Tips to Market your Child Nutrition Program

The School Nutrition Association provides lots of tips to market your child nutrition program, including a Promotional Calendar. By using awareness weeks and promotional days, the SNA has some easy and fun ideas to promote your program, including Sweet Potato, Newspaper in Education Week and the Indianapolis 500.

We know you’re using sweet potatoes more often these days, so why not take advantage of Sweet Potato Month (February) to promote this super food! Decorate your serving lines with a sweet potato version of Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, create a sweet potato bulletin board with “Did You Know” information, including nutritional information, and serve various sweet potato recipes throughout the week. For more ideas, visit the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission’s website.

Newspaper in Education Week (March 3-7, 2014) aims to educate students on the history and value of the written word in an increasingly digital world. To bring the theme into your lunchrooms, you can decorate with photocopies of major headlines throughout history. And add the journalistic twist to your menu by offering items like Roving Reporter Ravioli, Press Pass Potatoes and Copy Desk Cornbread.

The Indianapolis 500 is on May 25th so why not get your students ‘revved up’ for the big race with a NASCAR theme. Hang signs at the entrance of your lunchline saying “Start Your Engines” or “The Lunchtime Speedway” and your staff could even wear checkered aprons. To encourage participation in the lunchroom, you can track a ‘race’ between the classes on a bulletin board. Each car could represent a grade level, which will move forward on the track depending on the lunch participation of students.

For more promotional ideas, visit the SNA’s Resource Center and click “Promoting Your Program” to find the 2013-2014 Promotional Calendar. And if you used any of their ideas or have some of your own, tell us about your experience and we will feature you on our website!