With the announcement of a new name, School Nutrition Association (SNA), and slogan, "Making the right food choices, together," SNA (formerly known as the American School Food Service Association) has implemented significant changes that represent longstanding efforts to position itself as a leader in child nutrition. This is a big step for such a large organization, which was established 58 years ago and is steeped in history that extends more than a century.

The name change provides an impetus for school districts to become more introspective about how to provide school meal programs and to look for new ways to create healthy school environments in a climate of tight budgets and tough competition. In this sense, child nutrition-related research is about change—assessing the impact of change, demonstrating the effectiveness of different approaches to operations and administration, and suggesting alternate methods to solving problems. We hope that you will embrace research as a change agent.

Articles in this issue of The Journal of Child Nutrition & Management emphasize change. The Current Issues paper, "It's Time for Whole Grain Products in School Meals," highlights the necessity of improving the diets of children and decreasing their risk for chronic diseases by increasing the amount of whole grain products offered through school meals. These researchers discuss the acceptable level of whole grain flour in various foods, how to gradually increase the level of whole grain flour, and the costs involved.

McDonnell et al. examined perceptions and barriers to the School Breakfast Program. These researchers suggest changes that school foodservice directors can make to improve the likelihood of success in implementing a new or expanded breakfast program. Bergman et al. conducted studies for the National Food Service Management Institute on the impact of recess scheduling and the length of the lunch period on plate waste and nutrient consumption. These researchers found that plate waste decreased from 41% to 27% when recess was scheduled after lunch. When the lunch period was 30 minutes rather than 20 minutes, students consumed more food and nutrients. Plate waste was reduced from 43.5% to 27% when the lunch period was increased by 10 minutes. Again, changing the way schools and school meal programs have always been run can result in great improvements for children and their nutrition.

As you look for ways to improve your school nutrition programs, I hope that you will find the information in this issue pertinent and useful. Please consider becoming involved with the Journal. We are always looking for both research articles and reviewers. Please review the Contributor Guidelines for more information about submitting an article and contact me directly at the link below for more details about volunteering your time as a reviewer.

Jeannie Sneed, PhD, RD, SFNS, CFSP
Editor