Southern Tier Area
CHAPTERS
CHAPTERS
South Area Where DO WE GO FROM Here?
SUCCESSFUL Summer Meals!
CORTLAND
CHENANGO
TOMPKINS
SCHUYLER
SUFFOLK
SOUTH AREA
STEUBEN
TIOGA
NASSAU
BROOME
CHEMUNG
SOUTHERN TIER
Socrates is famously quoted saying, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” I believe the same concept is true of our programs. The point being, we get to choose how we navigate the waters ahead by locking in to a vision with our teams and peers. It’s is true most of our staff do not have the same buy in. Many do not share a passion for a better program. Many personnel are just there to collect a paycheck or work a few hours while the kids are in school. Wemay face toughwaters ahead with some of the things I listed above. The anecdote concludes simply with the fact that we are the captains of the ship. The crewmay not share our Together let’s be proactive and go beyond the status quo with a goal. It could be something like creating a full alternative vegan menu. Other examples are the acquisition of greenhouses, complete Farm to Table menus, cooking podcasts and application launches. Leadership in being a food hub in your community or serving on the NYSNA Board of Directors and or nationally with SNA could also be goals. Sky’s the limit together. Universal meals at no charge for all children anyone? I hope to see you at conference and we can talk some more. My friends and peers thank you for giving me your attention. vision, but they should knowwhere we are going. What we are trying to do should be communicated. Storms may come and we will together go through them. Leaders lead, we steer the ship it is what we do. Now is the time to set a vision and allow everything we do be in service to that goal. Strategic planning does exactly that.
The landscapeof school lunch is continuing toevolve, as is everything else. The shifts in program participation, waivers, meal requirements, distribution, labor shortages, food shortages, to name a few, still continues. Despite all of that, what we have learned these past two years has been invaluable. We not only are adaptable individually, but also together, we are able to take care of our communities. BY NAIM WALCOTT SOUTH AREA DIRECTOR
BY JULIE M. RAWAY, MPH, RDN, CDN, SNS, FAND FARMTO SCHOOL CHAIR Broome-Tioga BOCES Rock on Café summer meals were once again in full swing this past summer ensuring thousands of students across Broome and Tioga Counties were nourished. Some districts started meal prep before 5am to ensure meals could be made, packaged, and transported to sites. It is no small feat to ensure delicious fresh food is an option for students when school is not in session!
As I look to the things that I want to accomplish this year, activating new membership in our State and local associations is a large portion of my “to do” list. The NYSNA is a great source for ideas and information on what things are working for other districts. I cannot wait to join my fellow director Bryan McCoy cooking NY Corn on the Cob, on the grill at Tioga CSD’s Harvest Fest this fall. I hope we have great weather for this event that brings our Farm to School program to the forefront of what we do for our local communities and students. The BT-BOCES group is still celebrating our NY Thursdays this year with a change that we are aiming to serve our NY Thursdays twice a month and double down on going local with our product selection. We are also working with one of our districts who have started an agriculture program, they will be growing products for us to use in the food service department at their school. We look forward to working with Windsor CSD going into this next exciting year! BY PATRICKWALSH SOUTHERN TIER AREA DIRECTOR
A new spotlight has been shined upon School Nutrition Programs, even if it is a fleeting one. Now is the time to leverage our voices while we have their attention both singularly and collectively. The trap is we can’t know what may occur going forward. It is important to be flexible, but it is also important to lock our focus on our programs’ direction. Over the summer the NYSNA Strategic
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...we get to choose how we navigate the waters ahead by locking in to a vision with our teams and peers.
Meal Prep Video
Planning Committee met for exactly that purpose. Evaluating the goals and the strategies we would like to employ going forward. This also meant abandoning goals and strategies that no longer apply or that were ineffective. The need to assess who we are, what we do and how we do it, is essential. The process is just as important at the organization level of NYSNA, the chapter level, and to each district’s level. The question I’d like to pose is where are you going? What do you want your program to look like? How do you want it to be discussed? We can then expand those same questions to our profession as a whole.
A glimpse into 2 hours of meal preparation in the Binghamton City School District!
Video Credit: Julie Raway Broome-Tioga BOCES Rock on Café
NaimWalcott is the Food Service Director for the Westhampton Beach UFSD in Westhampton Beach, NY. He has been in the foodservice industry for over 20 years. The last decade of which has been in school nutrition management and service programs. He currently serves on the Long Island School Nutrition Directors Association and LI Food Purchasing COOP. Some of his professional history includes banking as well as polysomnography. With a diverse background in service, Naim focuses on improving the food quality and the student’s experience from service to bite. He also does woodwork and hikes, citing Breakneck Ridge in Coldsprings, NY as one of his favorite trails. NaimWalcott • South Area Director
Patrick Walsh has been working in food service for over 20 years. Patrick is currently the School Lunch Director for Broome Tioga BOCES. He started his career in school lunch 13 years ago. He has enjoyed learning and growing with the recent changes of the last several years. Patrick enjoys the outdoors and spending time with his family as much as he can! PATRICK WALSH • Southern Tier Area Director
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FreshBites
FALL 2021
FreshBites
FALL 2021
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