
From July 8th to 13th over 7,000 school nutrition professionals from all over the nation met in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Convention Center. As a first timer attending this conference I was so impressed with how big of a production it was! Oprah’s bestie, Gayle King was the opening keynote speaker and Food Network’s Chef Jason Henderson closed the event on Thursday. I walked the showroom with over 300 vendors and had the opportunity to taste new menu items like pumpkin seed butter, walking tacos and whole wheat steamed bao buns - a Chinese staple made whole grain. They even had an entire aisle dedicated to plant-based foods which, as you’ll see next, is a big up and coming food trend.

I attended sessions on managing food allergies, marketing in a low free/reduced district, and a brainstorming session

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