National Peanut Board Hosts Inaugural School Nutrition Summit

By Jessie Bland

The National Peanut Board hosted 30 key school nutrition leaders at its first school nutrition summit, June 26-28, at the Culinary Institute of America in San Antonio, Texas.

This event empowered attendees to discuss challenges and solutions to school nutrition programs across the United States; all in an intimate setting where connections and inspiration could form. While peanut butter is a staple in most school nutrition programs, this time together allowed attendees to think outside of the box and learn how peanuts and peanut butter could be served more often and perhaps be a solution to some of the challenges they face.

"Peanuts are such an incredible asset for school nutrition programs because they’re affordable, accessible, versatile and they taste great," says NPB's Sherry Coleman Collins, MS, RDN, LD. "This summit was a fantastic way to inspire and directly empower school nutrition leaders with the resources they need to serve peanut products while keeping students with peanut allergies safe."

Topics of the summit included exciting trends like plant-based eating and global flavors, school recipe cooking demonstrations featuring peanuts and educational breakout sessions with actionable advice. Texas peanut grower and graduate of the Peanut Leadership Academy, Lexi Floyd, shared her story in agriculture and discussed her family's farm, how peanuts are grown and the challenges, as well as opportunities in farming.

Peanut allergy management was another important topic covered. One school district in attendance shared how they reintroduced peanut butter after it was banned for a number of years; an encouragement to those who may be faced with a similar challenge. The latest strategies for allergy management in the schools were provided, as well as direction to resources available at

PeanutsinSchools.org. To wrap up the event, attendees divided into teams and participated in a market basket challenge in the Culinary Institute of America kitchens. Here they created practical and nutritious recipes perfect for school meals.

Large and award-winning school districts were represented, which collectively serve thousands of students across the country, including Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia. Also in attendance were brands, brokers and commercial operators, including Smucker’s and Chartwells K12.

The summit provided key leaders the opportunity to build upon their relationship with NPB as a resource and leave with a sense of excitement, encouragement and enthusiasm as they traveled back to their districts to continue making a difference in the health and lives of children around the country. 