School Nutrition

Penny McConnell

Director, Food and Nutrition Services
Fairfax County Public Schools
Fairfax, VA

Penny McConnell, RD, SFNS, began her passion for nutrition 48 years ago. She has brought that passion to Fairfax County for over 46 years and currently is director of Food and Nutrition Services for Fairfax County Public Schools.

“My mantra is to talk, serve and teach nutrition,” Penny said in a recent interview. “My staff and I are nutrition professionals, not just meal providers. I remain visible and work outside my comfort zone in order to be on the cutting edge of nutrition and programming.”Read more

Afterschool Meal Programs

Afterschool meal programs are much more widely available as a result of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-296) which expanded reimbursement for at-risk afterschool meals from just a few states to all states. Reimbursement for at-risk afterschool snacks has been available since the 1990s.

Two federal nutrition programs exist to feed children after school:Read more

Institute of Medicine School Meal Recommendations

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) made sweeping recommendations on ways to make school meals healthier in its report, School Meals: Building Blocks for Healthy Children, issued in October 2009. The report was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as part of an initiative to improve the nutritional profile of the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs and to help children in developing healthy eating habits.Read more

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