School Nutrition Employee Week (May 7-11) is a great time to say thank you to those who serve our children every school day.  People like Cathy Anderson (pictured left) of Moneta Elementary in Bedford, Virginia, who started “Tasteful Tuesdays” at her school.  Every Tuesday she introduces students to a different vegetable or fruit from pumpkin to pomegranates.  She educates the students on where the food comes from, how it’s grown and prepared, and what it does for the body.

School nutrition employees also know that kids need their school cafeteria to be an escape from their busy school days.  Last month, the cafeteria staff of Larsen Middle School in Elgin, Illinois pulled out all the stops to transform their cafeteria into the “Larsen Lancer Lounge Luau” using festive decorations, complete with a grass hut and a tiki bar.  The staff, decked out in grass skirts, served tropical drinks, made with 100% fruit juice, garnished with fresh pineapple and strawberry slices.  Students were greeted with “Aloha” and their very own leis.  The students and the staff loved it!

A recent survey from the School Nutrition Association shows a growing prevalence of ethnic food choices in school cafeterias, with most schools offering Mexican and Asian dishes, and many experimenting with Middle Eastern, Greek, Kosher/Halal and Indian foods.

Just last month, students in Miami-Dade County Public Schools were invited to choose from Teriyaki Chicken with Lo Mein Noodles; Curry Chicken Salad; Black Beans & Rice Bowls and Cuban-style Roast Pork.  The district offers a wide range of Hispanic dishes throughout the year, including Arroz Con Pollo and Picadillo with Rice and Plantains.

Ethnic recipes provide schools with delicious ways to meet new nutrition standards requiring cafeterias to serve a wider range of vegetables.  Wayzata Public Schools’ (Minnesota) Spicy Lemon Chicken Stir Fry offers both taste appeal and a rainbow of produce with broccoli, carrot strips, green beans, crisp water chestnuts, onions and julienned red bell pepper stir-fried and tossed with white meat chicken and a spicy Kung Pao-inspired glaze.

Some school districts also use their ethnic menus to promote cultural awareness.  Check out this video about the Ethnic Food Project in Highline Public Schools, Washington:

What has been proven to boost test scores, while reducing tardiness and trips to the nurse’s office? School breakfast! Yet in the race to get to the head of the class, many students forget the importance of jump starting their school days with the morning meal.

To highlight how eating a balanced breakfast at school can help students shine, schools across the country will host “School Breakfast – Go for Gold” during National School Breakfast Week, March 5-9, 2012. Cafeterias will celebrate with special menus, events and decorations, fun puzzles and activities.

Federal nutrition standards for school breakfast limit fat and portion size, and cafeterias are already working to meet new requirements for more whole grains, fruits and vegetables with breakfast. To reach more students with these healthy breakfasts, many schools are launching breakfast in the classroom programs, grab-n-go kiosks at the school doors, and breakfast-in-a-bag choices.

In fact, the School Nutrition Foundation (SNF), as a member of Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom, recently launched an initiative funded by the Walmart Foundation to increase breakfast consumption among schoolchildren and spark the academic and nutritional gains associated with the morning meal.

To learn more about this breakfast in the classroom initiative, check out this video from Prince George’s County Public Schools, MD:

“School Breakfast – Go for Gold” was created by the non-profit School Nutrition Association. This national campaign recognizes National School Breakfast Week, launched in 1989 to raise awareness of the availability of the School Breakfast Program (SBP) to all children and the links between eating a good breakfast, academic achievement and healthy lifestyles.

Schools meals must meet these new requirements starting in the 2012-2013 school year, but school nutrition professionals have already been working toward these goals by mixing up the menu, offering a wider variety of fresh produce and introducing new, healthier entrees in the cafeteria.

As every parent knows, “new” can be a hard sell at meal time, but schools are constantly finding ways to get kids excited about trying different foods, including their veggies. Many school cafeterias use student taste tests to encourage students to eat these healthier options. After all, even young children know the value of a free sample!

For example, in Londonderry School District (DE) students get to try a new fruit or vegetable every month, learn about its nutritional benefits and chose from special cafeteria recipes that include the featured produce.

Many schools also allow students to taste test and vote on healthy new menu options. Check out this video to learn more about the taste test program in Norfolk Public Schools (Virginia).

Academic instruction and testing preparation too often crowds out adequate time for recess and physical education during the school day, but many schools are finding creative new ways to promote active lifestyles for our kids. Tray Talk has featured success stories from Evanston Township High School (Illinois), where the “Move and Crunch Challenge” encourages students to participate in 30-60 minutes of physical activity every day; and Messiah Lutheran School (Nebraska), where Family Fitness Night had parents, students and faculty hula hooping in sync.

Teachers are in on the action too. Kim Ramsey at Rivers Edge Elementary (Virginia) struggles with heart disease and tells her students that “Reading is to the mind as exercise is to the body.” Her “Read and Ride” program allows students to take turns reading while exercising on the classroom’s donated stationary bikes and treadmill. The project has made a tremendous impact on her classroom, especially her “hesitant readers” who may not have enjoyed reading in the past, but do love exercise. These days, all her students are so excited about reading that she finds they are “literally racing through books and making healthy choices daily.”

First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign is helping schools get kids moving too. Check out this video to see how Provo School District (Utah) and Let’s Move! are encouraging students to adopt healthier lifestyles.

For more information, visit www.letsmove.gov/

Thankfully, schools and families have a new tool to help children learn about well-balanced meals and healthy choices this holiday season. You may have seen the MyPlate icon on your school menu, or posted in the cafeteria this year. School nutrition programs have been using this healthy food guide to encourage students to try the fruits, vegetables and milk served with every school meal, but MyPlate provides great resources for parents too.

Check out MyPlate’s Ten Tips series for kid-friendly fruits and veggies; ways to limit sweet treats; how to be a healthy role model and ideas for eating healthy when eating out. And if you are planning a holiday celebration, you won’t want to miss the MyPlate recipes.

Schools are using MyPlate in nutrition education programs in the classroom, and they are finding ways to help parents promote nutritious choices at home. See how Saint Paul Public Schools (Minnesota) are sharing healthy school meal recipes with parents:

For Saint Paul Public School recipes, visit http://ns.spps.org/menuRecipes.html, and for more MyPlate resources, including customized daily food plans, see http://www.choosemyplate.gov/

Although chefs have long played an important role in school cafeterias, more schools are welcoming chefs into their kitchens since First Lady Michelle Obama launched her Chefs Move to Schools! initiative last year.  Chefs are partnering with school nutrition professionals on culinary training sessions and nutrition education programs.  Some school foodservice programs are even managed by professionally trained chefs, who oversee all operations. 

Take a look at how one chef is making a difference in Berlin Public Schools, Connecticut:

Chefs bring their tricks-of-the-trade to schools, like knowing which herbs can season a dish with less salt and how to bake whole wheat bread that is light and tasty.  In Hillsborough County Public Schools (FL) District Chef Ben Guggenmos is not only helping spice up school menus – he’s also teaching kids ways to eat healthier at home.  During National School Lunch Week (October 10-14, 2011), Chef Ben hosted Healthy Recipe Demonstrations, showing students how to create tasty treats like “Dessert Fruit Pizza” with nutritious ingredients including fresh blueberries and strawberries, low-fat cream cheese and whole grain English Muffins.

Chef Paul Penny, a Chefs Move to Schools! participant, worked with Plymouth-Canton Community Schools (Michigan) to create school lunch specials like Sweet Potatoes and Apples and Turkey Cherry Chili, loaded with Michigan cherries, red beans and low-fat ground turkey.  Chef Paul even visited with students, encouraging them to taste test these healthy dishes.

As we all seek new ways to promote healthier lifestyles for our children, chefs are playing a critical role in schools and restaurants by sharing their culinary skills, tasty recipes and healthy ideas.

The campaign, which also coincides with National Farm to School Month, is putting a spotlight on the locally sourced foods served in America’s schools.  From peppers and parsley to rice and radishes, local foods are popping up on school lunch trays alongside milk, which is served with every school lunch and almost always locally produced.  In fact, a recent national survey revealed that nearly half of school districts offer locally sourced produce.  Districts are also helping educate students on the foods produced in their region, with 32% involved in farm to school initiatives and another 41% interested in or planning to implement these initiatives.

Just take a look at how the Burlington School Food Project (Vermont) is connecting students and their families with wholesome, local and fresh foods.

School Lunch – Let’s Grow Healthy is sponsored by the non-profit School Nutrition Association (SNA) and the Milk Processors Education Program (MilkPEP) to highlight all the components of well-balanced school meals.  As part of the campaign, cafeterias will feature locally sourced foods on menus, invite farmers into schools to teach kids about how these foods are grown, and provide students with fun activity sheets and handouts for Mom and Dad on the healthy choices available at school.

Lunch Week is a great time for parents to learn more about the good things happening in school cafeterias.  KIWI Magazine is sponsoring a national Take Your Parents to Lunch Day to encourage more parents to visit their school cafeterias.  To find out more visit http://myhealthyschool.com/.

• Nationwide, nearly every school district offers fresh fruits and vegetables (98%)
• Whole grain foods have become readily accessible (97%)
• 89% of school districts offer salad bars or pre-packaged salads
• About two-thirds provide vegetarian meals (63%)
• Virtually all districts offer fat-free or 1%, flavored or white milk (98%)

“From spinach to strawberries and pears to pumpkin, school nutrition professionals are constantly offering students more fruits and vegetables, and often they are partnering with teachers, farmers and chefs to teach kids about the importance of healthy choices at school and at home,” said Helen Philips, SNS, president of the School Nutrition Association.

School nutrition programs are bringing more locally grown foods into schools, with nearly half (48%) of districts surveyed offering locally sourced fruits and vegetables.  School districts are also educating students on the foods raised in their region, with 32% involved in farm to school initiatives and another 41% interested in or planning to implement these initiatives.  Results also reveal the trend toward school gardens, with 21% of districts confirming to have a school garden and another 37% interested in or planning to implement these programs.

Results reveal nutrition education in the classroom is underway in 57% of surveyed school districts with another 31% planning or interested in implementing these programs.  The State of School Nutrition 2011, which surveyed 1,294 school nutrition directors in 48 states, also found that at least 94% of districts prepare some of their entrees or sides from scratch. 

Parents should Get the Facts about healthy school meals, and be sure to check out your child’s school menu or talk to your school’s cafeteria manager to learn how school meals are changing in your area.

Through the US Department of Agriculture’s Summer Food Service Program, schools serving low-income communities can provide free meals and snacks to children at school cafeterias, parks, playgrounds, public housing complexes, summer camps or churches.

For example, San Diego Unified School District (pictured below) has partnered with the city’s Park and Recreation Department since 2004 to host the “Summer Fun Café,” providing free summer lunches to any child who visits one of more than 60 local sites across the district.  Thanks to these efforts, last summer, San Diego served more than 250,000 free lunches and snacks.

In Hickman Mills C-1 school district in Kansas City, Missouri, 80 percent of students qualify for free or reduced price meals.  The school district works hard to reach children who may not get enough to eat at home.  In addition to serving after school meals throughout the year, Hickman Mills will serve about 750 breakfasts, 1250 lunches and 200 dinners a day this summer.  Menu offerings include macaroni with low fat cheese sauce and ham, steamed broccoli, oranges and low fat or skim milk.

As a tough economy continues to plague America’s families, summer feeding programs are more important than ever.  School districts offering summer meals have found a tremendous unmet need for these services.  Just last summer, the South Kitsap School District’s Summer Lunch Camp Program (WA) experienced a 43 percent increase in meals served.   Ariane Shanley, the district’s Food and Nutrition Services director said “We had families come and say thank you to us for having this program all summer. They didn’t know what else they would have done if it weren’t for us providing these meals.”

To find summer meal sites in your community, call the National Hunger Hotline at 1-866-3-HUNGRY or 1-877-8-HAMBRE.