JACKSON TWP — The food services director for the Seneca Valley School District last month traveled to Washington to urge lawmakers to reauthorize a bill that stipulates healthier guidelines for food serving and preparation in schools across the nation.

Darlene Carmack, who has been with the district since 2010, was one of only two people from Western Pennsylvania to go to the capital.

Besides another food services director from Allegheny County, Carmack was the only representative outside of Philadelphia to represent the Pennsylvania delegation in Washington.

The trip was sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts, which operates its own program called the Kids’ Safe and Healthful Foods Project.

Carmack, who has overseen a drastic transformation in the kinds of foods served and the preparation of those foods at Seneca Valley, was eager to talk to national policy and lawmakers when Pew offered her the chance to go to Washington.

Carmack met with more than a dozen congressional and senatorial aides and advisers, and even got to meet personally with U.S. Reps. Mike Kelly, R-3rd, and Tim Murphy, R-18th.

In addition, she met with representatives from the offices of Sens. Bob Casey and Pat Toomey, Pennsylvania’s two senators, as well as representatives from other congressional members from eastern Pennsylvania.

Carmack shared firsthand her success story at Seneca Valley and how the school has adhered to a 2010 bill called the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.

That act set new nutrition standards for schools and mandated the serving of more whole grains, less salt, and healthier preparations techniques.

However, the 2010 act expires this year and politicians are debating whether to reauthorize it. That’s why Carmack found it so important to travel to Washington.

“I went to talk about the devastation that would happen if they lessen the guidelines,” she said. “When it comes time for reauthorization, don’t let us go backward. It would be devastating for the health of our nation to go backward.”

Nearly one in three children in America is obese, Carmack said, citing statistics compiled by Pew. Those numbers are on the rise, which makes it even more important to make sure this legislation remains active, she said.

Carmack said she offered proof that the 2010 bill is working. The new nutrition guidelines are working in affluent districts like Seneca Valley, but they’re also working in urban, poorer districts in central Philadelphia.

“Our story is that it worked for all of us, even if we’re from polar opposite communities,” she said. “We feel it can work for anybody, and we wanted to share that success story.”

However, Carmack didn’t go to Washington merely to talk about the past.

Rather, she urged policymakers to approve a new act that would provide federal funding for schools to update their kitchen and cooking equipment.

Called the School Food Modernization Act, the bill would help schools acquire new cooking equipment through grants, loans and other federal funding sources.

The bill is necessary, Carmack said, because school districts are having a hard time keeping up with health guidelines in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.

For Carmack, it was far from a wasted trip. After several days of reflection, she says she felt that her statements made a real impact in Washington.

“They seemed absolutely interested, asking follow-up questions and being engaged while taking notes,” she said. “We met with a lot of aides and senior advisers, and they really wanted to hear our stories.”

Carmack said she hopes to get invited back to Washington next year to advocate again for healthy nutritional guidelines and for funding that could help school districts better adhere to those guidelines.

Superintendent Tracy Vitale said it’s been an “uppermost priority” to transform the food services component part of Seneca Valley, and she praised Carmack for doing just that.

It makes sense Carmack traveled to Washington, given the innovative work she’s been doing at Seneca Valley, Vitale said.

“Many school districts contract this service out to make money for the district,” Vitale said.

“At Seneca Valley, we have always focused on the notion that our cafeterias should be providing a healthy nutritional service to our children to enhance and support our learning environment instead of being focused on solely turning a profit.”

Vitale said she’s proud of Carmack’s work and that she’s “thankful we have very hard-working community members employed in our cafeterias.”

Coming Wednesday: A report on how Joe Comunale is making an impact as a full-time chef for Seneca Valley.