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The Call for Proposals is Now Open! 

Share your expertise! Submit an education session proposal for ANC 2027.

SNA’s Annual National Conference (ANC) is the premiere conference for K-12 school nutrition professionals. School nutrition experts from across the country are encouraged to submit an education session proposal.

A tray moves down a line. A student sits down to eat. In that ordinary moment, something larger is happening by way of energy for the school day and a reason to show up. For some, school meals are the only reliable meal on a child's day.  Every school meal becomes something, and the people like you who want to share their expertise and speak are the reason it does.

ANC is where the entire school nutrition community gathers to see the full picture of what a year's worth of work has built. The ideas that started at SNIC. The voices that spoke up at LAC. The daily commitment of professionals in cafeterias and kitchens across the country. All of it arrives here, in Phoenix, as evidence of what this profession makes possible.

Because nothing of significance is ever accomplished alone. Every school meal that will be served this year will become something, for a student, for a school, for a community, only because thousands of people chose to show up for it. ANC is where we see that together, and with your help, we can provide tools and insights to keep empowering school nutrition professionals to the very best school meals for their students, community, and more.

Please use the information below to help you prepare your best possible submission.

Speaker Information

  • Speakers agree to be available on any day which SNA assigns the session.
  • Speakers do not need to be SNA members; however, if a proposal is accepted ALL speakers must register as conference attendees.
    • If the proposal is accepted and speakers plan to attend the full conference, SNA is offering $200 off full registration for speakers. As in prior years, they will receive the early bird price for their registration as well as early access to registration and housing.
    • SNA does not provide speaker fees or travel expense reimbursement for speakers of pre-conference and education sessions.
    • Speakers are expected to make their own travel arrangements.
  • Exhibitors who are also speakers should note that SNA will make every effort not to schedule your session during Directors-Only exhibit hours.  However, we cannot guarantee that your session will not be scheduled during Directors-Only exhibit hours.
  • *Please note: Pre-Conference and Education Sessions are NOT to be used as a sales or promotional platform for any speaker’s company, products, or services. SNA reserves the right to halt speakers from this practice if the situation arises during their presentation.

Full List of ANC27 Speaker Benefits*

If your session is selected, you will be able to take advantage of the benefits listed below:

  • $200 off your full registration fee for speaking at ANC.
  • Guaranteed early bird pricing should you decide to register after the early bird deadline.
  • An invitation to register for the conference ahead of general registration opening and subsequent early access to housing.
  • Access to the Speaker Ready Room onsite to make edits to your presentation, practice, meet with co-presenters, relax, or enjoy some refreshments.
  • Experience has proven that participation in SNA’s ANC programming has provided exposure for speakers seeking future speaking engagements, particularly with SNA state affiliates.
  • A speaker ribbon for your conference badge, of course!

*Speaker benefits are subject to change.

The Submission Process

Proposals must be submitted online by 11:59 pm ET on November 9, 2026, to be considered.

The individual submitting the proposal is considered the Point of Contact (POC). *The POC must provide contact information for ALL speakers, including their name(s), phone number(s), email address(es), headshot(s), bio(s) and signed speaker agreement packet(s). The primary contact will be notified of the committee’s decision by February 2026. View the ANC 2027 Speaker Agreement Packet(opens in new tab).

Have any questions? Reach out to education@schoolnutrition.org.

ANC25-speaker

Helpful Hints Before You Begin

Proposals should focus on one of the following key areas:

1. Nutrition 2. Operations 3. Administration   4. Communications & Marketing.

It is strongly encouraged that proposal submitters review the list and consider the topics listed prior to starting the application. View the ANC 2027 Preferred Topics List(opens in new tab) and Session Formats.

For all Industry Submissions, we strongly suggest that at least one speaker is an operator to showcase the proposed session’s applicability to operating a school nutrition program.

How Will Sessions Be Evaluated?

To ensure high-quality presentations, volunteers representing SNA’s various member segments, subject matter experts, and other stakeholders will be tasked with reviewing and scoring ANC27 proposals. SNA has 60-75 volunteers participate in a thorough review process of all proposal submissions.

This group of volunteer proposal reviewers will help guarantee conference programming content is relevant to attendee needs. Proposals will be scored by the following categories:

  • Topic relevance,
  • Clarity of submission and learning objectives,
  • Creativity of ideas,
  • Applicability to operating a school nutrition program, and
  • Commitment to SNA’s Vision and Mission.

In addition to looking for sessions on timely topics, program reviewers are looking for speakers’ subject matter expertise on the topic being presented, innovative approaches that have been tried and tested, practical applications, and audience engagement.

The group of evaluators may supplement programming by inviting speakers to address specific topics, as identified.

Submission Timeline

DateKey Events
September 10, 2026ANC 2027 Online Call for Proposals Opens.
November 9, 2026ANC 2027 Online Call for Proposals Closes
at 11:59 pm ET. Micro-volunteer review process begins
March 5, 2027Proposal submitters notified of program status: accepted, pending or declined.
April 15, 2027The session speakers will be notified of the session date and time.
April 22, 2027Webinar specifically for speakers at 3 pm ET.
June 4, 2027Session PowerPoint presentations due.
July 11-13, 2027SNA’s 2027 Annual National Conference (ANC) in Charlotte, NC

Have any questions? Reach out to education@schoolnutrition.org.