Iowa Governor and Deputy Secretary of Agriculture to Speak at Eat Better. Learn Better Celebration

American Egg Board and Iowa Egg Council Highlight Nutrition with Des Moines Public Schools

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Sep 24, 2019, 08:00 ET

DES MOINES, Sept. 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and Iowa Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Julie Kenney will be featured speakers at the 2019 Eat Better. Learn Better Celebration — a two-day event highlighting the importance of good nutrition for students, presented by the American Egg Board with Des Moines Public Schools and the Iowa Egg Council. Taking place Sept. 26 & 27 at two schools in the district, the Eat Better. Learn Better Celebration will engage students, faculty and more than 300 school nutrition professionals.

"America's egg farmers proudly support the efforts of school nutrition professionals across the nation to help students eat better so that they learn better. And Des Moines Public Schools is doing this important job particularly well," said American Egg Board President & CEO Anne L. Alonzo. "That Governor Reynolds and Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kenney are taking time to join us reflects just how much the state of Iowa and Iowans care about proper nutrition for their students."

The Eat Better. Learn Better Celebration highlights a school district that has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to nutritional excellence and menu innovation. The event also aims to support the district's efforts to educate the influencers in a student's life — parents, teachers and school nutrition staff — about the importance of protein at breakfast to students' well-being and academic success.

The Des Moines Public Schools (DMPS) Food & Nutrition Program was selected this year from 35 applicants to the American Egg Board's Eggcellence in School Menu Innovation program. DMPS recently expanded Breakfast in the Classroom and has been innovating with eggs on the menu. The district, comprised of 33,000 students, serves approximately 36,000 meals a day. Eggs are served at all of its 63 schools.

"Our team has worked hard to continually expand student access to nutritious and delicious school meals, and it's incredible that our efforts have been recognized by state and national leaders in the industry, the American Egg Board and, now, by the Governor of Iowa and Iowa's Deputy Secretary of Agriculture," said Amanda Miller, DMPS Director of Food and Nutrition. "This celebration will be a great way to commemorate that effort and showcase it to students, teachers and the Des Moines community at large."

Celebration Details
The two-day event will start at Moore Elementary, where the AEB will engage students from kindergarten to fifth grade with educational activities around nutrition and eggs with help from STEM Shelly, one of The Incredible Egg mascots. From yoga to the school garden and more, these interactive activity stations will take place from 8:20 to 10:45 a.m. The day will close with an egg-centric lunch, featuring a STEM Shelly meet-and-greet with the kids.

The event continues on Sept. 27 with an educational training from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at North High School for more than 300 school nutrition personnel to discuss egg nutrition, spark culinary ideation and showcase social media best practices to help staff promote school nutrition.

Event speakers will include:

The Hon. Kim Reynolds, Governor of Iowa
The Hon. Julie Kenney, Iowa Deputy Secretary of Agriculture
Amanda Miller, Director of Food & Nutrition, Des Moines Public Schools
Malissa Marsden, School Nutrition Specialist
Dayle Hayes, MS, RD, School Social Media Maven
Blair Van Zetten, President, Oskaloosa Food Products, American Egg Board Member, Iowa Egg Council Treasurer
John Howeth, Senior Vice President, Market Development, The American Egg Board
Kevin Stiles, Executive Director, Iowa Egg Council
Maribel Alchin, MBA, RDN, LDN, School & College Marketing Manager, The American Egg Board

To celebrate this event, the Iowa Egg Council will donate 33,000 eggs to Des Moines Public Schools to support student nutrition. This donation represents one egg for each of the 33,000 students in the district.

To receive a press badge for the Eat Better. Learn Better. Celebration, contact Bethany Bell at 815.316.0150 or [email protected].

About the American Egg Board (AEB)
Home of the Incredible Egg, the AEB is the U.S. egg industry's national commodity marketing board. The AEB's mission is to increase demand for eggs and egg products through research, education and promotion. The AEB is located in Chicago, Ill. For more, visit aeb.org/eggsinschools.

About the Iowa Egg Council
The Iowa Egg Council supports egg farmers in Iowa by creating opportunities to increase the value and consumption of eggs and egg products. Visit iowaegg.org.

About Des Moines Public Schools
Des Moines Public Schools (DMPS) is a leader and innovator in public education, offering families some of the best educational choices in Iowa as we become the nation's model for urban education. DMPS is Iowa's largest provider of K-12 education, serving more than 33,000 students, and one of the metro's largest employers with 5,000 teachers, staff and administrators serving in 70 buildings in Des Moines.

For more about the DMPS Food & Nutrition program, visit dmschools.org/departments/operations/food-nutrition/.

SOURCE American Egg Board