CNAC Minutes for the April 30, 2025 Meeting

Council members:

Kim Frinzell – Director Nutrition Services Division (NSD), California Department of Education (CDE)
Ronald Little – School Administration
Maryam Shayegh – Consultant
Carrie Buck – School Board
Amber Green – Nutrition Education Specialist (new)
Rachel Rothman – Parent Teacher Association (PTA) (new)
Anne Wilson – School Food Services Supervisor (new)
Yaz Widatalla – School Nutrition Services Director (new)

Absent:

Maulik Dhakal, Student Representative (new)

Guests:

Jackie Richardson, Associate Director, CDE
Reema El-Murr, Nutrition Education Administrator, CDE
Andrea Bricker, Nutrition Education Consultant, CDE
Nina Ortiz, Office Technician, CDE

Administrative Activities: (facilitated by Kim Frinzell)

• Meeting called to order at 9:31 a.m.
• Pledge of Allegiance
• Welcome and swearing in new members
  
• Brief overview of agenda
• Review of remote meeting requirements
• Approve Agenda – April 2025 Child Nutrition Advisory Council (CNAC) agenda: Motion to approve agenda. Seconded. Approved.
• Meeting Minutes November 2023: Motion to approve November 2025 meeting minutes. Seconded. Minutes approved.
• Overview of required forms and training (facilitated by Andrea Bricker)
• Form 700 2024–2025 Statement of Economic Interests
• Ethics training
• Defensive Driver training and STD-261 Authorization to Use Privately Owned Vehicles on State Business
  

Request for public comment:

No public comment.

Agenda Items

Item 1: CNAC Member roles and responsibilities

Review CNAC Bylaws (facilitated by Jackie Richardson)

• CNAC Members Roles and Responsibilities: Review of member roles and responsibilities and overview of CNAC Bylaws and Roberts Rules of Order
  
  
• Solicit Interest in the CNAC Chair and Vice Chair positions: Briefly explained positions and provide statements of interest to present during the next CNAC meeting.
  

Questions: None.

Item 2 – Legislative/Bill Updates (facilitated by Kim Frinzell)

Proposed Senate Bills (SB)

• SB 225 (McNerney) School nutrition: guardian meal reimbursement
• SB 341 (Perez) Instructional School Gardens Program
• SB 393 (Gonzalez) Pupil Health: school nutrition
• SB 411 (Perez) Stop Child Hunger Act of 2025
• SB 444 (Hurtado) State Healthy Food Access Policy

Proposed Assembly Bills (AB)

• AB 756 (Aguiar-Curry) Office Farm to Fork: CA Farm to School Program
  
• AB 1264 (Gabriel) Pupil Nutrition
• Governor’s Executive Order N-1-25 Ultra Processed Foods (UPF)
  
  
  • The CDE and the State Board of Education to provide recommendations to the Governor where California may adopt higher standards for healthy school meals than the recent Final Rule and beyond California's current standards.
    
    
  • CDE distributed the statewide UPF Survey in April and closed on April 28, 2025.
    
    
  • Will be reviewed later in Item 4.

Questions: None.

NSD Updates (facilitated by Kim Frinzell)

Briefly reviewed Child Nutrition Programs administered by the CDE

Questions: None.

Break: Motion to break. Seconded. 15-minute break approved.

Began – 10:34 a.m.

Back to Order – 10:49 a.m.

Item 3: Adequate Time to Eat (facilitated by Maryam Shayegh, and Ronald Little)

Adequate Time to Eat Initiative

• Brief overview of item and subcommittee history
  
• Maryam Shayegh provided an overview of the Adequate Time to Eat fact sheet
• Ronald Little spoke about the process to develop this fact sheet
• Subcommittee is interested in understanding from schools the best ways to support them and continue effort

Adequate Time to Eat Fact Sheet – Questions/Edits to Fact Sheet

• Members discussed impact of schedules and certificated staff contracts on adequate time to eat, as well as seat time vs. eat time and the impact of meal time on food choices
  
  
• Members shared the benefits of adequate time to eat and how it can also support student mental health and reduce stress
  
  
• No edits to content
  

Questions: None.

Motion to approve Adequate Time to Eat Fact Sheet – Motion opened. Seconded. Approved.

Item 4: Governor’s Executive Order N-1-25 Ultra Processed Foods (UPF) (facilitated by Jackie Richardson)

CDE is actively engaged in preparing recommendations.

Input from members

• How will the restriction of UPFs impact the populations represented by each CNAC member (i.e., School Board Member, Food Service Director, etc.)?
  
  
• What would you like to see in the recommendations provided to the State Superintendent of Public instruction (SSPI)?
  

Action: Review each question and provide feedback from each member for your prospection CNAC member position after the lunch break – estimated 5 minutes per member.

Questions: None.

All collected responses from members from previous questions:

• Carrie Buck, School Board member:
  
  • Concerns are cost and procurement impacts. How can this be successfully implemented and financially sustainable?
    
    
  • Curriculum integration is a good idea. Can be garden, science, and other areas in schools to tie into nutrition education.
    
    
  • Staffing supports would assist with retraining and compliance in schools.
    
    
  • Expand grants, regional food hubs, statewide training, and certification incentives to benefit school food professionals.
    
    
  • Consider developing parent-facing tool kits – such as taste-tests, cooking classes, school gardens, partnering with public health organizations,
    
    
  • Relaying the “whys” and how it can be impactful is important.
    
    
  • Recommendations - consider a statewide dashboard to help track student outcomes and track analytics, a resource hub for schools and districts would be useful; expand the school nutrition programs and infrastructure, teach students new techniques, technology, career tech education, make sure the effort is reaching everywhere in California, make sure it is equal.
    
    
• Maryam Shayegh, Consultant:
  • Having a standard definition and common language can help greatly.
    
    
  • These changes could help students who lack access to healthy foods by reducing dye, sugar, sodium, etc.
    
    
  • Reducing the intake of UFP in school meals is happening already in schools.
    
    
  • Notice kids bring ultra processed snacks from home, candy rewards in schools, etc. This can be a concern to address.
    
    
  • Removing the UPF can be challenging because there are other sources and factors contributing to it.
    
    
  • Recommendations- a comprehensive plan is needed to phase out UPF and prioritize education in schools since UPFs have been ingrained for so long in communities, families, and students; we need collaboration with partners, communities, etc.; we need to focus on school-based nutrition education for students, families, and communities.
    
    
• Anne Wilson, School Food Services Supervisor: Parents will be very confused on this. Noted that she is already experiencing confusion in schools and can see it in requests from parents.
  • There is a need to share best practices, information, and resources.
    
    
  • Teaching this across the board to school lunch professionals and to students can be time-consuming and difficult. Be prepared for this commitment.
    
    
  • Food costs can be low but labor costs can be high.
    
    
  • Existing kitchens in schools can be a hurdle to meet and prepare for these requirements.
    
    
  • Need to make sure they are meeting costs at a school level, and that food will be eaten/chosen by students.
    
    
  • Need to keep participation in school meal programs high.
    
    
  • Working efficiently and effectively on all fronts is important.
    
    
  • Phased approach is a great idea -can target certain categories, one item/step at a time.
    
    
  • Scratch cooking does give more control, but infrastructure and time needs can be high. Many considerations for this effort.
    
    
  • Recommendations- apply standards/restrictions to competitive foods, take care with the approach to not create shame to parents and students who can’t meet this- keep it encouraging and accepting.
    
    
• Amber Green, Nutrition Education Specialist:
  • This work is very important to help choose better, nutritious, quality foods.
    
    
  • We had to relearn and reeducate the school community along the way in the past for a new policy. We’ll need to acknowledge that it may be uncomfortable but as time progresses it will move the needle.
    
    
  • Education is important, including educating industry professionals such as how this can impact bids, thresholds, and amounts allowed – all of which should be clearly defined – percent or measurements, etc.
    
    
  • Moving forward it will be important that the food additives are integrated into software companies, to analyze and quantify amounts.
    
    
  • Would be helpful to learn from other schools already progressing along in this areas: alternatives to UPFs, success stories, menu examples, the process and transition look like, etc.
    
    
  • There is room for new language to be better in policies. School wellness policies can be very clear and understandable.
    
    
  • Recommendations: UPF can be added in curriculum and be very beneficial to the reduction process and overall education.
    
    
• Rachel Rothman, PTA representative:
  • Looking at it from a parent perspective, for the most part it feels very valuable. In my experience, parent feedback has typically been that healthier school meals are very beneficial, especially for students that may not have access to them and these meals also provide a chance to experience new food.
    
    
  • Also, among the community there is a lot of confusion around UPFs-are they good or bad? How is the term UPF defined? It would be helpful if there could be a clearer definition and more information about the process for removing those ingredients?
    
    
  • We should be mindful about the possibility or impression of shaming students that may still eating UPFs. It’s important that wording and language around this effort be positive and supportive.
    
    
  • Overall, it will be good and beneficial for all.
    
    
  • Recommendations: clearly define what we are talking vs. using the word “UPF” as it can feel very variable, with terms like “semi,” “fully,” and “slightly” processed foods; make sure the implementation plan addresses these concerns and ensures a clear understanding; have guidance in place to help define and reduce confusion and address concerns.
    
    
• Ronald Little, School Administrator:
  • Speaking more on the ground level of integration of new policies, consideration when implementing a new policy of any kind include: Who is going to pay for it? Are the funds one-time funds or continuous funding? How will it flow, will it stop?
    
    
  • Take into account considerations for how to communicate this work in multiple language, making the conversation approachable for everyone.
    
    
  • UPF restrictions can unintentionally target, or have a greater impact in certain communities.
    
    
  • Recommendations – community schools can be a hub for the greater community; work with other programs and interest holders to find the best resolutions, partnerships with other organizations need to be explored to see how they can help empower and encourage these initiatives, cost, logistics, etc. need to be a key consideration.
    
    
• Yaz Widatalla, School Nutrition Services Director –
  • Reduction or removal of UPFs would be accepted as a concept and idea, and it is important to also monitor the actual impact on students?
    
    
  • The school meal participation levels must be preserved.
    
    
  • It is likely that students will attempt to get access elsewhere to UPFs, such as through third party food delivery services.
    
    
  • Confusion will persist for some time, so long term continuous education is important. We cannot demonize UPFs.
    
    
  • Recommendations: It is important to communicate policy using ingredients and base recommendations in research. This will be easier to understand vs. entire meal items.

Item 5: CNAC Priorities (facilitated by Andrea Bricker and Jackie Richardson)

• The terms of seven CNAC members end today.
• The Department extended gratitude and well wishes.

Adequate Time to Eat – Provided overview in Item 3.

The 2023 Adequate Time to Eat subcommittee recommended developing a toolkit, site-visit checklist, and practice-based recommendations, and provide training to nutrition professionals, but also certificated professionals.

Questions: None.

Increasing Access to School Breakfast (facilitated by Carrie Buck)

• Carrie Buck provided an overview of the subcommittee’s white paper, Increasing Access to School Breakfast to Improve Student Outcomes.
  
  
• The 2023 Increasing Access to School Breakfast subcommittee recommended developing a toolkit to include understanding available resources, how to implement breakfast after the bell, recommendations included prioritizing high poverty schools and high schools and work on legislation for the SSPI to support and proposed having an extra seat on the council to represent higher education.

Out of School Time

• Andrea Bricker provided an overview of the paper, Increasing Access to Nutritious Meals During Out-of-School Time.
  
  
• The 2023 Increasing Access to Nutritious Meals During Out-of-School Time recommendations were included in the Increasing Access to Nutritious Meals During Out-of-School Time paper available on the CNAC Members and Initiatives web page.

Other Priority Recommendations

• Develop recommendations for consideration to increase minimum wage for school food service workers.
  
• Develop recommendations for consideration to make Nutrition Education curriculum a requirement.
  
• Develop recommendations for consideration to mandate to offer plant-based meals in schools.

Questions: None.

Action: Asked members to think and discuss possible CNAC priorities in 2025 taking the previous priorities and recommendations in mind.

Item 6: Discuss agenda items and scheduling for next meeting (facilitated by Jackie Richardson)

Agenda Items

• Invite each member interested in running for Chair and Vice Chair to bring their statements to the next meeting.
• Determine CNAC priorities, determine subcommittees and future work.
• No additional agenda items from members

Questions – from members

• Will UPF be a subcommittee?
  • Response: There can be a motion made for it to be.
  • Will more resources be made such as the Adequate Time to Eat fact sheet? What would be the target and timeline of it?
    • Response We can timeline out next steps as a subcommittee

Next Meeting

• Vote to approve tentative meeting dates
• Remote meetings through end of the year
• Meetings will run full-time to allow work for subcommittees to be done

Next Meeting Dates – August 22, 2025, and October 10, 2025

Move to approval. Seconded. Approved.

Request for public comment:

No public comment.

Adjourn

No closing comments from members.

Final Questions: Subcommittee placement will be decided next meeting by members.

Reminder: School Lunch Hero Day is May 2, 2025

The meeting was adjourned at 2:15 p.m.

Key Terms and Acronyms:

CNAC – Child Nutrition Advisory Council

UPF – Ultra Processed Foods

CDE – California Dept. of Education

NSD – Nutrition Services Division

USDA – U.S. Dept. of Agriculture

Chair – Chair of the CNAC

VC – Vice chair for the CNAC

Dir – Director

CA – California