Thank you for this opportunity to comment on the Regulations Governing Nutritional Guidelines for Competitive Foods Sold in Virginia; 8 VAC 20-740.  I am April Plummer, Director of the School Nutrition Program in Fauquier County Public Schools.  Fauquier County is home to approximately 11,300 public school students; demographics dictate one of the lowest free and reduced eligibility rates in the state.  Our program must function as an enterprise fund and remain a financially healthy program primarily from the exchange of money from food sales and not federal funding.  Regulations governing school meal programs have been costly and have jeopardized program sustainability.  I believe I speak for my colleges across the state when I say that nutritionally balanced meals are the focal point of our programs, however, reasonable a la carte sales are vital to our financial independence.  Rising food costs, quality labor and benefit costs, training expenses, equipment replacement, and indirect costs are choking our programs.  And it will be arduous and costly for Virginia school nutrition programs to operate under a separate set of regulations concerning a la carte sales.       

I am proud to be a Virginian; I have always taken pride in being part of a program in a state that holds itself to a standard of excellence.  I support and ask you to support, the School Nutrition Association of Virginia stance that Virginia proposed regulations for competitive foods sold match the federal regulations.  I ask that you, with great care, consider what is reasonable for “Virginia” and the children that school programs serve.