Your kid skips lunch because nothing looks appealing. Or comes home hungry because the food didn’t taste right. Or feels embarrassed about getting free meals. Meanwhile, you’re watching ultraprocessed food shape their eating habits and wondering how this affects their health, their focus in class, and their relationship with food for life. The frustration you feel? It can drive real change if you know how to channel it.

Real transformation happens when parents and school food leaders team up. At the Chef Ann Foundation, we’ve witnessed the magic of true partnership and the mess when well-intentioned advocacy goes sideways. The difference comes down to understanding the landscape before diving in.

This live panel is your roadmap. We’ll pull back the curtain on school food operations, from the $4.60-per-lunch budget to federal regulations. You’ll hear from parents and leaders who’ve successfully partnered to drive change and learn practical ways to get involved, backed by the latest research and policy developments moving school food forward. Whether you’re a parent ready to advocate or a school food leader seeking allies, this session will help you build bridges that create lasting change.

Mara Fleishman (Host & Moderator)

As a parent of three, Mara understands firsthand the challenges parents face in ensuring their children eat fresh, healthy food. As CEO of the Chef Ann Foundation for the past decade, she has expertise in system-level change and programmatic engineering, analyzing complex challenges and developing actionable solutions. Under her leadership, the foundation has become the nation’s most trusted advocate and resource for helping school food programs serve more fresh, scratch-made meals.Mara is a sought-after speaker, prolific writer, and influential thought leader on school food reform. She serves on regional and national boards, frequently presents at conferences, and is widely recognized in publications as a driving force behind reshaping America’s food landscape.

Lindsey Abramo

Lindsey is a media and growth executive currently serving as interim CEO of Motherly and a strategic leader within the ParentsTogether network. She has spent more than 20 years scaling mission-driven media and technology companies, including Vox Media and World of Good Brands, where she led the successful sale of its portfolio to Graham Holdings. Lindsey brings deep expertise in audience growth, revenue strategy, and purpose-driven brand building. As a parent of two, she is passionate about advancing healthier systems for families and children, including improving access to nutritious school meals.

Dr. William Datema

A parent of four and a grandparent of two, Dr. Datema has served in education and public health for over 40 years at the local and international levels. As the president-elect of National PTA, Dr. Datema has held several national leadership positions including chief of the Program Development and Services Branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Division of Adolescent and School Health, director of partnerships for children’s health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, and executive director of the Society of State Leaders of Health and Physical Education in Washington, DC. Dr. Datema has also served as a board member for various nonprofits and is the U.S. representative for the UNESCO Chair Global Health & Education. He holds a Doctor of Public Health, has presented in 48 states and 12 other nations, and has authored and contributed to several publications. 

Jenné Claiborne

Jenné Claiborne is CEO and founder of Sweet Potato Soul. She’s a vegan chef, cookbook author, content creator, and New York Times Cooking contributor known for her colorful, Southern-inspired vegan recipes. Through her blog and social platforms, Jenné shares joyful plant-based cooking with a global audience of hundreds of thousands. Jenné is a parent of one.

Lori Nelson

As Chef Ann Foundation’s chief school food operations officer, Lori leads transitioning school districts to scratch cooking. She oversees technical assistance, strategic planning, and data-driven assessments to ensure school food professionals have the resources needed to provide high-quality, healthy meals to children. Lori is a parent of two and has more than 25 years of culinary experience, ranging from executive chef for renowned catering companies and hotels to senior director of child nutrition for KIPP Texas Public Schools in Austin. She’s prepared private dinners for esteemed figures such as Lady Bird Johnson and family, the Clintons, and Buzz Aldrin. Under her leadership, her school food programs have earned national recognition, including being named among the top school food programs in Texas.

School nutrition teams across the country want to serve fresh, scratch-made meals, but they’re working in spaces designed for reheating, not cooking. With only $4.60 per reimbursable lunch to cover food, labor, and everything in between, saving for major infrastructure overhauls is impossible. This leaves them reliant on serving processed food. But there’s a better way forward.

This live panel explores the operational blueprint for transforming school kitchens, and how strategic menu development should drive the entire process. We’ll examine the latest research on state-based investments in kitchen infrastructure – from production facilities to finishing kitchens – and their impact on menu quality. You’ll see real results from districts that made the leap and learn about emerging state and federal policies that are opening new funding pathways.

Whether you’re a nutrition director dreaming of a kitchen redesign, a facilities manager trying to understand what school food actually needs, or an advocate pushing for infrastructure investment, this session will show you what’s possible when kitchens get the resources they deserve.

Mara Fleishman (Host & Moderator)

As a parent of three, Mara understands firsthand the challenges parents face in ensuring their children eat fresh, healthy food. As CEO of the Chef Ann Foundation for the past decade, she has expertise in system-level change and programmatic engineering, analyzing complex challenges and developing actionable solutions. Under her leadership, the foundation has become the nation’s most trusted advocate and resource for helping school food programs serve more fresh, scratch-made meals.Mara is a sought-after speaker, prolific writer, and influential thought leader on school food reform. She serves on regional and national boards, frequently presents at conferences, and is widely recognized in publications as a driving force behind reshaping America’s food landscape.

School food professionals face crushing vacancy rates, constant turnover, and some of the lowest wages in their districts. Yet these are the hands that will determine whether scratch cooking becomes reality or just stays a nice idea. For too long, school food jobs have been written off as unskilled work rather than recognized as the culinary careers they are. If we’re serious about removing ultraprocessed foods from schools, we need to invest in the professionals who will make it happen.

This live panel digs into the latest research on vacancy rates, wages, and training needs across the country. We’ll explore state and federal policies designed to support school food professionals and build the capacity we need right now. You’ll hear directly from school food professionals enrolling in upskilling programs and forging new career pathways — proof of what’s possible when we invest in people, not just kitchens.

Whether you’re a nutrition director struggling to staff your team, a policymaker working on solutions, or anyone who believes school food professionals are a key ingredient to real change, this session is your call to action.

Mara Fleishman (Host & Moderator)

As a parent of three, Mara understands firsthand the challenges parents face in ensuring their children eat fresh, healthy food. As CEO of the Chef Ann Foundation for the past decade, she has expertise in system-level change and programmatic engineering, analyzing complex challenges and developing actionable solutions. Under her leadership, the foundation has become the nation’s most trusted advocate and resource for helping school food programs serve more fresh, scratch-made meals.Mara is a sought-after speaker, prolific writer, and influential thought leader on school food reform. She serves on regional and national boards, frequently presents at conferences, and is widely recognized in publications as a driving force behind reshaping America’s food landscape.