Montana School Nutrition Association

This class is good for new directors, managers, or head cooks looking to learn or hear a refresher on all school nutrition program requirements. This class will cover the program requirements, documentation, and annual checklist of activities. Taught by our OPI team! Bring your questions.

Ever find yourself thinking, “There has to be an easier way?” You’re not alone. Based on YOUR survey feedback, MT-PECH partnered with 10 Montana Dietetics Internship graduate students and their expert supervisors to design a practical, creative, and 2027-regulation-ready cycle menu for Montana schools. The result? A menu built to improve kitchen efficiency, lower food costs while still using more Montana foods, meet new sugar and sodium guidelines, all while keeping student favorites and your creativity front and center. Join us for the big reveal of the Montana Cyce Menu, along with taste tests of some brand-new Montana-grown food recipes. We’ll walk you through the survey results, explain why cycle menus matter when it comes to lowering your food costs, share key considerations for choosing your cycle length, show you exactly how we got here and demonstrate how you can still use your own creativity and include your own recipes. If you’ve been waiting for a smarter, simpler approach to menu planning and lowering your food costs — this is the session you don’t want to miss.

PERS Ready to Retire provides a review of members' retirement plan and an opportunity to ask questions. The presentation is intended for all--early, mid, and late-careers employees.

Take the guesswork out of procurement. This hands-on workshop will equip you with clear, actionable strategies to strengthen your contract negotiations, confidently compare pricing, and determine the most effective procurement methods based on purchase amounts. Designed for real-world application, this session will help you protect your program’s resources while maximizing value and compliance. Walk away informed, prepared, and ready to make smarter purchasing decisions.

Leadership and higher pay start with mindset—and grow through action. This interactive training is designed to equip you with the skills and confidence to become a recognized, respected voice within your school district and to leverage that position into better pay for you and your staff. Participants will learn how to develop a leadership mindset that commands attention, create a relationship with your superintendent and school board to support your food service program as a whole within your school district, advocate effectively for higher wages, position themselves as essential members of the district team, leverage the school wellness committee to increase community engagement and support for both school meal programs and better wages. Walk away with practical tools, renewed confidence, and a clear strategy to elevate your voice, your impact, and your paycheck.

What happens when six schools commit to building hyper-local food systems? Big ideas. Bold partnerships. And more Montana-grown foods on students’ trays. This dynamic, three-part session kicks off with a fast-paced panel featuring six schools, each sharing one unique strategy they’re using to bring more Montana foods into their school meals. Learn how the three-year Investing in School Food Systems to Reach 33 x 33 grant is fueling innovation—and how a growing statewide collaborative is transforming efforts to get more local food on school trays. After the panel, session attendees will be the first to hear about (and have the opportunity to sign up for!) 2026 Land to Lunch experiential training opportunities. Best of all, in part three of this session, attendees participate in live cooking demos and taste tests featuring school-ready recipes made with Montana-grown bison, beef, and rye, all integrated into the new Montana Menu Cycle supporting cost-effective Montana food purchases by schools and meeting all upcoming school nutrition changes and requirements. Come hungry—for ideas and for samples.