Looking Ahead after Boost the Roost – Staying Collectively Committed

“We have to continue the advocacy for NAE chicken and clean labels in our schools and the healthy use of antibiotics.” Dr. Jason Newland, MD, MEd, Nationwide Children’s

First, and most important – we want to make it clear that the Urban School food Alliance is committed to sticking with NAE, despite the challenges we have encountered. We know this will take the commitment and courage from our member districts, and districts around the country, to bring about change in the school nutrition (SN) industry.

As an Alliance we are building on five action steps in the coming years to ensure we are doing all that we can to lead the way.

1. We will continue to encourage school nutrition directors to boost their role in changing the school foodservice marketplace.

The Urban School Food Alliance will not only be a layer of support to districts around the country, but we will also continue to be a resource center to those looking to disrupt the status quo. Our collective voice is strong and we will not be afraid to use that voice to achieve higher quality, clean-label food for all students.

“There is strength in numbers and we really hope that other districts will continue on the process or actually join in with us with NAE Chicken.” – Florence Simpson, LA Unified School District, USFA Board Member

2. We will advertise small producers that are still raising NAE chickens and what products they have available.

The USFA leadership team has created a list of NAE suppliers and further processors that will always be a free resource to all districts. Our commitment is to keep this list up to date in order to remove yet another barrier to districts that are looking to take steps toward NAE. This list is available on the next page and for download HERE. There is no cost associated with being listed on this resource. If you are a vendor that would like to be included, please contact us to be added.

3. We will introduce those small producers to school nutrition procurement personnel in their area.

In addition to creating and maintaining the above list, we will assist small producers that are looking to become a valuable resource in the SN industry. This could include making introductions to local districts, sharing information on SN related events, trainings, and conferences, or consulting on best practices for responding to bids and RFPs. If you are a small NAE chicken producer that would like more information on becoming a part of the SN industry, please contact us.

4. We will continue to bring in speakers to our membership meetings about food justice and leading when the work is hard.

Throughout the Boost the Roost initiative, the Urban School Food Alliance showed that we will not back down from a challenge. This initiative proved that our collective efforts can be rocks that start ripple effects in the SN industry – and we will not go backwards. However, one initiative is not enough. We, as an Alliance, will continue to challenge our own membership with the inclusion of experts at our meetings that will push us to speak louder for food justice for all.

5. We will promote our chicken specifications nationwide to start a trend in cleaner label poultry.

Boost the Roost taught us that there is always room to grow and improve. During this initiative we refined our specifications to be more specific and more clearly communicate on what our communities are looking for in a NAE clean-label product. NAE is not going away and we will continue to lead the charge for all districts, everywhere.

The specification Sheets for both NAE chicken products that were used during this initiative are available for download on page 17 or on our online resources page HERE.

“We really think that the more districts put this specification on their bids across the country, the more vendors will be feeling secure that this is a product that districts are going to want in the future – and this will begin turning the wheel of change.” Dr. Katie Wilson, Urban School Food Alliance

Read more on this topic in the full digital publication HERE.

Access FREE Boost The Roost downloadable resources on our website HERE.