an online application as an External Applicant here: https://www.applitrack.com/valpo/onlineapp/

FS Tech, TJM, 4 hours

FS Tech, SELF, 5.5 hours

FS Tech, VHS, 6 hours

FS Tech, Flint Lake, 4 hours

Past issues of Friday Focus are posted on our department website on the Staff Training page here:

https://www.valpo.k12.in.us/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1221036&type=d&pREC_ID=1455849