Since federal waivers for meals at no cost have expired, many states have taken legislative and non-legislative measures to ensure children continue to benefit from healthy school meals. Every state is different and the strategies that succeed in one may not work in another. In this session, 5 seasoned school nutrition advocates from California, Colorado, Maine, Maryland and Pennsylvania will share lessons learned in their communities. They will discuss how to design an effective advocacy strategy, relationship and coalition building, how to craft legislative language and how to leverage your advocacy efforts when the response is not what you expected.