This March, we’re celebrating Women’s History Month by highlighting two important Breakfast Champions who are making sure kids across New York State have access to school breakfast: Paula Tyner-Doyle and Sandra Sheedy.
Thanks to these two trusted leaders in the field of child nutrition, more kids in New York are getting the school breakfast, lunch and summer meals they need to grow up healthy, strong and ready to learn. Both Paula and Sandra are passionate about these federal nutrition programs, and maintain the highest standards of integrity and providing children with a range of nutritious food.
Paula Tyner-Doyle is the State Director of Child Nutrition Programs at the New York State Education Department. As a Registered Dietitian with a Master's Degree in Health Education, Paula has over 40 years of nutrition experience including 23 years specializing in child nutrition. Paula and her team of 50 professionals are responsible for administering the third largest National School Lunch Program in the country, with 6,000 school buildings serving more than 1.6 million lunches and 600,000 breakfasts daily and the largest Summer Food Service Program, with 3,000 sites serving approximately 400,000 children per day during the summer months. Her office oversees the annual disbursement of more than 1 billion federal dollars to school food authorities and summer sponsors participating in one or more child nutrition programs.
Sandra Sheedy has worked with the New York State Education Department, Child Nutrition Program Administration for the past 22 years managing New York State’s Child Nutrition Programs and initiatives. Sandra and her team administered the USDA Medicaid Demonstration Project and the successful automation of Direct Certification in New York State, allowing over half of New York’s enrolled students to receive meals as part of the education day through participation in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). Participation in CEP has allowed a seamless transition to alternative breakfast service models and increased access to and participation in breakfast. The Child Nutrition Team assists New York’s 1,200 School Food Authorities by providing technical assistance, guidance, and training in order to serve healthy, nutritious meals to New York students each school day.
Thanks to Paula and Sandra, important Breakfast After the Bell programs are being implemented across the state. They both serve as members of New York State’s School Breakfast Leadership Institute team, and have spearheaded the implementation of breakfast after the bell in more than 1,400 schools across the state.
Here at No Kid Hungry, we have been able to learn so much from their insights and see their passion for ensuring children have regular access to healthy nutritious meals. Breakfast After the Bell implementation would not be happening in New York without their passion and insights, and we can’t thank them enough.
This month, we want to thank all the heroes working to ensure our kids have access to the nutritious meals they need.
