January 2016 – Bid Season is Underway!
Posted: January 6, 2016
A Message from Your Industry Representative,
Each year at this time we are given the opportunity to reflect on the past year and set a “new” course for the New Year.
This year is a special one for us all in the K-12 channel because it’s a Child Nutrition Reauthorization year. As we look back, we had some very impactful occurrence—avian influenza affected many companies and menus pertaining to poultry and eggs. Luckily the message from USDA indicates we should be out of the woods and heading back to normal.
As we look forward, 2016 will be a critical year for K-12. Will there be changes to the Meal Pattern Rule? I suspect there will be. Will average daily participation increase or decrease? Based on the passion and efforts that Foodservice Directors have put forward, it should increase.
The start of the 2016/2017 bid season is underway. To help improve the procurement process, the first General Session at SNA’s upcoming Legislative Action Conference (LAC) will focus on this important topic. You won’t want to miss “Perfecting Procurement”. Members of SNA’s School Nutrition Procurement Task Force will share their views on the most important things to know for improving the procurement process in advance of the 2016-2017 school year. I look forward to seeing many of you at LAC in Washington, D.C. beginning on February 28, 2016. If you haven’t purchased your ticket for the SNF Celebration of School Nutrition Heroes yet, tickets are still available (more details are below in the Reminders section)…..don’t miss this inspiring event!
Sincerely,
Gary D. Vonck
SNA Industry Representative
Published in – Industry Insider: News from SchoolNutrition.org – January, 2016
About the Author:
Gary Vonck
VP - Education Division
Gary Vonck has been with KeyImpact since 2007, adding to an impressive 40-year foodservice career. His knowledge and passion for child nutrition are unsurpassed. Gary oversees the Education Division, which includes sales, bid, and commodity teams across the entire nation.
Gary is an active member of the SNA and was the first and only broker/agency representative on the School Nutrition Association’s Industry Advisory Board, as the appointed Industry Representative, in 2008 and again 2014. Gary has also served on numerous SNA Task Forces and co-chaired several SNA events. Gary was also on the NSFMI national advisory council. In January 2013, Gary was awarded the Silver Friend of Child Nutrition FAME Award.
Gary Vonck is based in Illinois and can be reached at gvonck@kisales.com.