The Power of School Meals: Inspire. Innovate. Celebrate.
Join SNA of Mass members, friends, industry partners and board members at AC Hotel in Worcester for the 2025 Fall Conference, Food Show & the Inaugural “SNAMMIES” – our very own awards program!
This year’s conference will feature keynote speaker Clancy Harrison, founder of the Food Dignity® Movement. We’ll also have several other sessions designed to help you grow in your career, expand your knowledge of nutrition, trends and developments in school food service, technology and equipment, procurement and management techniques. There will be plenty of opportunities to network with your peers from across the industry and the state!
October 21st - SNAMMIES Awards Gala from 5-9
October 22nd - Fall Conference & Food Show
AC Marriott, Worcester
Thank You Sponsors!
Branded Hospitality Suite Sponsors
Lounge Sponsors
Sessions
Centering Sea in the Three Cs of Farm-to-School: Cafeteria, Classroom, & Community
Seafood is often overlooked in Farm-to-School. Even in New England, where there are not only strong historic and cultural ties to local fish but also an abundance of responsibly harvested seafood, less than a third of schools across the region serve seafood. That is a missed opportunity because local seafood is the most impactful food you can put on your students’ trays. Seafood alone is one of the healthiest proteins you can eat. It’s a superfood with numerous health benefits. Local seafood is also a sustainable and climate-smart local protein option that helps to support our working waterfronts, coastal communities, and regional economy. This session will dive into the best practices for getting more local seafood onto the tray. We’ll explore innovative, kid-friendly, and culturally diverse recipes, how to build the cafeteria-classroom connection, methods to increase student buy-in and meal participation, procurement barriers and opportunities, and the role that staff training and professional development plays. Come and learn how seafood brings together cafeteria, classroom, and community, and gain the skills and knowledge to build a sea-to-school program at your school.
Northeast Food for Schools (NFS) Challenge & Platform for Tracking Food Purchases
Join Mass Farm to School and DESE for a first look at FoodTrails, a new, state-procured web-based platform designed to make tracking local, domestic, and non-domestic foods easier than ever. This tool will be available at no cost to Massachusetts SFAs in SY2025-2026, giving schools the chance to take part in a statewide local food purchasing challenge – the NFS Challenge – while also staying on top of the latest Buy American Provision updates. Come discover how FoodTrails can help your SFA shine in the NFS Challenge, and leave with resources, inspiration, and an opportunity to signing up for FoodTrails onboarding.
Maggie Nowak is the Local Food System Specialist for the DESE’s Office for Food and Nutrition Programs. Maggie oversees the statewide F2S MA FRESH grant program as well as local procurement and communication efforts that spotlight innovative partnerships between local producers and CNP operators in schools and childcare institutions. Maggie loves supporting her local agricultural community through a summer CSA share, frequent visits to local farmers markets and pick- your-own outings with her daughter during the growing season.
Shayna Cohen is Managing Partner of KK&P, a 35-year old food system consulting firm focused on the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of a diverse range of food-related programs, initiatives, and enterprises. Shayna headed up the team that designed, built, launched, and operates FoodTrails, a web-based platform designed to help school districts and other public agencies track the origin of their food purchases easily and accurately.
Abby Getman Skillicorn is the School Nutrition Program Manager at Massachusetts Farm to School, where she supports districts in sourcing local foods and building strong partnerships with farmers, producers, and distributors. She leads statewide efforts to implement the MA FRESH grant program, helping schools integrate farm to school practices that connect classrooms, cafeterias, and communities. With a background in school nutrition, food policy, and over a decade advancing food access and systems change across Massachusetts, she is passionate about ensuring all children have access to nourishing, locally grown food.
The Role of Nutrition for the Halal-Conscious Consumer
Imam Mansoor Rafiq Umar is the CEO & President of Halal Watch World LLC and Founder of the United States Department of Halal Standards (USDHS), an organization dedicated to developing, training, and accrediting halal certification systems across North America. A gubernatorial appointee and recognized authority on halal policy, Imam Rafiq serves as a key advisor to the Governor’s Office of New York State, the Department of Agriculture & Markets, the Department of Education, the Department of Corrections, and the New York City Council on matters of halal policy, regulation, and implementation in educational and institutional programs.
Keynote Speaker - Clancy Harrison
Clancy Harrison is an internationally-renowned keynote speaker, food equity advocate, founder of the Food Dignity® Movement, TV /media contributor, host of The Food Dignity® Podcast, and registered dietitian. Clancy's wise, heartfelt, and well-researched keynotes challenge the judgments that stand in the way of improving everyone's access to nourishing food. Her message gives rise to refreshingly simple strategies for how audiences can put her ideas for food equity (or what she calls Food Dignity®) into action to create real and lasting change.