Episode 56: Normalizing Healthy School Food
About the Podcast
Get ready for a conversation around the school food politics. Breanna Gustafson, the Director of Marketing for NxtGen Network and Assistant Editor for Served Digizine™, is working to destigmatize and increase participation in school meal programs across the country.
About Breanna Gustofson
A natural storyteller, Breanna Gustafson is the Director of Marketing for NxtGen Network and Assistant Editor for Served Digizine™. Breanna kicked off her career in journalism as an Assignment Editor at WCVB-TV in Boston and worked in public television on Cape Cod. Her undergraduate degree is in communications, film, and media studies. In 2018, Breanna filled the first ever Marketing Supervisor position for Food & Nutrition at Lee County Schools in Florida where she built a recognized brand for school foodservice. Breanna has her Master’s Degree in New Media & Marketing and enjoys telling the brand stories of school districts and manufacturers across the country.
Discussion Takeaways
- Lee County School District in Florida provides free meals for all in their district. Because over 50% of their students at the schools are classified as low income, everyone in their district receives free school meals. This is possible through a federal policy called the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP).
- No school food project is too small to market. You also don’t need a marketing person on-hand to do so! Simply harvesting food from a school garden is a press-worthy cause. Staff can take time to educate all community partners on school lunch, take pictures and videos, send out press releases, and create sharable content on social media.
- School nutrition has drastically changed over the years. Schools often have a dietitian on staff striving to prepare healthful meals and providing nutrition education for all kids.
- The food brands you have at home are similar to the foods at school. What’s eaten by students has a unique formulation to meet the child nutrition standards. The things that your kids eat at school could be healthier!
- You can always talk with your foodservice director, if you are curious of your about what foods are in your school nutrition program.
- Providing healthy school meals makes sure students are nourished and ready to learn.
- There is not a one-size-fits-all approach to feeding kids. As a food and school nutrition professional, get your message out that you are here to feed the students well.
#1 tip to improve access to healthy food
No school food project is too small to market. You also don’t need a marketing person on-hand to do so! Simply harvesting food from a school garden is a press-worthy cause. Staff can take time to educate all community partners on school lunch, take pictures and videos, send out press releases, and create sharable content on social media.
Each week on the Food Dignity® Podcast, the Food Dignity® Movement’s Clancy Harrison hosts a wide variety of hunger experts and other people making changes on the frontlines. Join us as we dive deep into conversations that will change the way you think about food insecurity.
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