Today, three (3) Connecticut organizations, the Connecticut Dietetics Association (CDA), End Hunger CT! (EHC!), and the School Nutrition Association of CT (SNACT) banded together to talk about Child Nutrition with our legislators in Hartford. This breakfast meeting was the first of its kind for Child Nutrition Professionals in CT and was a great opportunity to come to the Legislative Office Building next to the State Capitol and find out how you can help CT's legislators understand child nutrition programs. Talking points and first timer tips were made available.
The agenda was chock full of speakers from the three organizations talking about advocacy and how to talk to your legislators. The presentations were very upbeat and kept the participants fully engaged for an hour until the Legislative Breakfast was to begin. The room was full of child nutrition professionals and many Dietetic Students from area colleges and Universities. The training session began with:
- Madeleine Diker, Food Service Director for Cheshire Schools and the State Public Policy Coordinator for SNACT reviewed the 2011 CT Legislative Issue Paper.
- Dawn Crayco, Deputy Director of EHC! and Teresa Dotson, Puplic Policy Coordinator for CDA reviewed the talking points for the day.
- Cindy Brooks, Food Service Director of Seymour Public Schools & Public Policy & Legislation Committee Chair for School Nutrition Association gave "First Timer' tips to the attendees.
- Colleen Thompson & Paula Leibovitz of CDA gave an overview of http://www.kidseatright.org/
At 9:20 am the first collaborative Legislative Action Breakfast for School Nutrition in CT officially began with the following speakers from the three organizations discussing the importance of child nutrition:
- Colleen Thompson, President of CDA
- Eileen Faustich, President of SNACT & Food Service Director for Milford Schools
- Lucy Nolan, Executive Director of EHC!
SIDE NOTE: Senator Williams has been a champion of Child Nutrition issues for many years and at just about the same time CDA, EHC! and SNACT organized this breakfast Senator Williams reached out to me to discuss how the CT Legislature can support everything that we, Child Nutrition Professionals, do with our programs that will cost very little to do. The state of CT like every other state is facing huge budget gaps and needs to find creative ways to make changes and also find creative ways to support Child Nutrition in CT. We met several times and instead of reinventing the wheel Senator Williams decided we could piggyback of the Let's Move Program developed by the First Lady...Let's Move Connecticut was born.
Senator Williams alerted everyone in the room that he started the day with a healthy breakfast of stove top oatmeal with walnuts. He then spoke of the challenges associated with operating a Child Nutrition Program (CNP) in CT and how unfunded mandates only make our jobs more difficult. He also mentioned that his wife is a school administrator and she speaks often of the challenges of getting the students through the line, having them sit and eat healthy foods (all for less than a couple bucks per meal) without fighting in the cafe and getting them back to class and somehow CNP's are supposed to also break even
The Senator brought up some very important points to remember as we move into a tough budget time; partnerships and close working relationships to get through tough times. One of the parnerships he spoke a lot about is the partnership CT is entering with the First Lady's Let's Move Program by rolling out Let's Move Connecticut. The basic jist is to have Let's Move Connecticut be the vehicle to keep CT not only at the forefront of child nutrition but to continue to lead the way. Let's Move Connecticut will include bringing in Registered Dietitians into Schools, working with Chefs Move to Schools and getting CT schools signed up with the Healthier US School Challenge (HUSSC). Estimates out there suggest that as many as 2/3 of CT's schools will qualify already for the HUSSC.
The Farm to School Program is popular in CT and local food in CT adds $3 billion to the economy so this is a program that more school districts can become actively involved in!
CT is last in the country for student participation in the breakfast program and Let's Move Connecticut and its partners will support efforts to increase these numbers. (FRAC School Breakfast Report Card 2009-2010)
Let's Move Connecticut will be the collaborative that is organized to begin training programs for school nutrition workers when the USDA allocates those funds. Let's Move Connecticut will be ready to work with school nutrition programs to adapt to the new dietary guidelines. Let's Move Connecticut will be the driving force supporting school nutrition programs in CT.
The Senator wrapped up his comments by alerting the attendees to think outside the box, he then thanked everyone for their commitment to feeding our children.
Senator Williams then took questions from the audience:
- Beth Gankofskie, Food Service Director of Mansfield Schools: "Should we, as attendees who are going to visit our legislators promote the current CT Nutrition Standards and ask them to keep the current funding stream intact?" The Senator highly encouraged the attendees to speak about the importance of feeding kids healthier foods and how if that funding was eliminated how programs would be forced to serving less than desirable food again.
- Alan Belchak, Food Service Director of West Haven Schools: "In the 1980's CT was given a block grant to supplement school meal funding. That grant was for $2.35 million dollars and at the time offerred an $.08 per lunch reimbursement. Since that time our meal participation has increased dramatically and the reimbursement is currently about $.04 per lunch served. Will we see an increase in the amount of that grant anytime soon?" The Senator explained how CT received that funding and reiterated that with the current fiscal crisis that block grant will remain the same and how CT like many other states are fighting to stay in check.
Let's Move Connecticut will also be the collaborative that is organized to begin training programs for school nutrition workers when the USDA allocates those funds. Let's Move Connecticut will be ready to work with school nutrition programs to adapt to the new dietary guidelines. Let's Move Connecticut will be the driving force supporting school nutrition programs in CT.
Most importantly from a Childhood Hunger standpoint, this program ties into and supports President Obama's pledge to end childhood hunger by 2015 and aligns perfectly with Connecticut's No Kid Hungry Campaign to End Childhood Hunger. Go to http://www.nokidhungry.org/ to take the PLEDGE!
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