When you work for a company called Magnus Health, you tend to feel obligated to crank out a blog post each March in celebration of National Nutrition Month. I did it last year, I’m doing it this year, and if history tells us anything, I’ll do it again in 2015. The good news is, a reminder blog once a year about the importance of nutrition will never be overkill. The better news is, I may have a surprise at the end of this blog.

National Nutrition Month is sponsored annually by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and “is designed to focus attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits.” These are solid goals for everyone, especially children and teens. This year’s theme is “Enjoy the Taste of Eating Right” because research found taste to be more influential in food purchasing behavior than nutritional value. Those foods people enjoy are more likely to be consumed, regardless of social, emotional, or health factors, so this year’s theme is right on point.

No one knows this better than the people who have children, or who work with them every day, like school staff. It’s no surprise that school cafeterias have pizza and fried food as options. Hint: They taste good. Very good. And, while there are efforts to improve the nutritional value, and taste, of cafeteria lunches, and new rules aim to remove junk food and drink ads from schools, there is still work to be done.

But that’s not what this blog is about. You already know that information. This blog is about hinting at guest blogs coming your way this National Nutrition Month. We’re serious about this month, and that’s why we’re taking it a step further. These blogs are for those school nurses, health staff, and parents who are facing new challenges dealing with a student’s nutrition. The student has an allergy to a single food? That’s one thing. The student is allergic to four major food groups (not just foods, but groups), that’s a whole new world – and not the kind Jasmine and Aladdin sang about. What’s one to do in that situation? We’ll tell you. And what about eating gluten free? We have some insight on that as well.

Look for those blogs in the coming weeks, and until then, check out our research paper on Food Allergy Considerations for Schools.

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Plus, let us know in the comments section if you have any nutrition intiatives in your school that you’d like to share with us and others!