5 things from SNA’s annual conference

Reauthorization update: Cathy Schuchart, senior vice president of child nutrition and policy for the School Nutrition Association (SNA), reported that she and her team made it to each of the 535 House and Senate offices this past year. “More than half of Congress members weren’t around the last time reauthorization came around,” Schuchart said. “That gives us the opportunity to educate.”

Schuchart said SNA felt it was necessary to work through the appropriations bill last year to receive some flexibilities on whole grains and sodium rather than waiting for reauthorization this year because members needed immediate help.

Peter Spanos, SNA’s legal council, added, “Our work on the ground shows that Congress is very interested in passing reauthorization before the September deadline.”

Egg pops: The price of eggs might be on the rise but that hasn’t stopped the American Egg Board from showcasing a fun way to eat hard-boiled eggs. From cake pops to shish kabobs, it seems like any food can be served on a stick—including eggs.

Fish fertilizer: This takes farm to fork to a whole new level. Back to the Roots is a cool startup that started when founder Alejandro Velez discovered a way to grow mushrooms in a can using coffee grounds. The company also created a fish tank that uses fish waste to fertilize plants.

Dine and charge: What’s the most desired location to wait out a flight delay at an airport—either the bar or near an outlet. Now, those two things aren’t mutually exclusive. Imagine a tabletop that comes with chargers to juice up all your electronic devices. Airports aren’t the only place this feature would do well in. College dining halls, K-12 cafeterias and employee cafés also seem like a perfect fit to fuel customers’ stomachs and dying cell batteries.

Mushroom as a salad bowl: Packaging is a great way to entice customers to buy your products, especially if it’s a healthier item. At a special dinner hosted by the Cranberry Marketing Committee USA, portobello mushrooms were used as a base for a healthy salad. After the gills were removed, the mushroom tops were grilled before a salad of greens, cucumbers and cranberries were added on top.