About the Pre-Conference Workshops
Extend your learning and strengthen your knowledge by traveling to ANC one day early for pre-conference workshops. These sessions, which require additional registration, target all key areas and range from express options to half-day, in-depth workshops. Take full advantage of all the professional development opportunities that ANC 2026 has to offer!
Pre-Con Workshops
All pre-cons take place on Saturday, July 11.
Pre-registration is required for all pre-conference sessions. Sessions may be canceled if not full. If canceled, registrants will be offered alternate courses or receive a full refund by mail after the conference concludes. Please register by June 14. SNA advises pre-conference registrants to wait to make schedule-dependent transportation plans until May 10, 2026.
8:00 am—12:00 pm
Experience Farm-to-School: Virtual Dairy Farm Tour & Hands-On Culinary Workshop
Kick off ANC with an immersive farm-to-school culinary experience at Nourish Up, a Charlotte, NC based nonprofit dedicated to fighting hunger. Their beautiful facility sets the stage for this unique pre-con event.
You’ll begin with a behind-the-scenes look at a local dairy farm. Farmer Roddy Purser will virtually guide you through the day-to-day operations of a modern dairy farm, including cow and calf care, milking practices, pasteurization, and local farm-to-school efforts. You will walk away with a greater understanding of how farmers and the broader dairy community bring nutritious dairy foods from farm to school supporting child health, school nutrition programs, and sustainable food systems.
Then, roll up your sleeves for a hands-on culinary experience led by Chef Vahista and Chef Lindsey. You’ll prepare student-tested, Smart Swaps breakfast recipes designed to be lower in added sugar and sodium helping schools meet evolving nutrition standards. These recipes are developed with speed scratch in mind, recognizing the time, staffing, and equipment realities of school nutrition operations.
We’ll conclude by sampling the recipes, sharing culinary tips and techniques, and highlighting practical strategies to make speed scratch preparation more feasible in your local operation.
Join us for this immersive farm-to-school and culinary experience.
Location: Offsite, Transportation will be provided.
Speakers(s)
Katie Bambacht, RD, SNS
Chef Vahista Ussery
Chef Lindsay Schoenfeld, MS, RDN
Roddy Purser
Time: 8:00 am—12:00 pm
CEUs: 3.5
Cost: $199
Key Areas: 1 Nutrition
Target Audience: ALL
8:30 am—10:30 am
The “Fans First” Strategy: How Employee Experience Drives Student Experience
School nutrition leaders often focus on improving the student experience, yet the most powerful driver of student engagement is often overlooked: the employee experience. When employees believe in the program, take pride in their work, and feel supported by leadership, that enthusiasm becomes visible in every interaction students have in the cafeteria.
This interactive workshop introduces The First Fans Strategy, inspired by the Savannah Bananas, a leadership framework that helps school nutrition leaders understand how employee experience directly influences program culture, service quality, and student participation. Drawing insights from experience-driven leadership research and practical examples from school nutrition programs, participants will explore how leadership behaviors shape employee engagement and how engaged employees create positive experiences that students respond to.
Through guided discussion, peer learning, and practical exercises, attendees will identify opportunities to strengthen the employee experience within their own teams and design a 30-Day First Fans Action Plan to implement at the site or district level. We will leverage AI tools to build out the Action Plans. Participants will leave with practical strategies to energize their teams, strengthen workplace culture, and create student experiences that build lasting enthusiasm for their nutrition programs.
Speaker
Ervin Watson, MBA
Time: 8:30 am—10:30 am
CEUs: 2
Cost: $115
Key Areas: 3 Administration
Target Audience: E, M, D, MC, SA, I
8:30 am—10:30 am
Building Personal Wealth on a School Nutrition Salary
This dynamic session was created specifically for school nutrition professionals. Whether you are prepping meals, managing cafeterias, or running operations for the district, you deserve to have financial confidence. It can be overwhelming figuring out where to begin when planning for retirement or how to maximize our retirement plan.
In this preconference workshop we’ll break down the ABCs of financial literacy with the goal of helping you create a retirement road map that demystifies educator retirement options and investing opportunities so that retirement planning is simple. You’ll leave with an action plan toward your retirement journey. In the session, you’ll gain practical knowledge, budgeting tips, savings strategies, and break downs of retirement options such as: IRA, 401k, 403b and 457.
Speaker(s)
Tiffany Lawrence, SNS, MBA, CFP® Candidate
Time: 8:30 am—10:30 am
CEUs: 2
Cost: $115
Key Areas: 3 Administration
Target Audience: E, M, D, MC
10:00 am–12:00 pm
From Tray to Trending: Phone Photography for School Meals
You've been asked to promote your program. You've got a phone, a lunch tray, and approximately zero extra hours in your day. Sound familiar?
This high-energy, hands-on workshop is built specifically for school nutrition professionals who need to create great food photos without a professional photographer, a big budget, or a background in marketing. Led by Chris Burkhardt, professional photographer and SNA member, alongside SNA Marketing Manager Michael Pereira, this session is equal parts inspiration and practical skill-building.
You'll learn how a few inexpensive tools and simple techniques can completely transform how your meal trays look on screen. You'll get hands-on time building your own mini-studio, practice photographing real food, and leave with actual photos you can post plus a setup you can recreate back at school anytime.
No fancy gear. No photography degree. Just your phone, a few smart techniques, and the confidence to finally show the world what school nutrition really looks like.
Join this hands-on workshop for school nutrition professionals who are ready to level up their Instagram & Facebook game no experience required.
Speaker
Chris Burkhardt, SNS;
Michael Pereira, CAE, CDMP
Time: 11:00 am—3:30 pm
CEUs: 2
Cost: $115
Key Areas: 4 Communications & Marketing
Target Audience: E, M, D, MC
11:00 am—3:30 pm
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Tour: Harvest It. Store It. Serve It. Carolina Style!
Discover how North Carolina connects local agriculture with school nutrition in this immersive pre-conference experience. “Harvest It. Store It. Serve It. Carolina Style!” gives participants an inside look at how Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) and the NC Department of Agriculture (NCDA) work together to bring farm-fresh, locally made products to students statewide.
Participants will rotate through two interactive sections.
Section 1: At McClintock Middle School, learn how the NC Farm to School Program sources and promotes homegrown products. Enjoy chef-led demonstrations, a light lunch featuring North Carolina favorites, and opportunities to meet local producers displaying items such as rice, sweet potatoes, and other signature products.
Section 2: Tour the CMS Food Distribution Warehouse to see how one of the Southeast’s largest school meal operations manages storage, logistics, and expanded cooler space designed specifically to support Farm to School and local sourcing.
Participants return with new insights, practical ideas, and a strong sense of Carolina pride.
Location: Offsite, Transportation and light lunch will be provided.
Speaker
Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools Staff, NC Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Time: 11:00 am—3:30 pm
CEUs: 4.5
Cost: $199
Key Areas: 1 Nutrition, 2 Operations
Target Audience: ALL
11:30 am—1:30 pm
Power of School Meals, Power of Your Team: A Leadership Lab for Directors & Managers
Behind every successful school nutrition team is a leader whose presence sets the tone. This high-energy, hands-on leadership lab introduces the PRESENCE Framework: Purpose Awareness, Resilience, Emotional Intelligence, Self-Leadership, Empathy-Driven Communication, Nervous System Regulation, Consistency in Character, and Evolution. This is a practical, eight-part model designed to help directors and managers lead with greater clarity, emotional intelligence, and confidence. Participants will learn how their presence directly shapes team morale, service quality, and staff retention, especially in high-pressure environments. Through real-world scenarios, interactive peer activities, and guided reflection, attendees will walk away with simple yet powerful tools to manage stress, connect with their team, and model calm, consistent leadership. This session honors the power of school meals by empowering the leaders who make them possible.
Speaker
Donna Davis, CPM, MHRD
Time: 11:30 am—1:30 pm
CEUs: 2
Cost: $115
Key Areas: 3 Administration
Target audience: M, D, MC
11:30 pm—1:30 pm
From Entitlement to Tray: Effectively Managing USDA Foods in NSLP
This session introduces school nutrition professionals to the fundamentals of USDA Foods in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). Participants will gain an understanding of entitlement, ordering processes, distribution methods, and strategies to maximize the value of USDA Foods for their school meal programs. The course covers direct delivery, Department of Defense (DoD) Fresh, and processing basics, equipping participants with the knowledge to effectively manage USDA Foods within their school nutrition operations. This interactive and engaging session will incorporate scenarios and case studies to discuss. Bring your USDA Foods questions!
Speakers
Melissa Robinson
Monica Deines-Henderson, MBA, SNS
Time: 11:30 pm—1:30 pm
CEUs: 2
Cost: $115
Key Areas: 1 Nutrition, 2 Operations
Target audience: D. MC, SA, I, NTP
1:00 pm—4:30 pm
From Factory to Cafeteria: Understanding Combi Oven Technology for School Nutrition
This preconference workshop provides School Nutrition Professionals with an inside look at how modern commercial cooking equipment is designed, built, and used to support high-volume, scratch-forward school meal programs.
Participants will tour a working manufacturing facility to better understand how combi ovens are produced, with a focus on food safety, durability, energy efficiency, and consistency. The session will then transition into a live cooking demonstration centered on how combi ovens function, rather than specific products, highlighting the fundamentals of combination cooking using steam, convection, and mixed cooking modes.
Through real-world examples and cooking demonstrations, attendees will explore the core principles of combi oven technology, how combination cooking supports batch production, speed, and consistency, and ways these systems can help reduce labor strain and simplify kitchen workflows. Practical K–12 menu applications, including vegetables, proteins, and baked items, will be demonstrated.
This experience connects equipment manufacturing with daily kitchen operations, supporting efficiency, food quality, and operational resilience in school nutrition programs.
Location: Offsite, Transportation will be provided
This preconference workshop offering is for Operators & State Agency Only.
Speakers
Janet Mitchell
Kent Nanni
Charles Bartlett
Time: 1:00 pm—4:30 pm
CEUs: 2.25
Cost: $199
Key Areas: 1 Nutrition, 2 Operations
Target audience: E, M, D, MC, SC, SA, NTP
2:30 pm—4:30 pm
Productivity Powerhouse: Practical Strategies to Transform Chaos into Clarity
School nutrition leaders juggle countless responsibilities, menus, budgets, compliance, equipment, staffing, and communication. Without clear systems, even the most dedicated teams can find themselves reacting to daily chaos instead of leading with intention.
This interactive workshop focuses on practical systems and standard operating procedures that bring clarity, consistency, and efficiency to school nutrition operations.
Drawing on real-world experience from two former K–12 school nutrition professionals including a school nutrition director turned women-owned small business software founder, presenters share practical strategies for helping school nutrition teams do more with less, building systems that allow programs not just to keep up with daily demands, but to truly thrive.
Participants will explore real examples of SOPs translated into working systems, understand the strategy behind them, and learn how small process improvements can save significant time and expand program success.
And beyond operational benefits, there is a human one: when chaos turns into clarity, teams experience greater focus, confidence, and even joy in their work.
Attendees will leave with actionable strategies, templates, and real-world examples they can use immediately to streamline operations, build team capacity, and lead their programs with greater confidence.
Speakers
Audrey Banich, RD
Lindsey Hill RD, SNS
Time: 2:30 pm—4:30 pm
CEUs: 2
Cost: $115
Key Areas: 3 Administration
Target audience: ALL
2:30 pm—4:30 pm
Blueprint to Excellence: Translating District Goals into School-Based Work Schedules, SMART Goals for each School, and High-Impact Manager Evaluations
Discover how one district transformed its Food & Nutrition program by translating big-picture district goals into practical, school‑level work schedules, SMART goals, staffing plans, and aligned evaluations. This session reveals a proven operational framework that integrates job descriptions, evaluation tools, workload calculations, cleaning schedules, staff rotations, and daily performance expectations all designed to create clarity, consistency, and measurable success across every school site.
Participants will explore real examples of how district goals flow directly into school-based work plans, how supervisors support implementation throughout the year, and how performance data drives coaching, accountability, and continuous improvement. See how aligning district strategy with school‑level execution can increase participation, strengthen food safety compliance, empower managers, and elevate the effectiveness of your entire program.
Speakers
Lora Gilbert, MS, RD, FADA, SNS
Adrienne Baker
Yanisse Catire deSegovia
Ebony Frazer
Time: 2:30 pm—4:30 pm
CEUs: 2
Cost: $115
Key Areas: 3 Administration
Target audience: M, D, MC