School Nutrition Program Updates |
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We are late for Spaghetti Day, celebrated on January 4 but there still is time to observe...
Pizza Week, January 10 through the 16th
Popcorn Day, January 19th
Granola Bar Day, January 21
Blueberry Pancake Day, January 28th
And Soup Month all through January
For those that are planning menus for February and beyond, take a moment to check out the compiled list for the entire year of Food Days, Weeks and Months on the University of Nebraska - Lincoln's Website Click the Food Day link for articles and recipe ideas for your menus.
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Continuation of the Emergency Summer Food Service Program |
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Most schools have been operating under the Emergency Summer Food Service Program for school year 2021 due to multiple waivers issued by USDA in August 2020. Currently, USDA waivers are in effect until June 30, 2021. Please note that while operating the ESFP, schools must provide meals to students at no charge. Schools may continue the ESFP for the remainder of this school year.
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Buy American:
Not Just a Catchy Saying,
It’s a Requirement
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School food authorities (SFAs) operating the National School Lunch Program must comply with the Buy American provision in 7 CFR 210.21(d). We want to support our American farmers and ranchers.
“American” means grown in the USA, this does not include Canada or South America.
To monitor the Buy American Provision, SFAs should include the Buy American provision in solicitations, contracts, and product specifications. All bidders must ensure contractor awareness of:
· Buy American requirements
· How to request exceptions BEFORE supplying non-domestic products
Just because you wrote “Buy American” on the bid and the vendor claimed they follow the rules, don’t let your guard down. Actually look at the labels of foods. We have found Canadian juice, Chinese apple juice, Chinese peaches and pears (right next to US grown peaches and pears from another distributor); and juice with a label listing 4 different countries of origin in school storerooms.
*This rule does not apply to supplies or equipment, just food.
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Exceptions to the Buy American provision are a last resort, limited exceptions will be allowed. Before utilizing an exception, alternative domestic foods should be considered. For example, SFAs should ask:
o Are there other domestic sources for this product?
o Is there a domestic product that could be easily substituted?
o Substitute Clementine or Halos for mandarins
o Ask the salesmen what American products are available.
o Have I solicited bids for products at the best time of the year?
o Watermelon is available in August/September. Apples are in-season in the fall; however, they store well and are available all year.
If you must purchase a non-American grown product, please have the documentation that an American product was not available or cost substantially more recorded on the Buy American Exception form in the Lunch Production Record Book, page 36
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Each state participating in the National School Lunch Program is required to support their state’s program by providing matching funds to the schools who participate. State Match funds are used to pay for the storage and delivery of USDA foods. These funds are allocated each school year. Each school receives a percentage of the funds based on their previous year’s average daily participation.
As stated, State Match funds are used to pay for the storage and delivery of USDA foods. As schools receive USDA foods, NDFoods deducts the monthly charges from the school’s account. Once the funds have been depleted, schools receive an email notification from NDFoods and invoices for any future charges. Account balances can be viewed in NDFoods.
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Food Service Management Companies |
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We have been receiving inquiries from Food Service Management Companies (FSMCs) wanting to do business in North Dakota. FSMCs are for-profit companies that take over your food service; ONLY the meal preparation and service part, not the Direct Certification and free/reduced/paid meals part. The sponsor (you, the school district) agrees to pay the FSMC a certain amount for each meal provided. The employees then become the FSMC’s employees, not school employees under district benefits.
Contracting with a FSMC for meal service might sound like a good idea, especially if you are having trouble finding workers. However, if you can’t find employees in your town, do you think another company could? If you are thinking of using an FSMC, you cannot just sign up with a salesman. Requirements of the federal school meals program include 1) Any sponsor contemplating using a FSMC must advertise a Request for Proposal (RFP) to all FSMCs registered with the state and 2) follow all federal and state procurement protocols.
FSMC contracts must be approved by NDDPI before the sponsor can sign it. We have a proto-type contract that has all the required USDA clauses and a list of approved FSMCs for service in North Dakota. Signing up with a FSMC does not absolve you of any financial responsibility for serving reimbursable meals. You are the entity that has signed an agreement with NDDPI to operate a child nutrition program according to the rules.
One thing that FSMCs do is set up an advisory council of students, parents, staff and the food service director to come up with ways to improve the school food service. It might be wise to start an advisory council first to see what you can do on your own before contracting out the food service.
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Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025 version has been released. |
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The quinquennial release of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans has been released. This is important as it sets the framework for how our child nutrition programs operate for the next 5 years. This collaboration between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Health and Human Services brings together the brightest minds in nutrition and health fields to review the latest scientific evidence that will be the foundation of their recommendations for feeding the human body at all stages of life.
“The aim of the Dietary Guidelines is to promote health and prevent disease.” Executive Summary, pg viii. The Dietary Guidelines is our nation’s leading nutrition guidance, geared towards health professionals; however, it is an easy-to-read ‘quantitative guidance on foods’ for ‘health promotion, not disease treatment’.
The consumer ‘put into practice’ use of the Dietary Guidance is with MyPlate (Homepage | MyPlate). MyPlate has been redesigned and amped up to provide the general public with nutrition information through the lifespan, recipes and much more. A mini-series on MyPlate will be featured in the coming months NDDPI CNFD newsletters. There were no major changes or earth-shaking revelations in this year’s Dietary Guidelines. The theme for the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025 is simple: “Make Every Bite Count”. In other words, enjoy your food and know that small changes of healthful eating can add up overtime.
They did review the scientific data on food allergies and are now recommending that high-allergen foods (age-appropriate peanut products, eggs etc.) should be introduced to infants around 6 months, which may prevent food allergies from developing. School nutrition professionals should be excited about the possibility of less students with potential food allergies.
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The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025 are summed up in the following key points:
1. Follow a healthy dietary pattern at every life stage.
2. Customize and enjoy nutrient dense food and beverage choices to reflect personal preferences, cultural traditions, and budgetary considerations.
3. Focus on meeting food group needs with nutrient-dense foods and beverages and stay within calorie limits.
4. Limit foods and beverages higher in added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium, and limit alcoholic beverages.
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What takeaways are there for school nutrition professionals?
· To increase awareness of added sugars, the Food and Drug Administration has mandated that all food manufacturers include the grams of added sugar in a food product on the nutrition label. If you check one of the food labels in your school kitchen, you may be surprised to see how much sugar is added to your food.
· Regarding swapping saturated fats (i.e. butter, coconut oil, shortening) for polyunsaturated (i.e. olive oil, walnuts and salmon), the guidance remains at a maximum of 10% calories from saturated fats. This will not change child nutrition program meal patterns as we have been operating with the 10% saturated fat guidelines since 2012.
All in all, remember that you as school nutrition professionals have the great opportunity to offer students healthful meals that help to fuel their mind and body so that they can learn and grow!
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March is NATIONAL NUTRITION MONTH! |
This year’s theme is “Personalize your Plate”.
Think about offering a new food or recipe in the month of March, as many of the students in your schools come from various food backgrounds and taste cultures.
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics offers a National Nutrition Month Toolkit which includes educational activities and handouts – It has yet to be posted, however information can be found @ National Nutrition Month (eatright.org). We will post more next month, as information is available!
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We Eat with Our Eyes Too! |
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Plate presentation should still be considered while serving meals this year (even if meal service is different!). Check out this webinar put on by the Colorado Department of Education ( CDE Workshop Recording 12 2 20 - YouTube – starting at time of 58:50). Whether you are serving meals traditionally or to-go, these tips are a great refresher! Start the New Year out with small changes that make a big impression on how your meals look. |
How Is Your Back Of The House Workflow?
If you are looking to make changes to your workflow, the same webinar gives tips to making smooth flowing assembly lines in the back of the house! Check out CDE Workshop Recording 12 2 20 - YouTube (starting at time of 1:16:00).
Looking for resources for your professional development log that relates to Culinary Trainings to improve your back of the house flow? The Institute of Child Nutrition has multiple “Culinary Techniques (CT 1-6)” as well as “Basic Culinary Math” online training modules at ICN E-learning (docebosaas.com). These online training modules are FREE! |
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Back to Basics: Food Safety |
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What food safety measures did we have before COVID19? CONTINUE THESE FOOD SAFETY MEASURES!
· Personal hygiene (hand hygiene, clean/trim nails)
· Clean uniforms, hair restraints
· WASH, RINSE, SANITIZE
· Chemicals and testing materials for appropriate sanitizing
· Cross contamination (different cutting boards, utensils etc.)
· Cleaning equipment between and during use
· HACCP (time temperature control, thermometer use and tracking temperatures)
(Be sure to check with your local Health Inspection agency and the ND Food Code to be sure you are following all guidance they provide)!
What measures did we have to modify during COVID19? Resources, tips & more!
o Overall, guidance on food safety did not change…however how we serve foods has been the focus.
o Limit or eliminate self service
o Individually wrap food items such as salads, or other items that you typically would have the students pick for self-service items
o Change your menu or your facility set up to not rely on self-service modes of food service
o At the checkout – possibly have students use a new Q-tip to type in their student number/pin – to reduce the amount of touching
o Ensure masks are worn by all individuals – students and staff/faculty. Masks should always be worn, unless eating. Is mask wearing an issue? Work with administration to provide a no cost/small incentive for compliance with safety measures!
o Offer sanitizer when entering in the cafeteria, prior to eating, and as the students leave the cafeteria
o Social Distancing à Keep up the great work to maintain 6 ft distance, as often as possible!
o CDC Guidance on Food Safety Measures
o ND Smart Restart Guidelines
o FDA Guidance on Food Safety and COVID19
If other questions come up, we would be glad to help! Email us at dpicnfd@nd.gov.
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Frequently Asked Questions on Food Safety in School Kitchens, Jan 2021:
Q: Do we need to individually wrap all food items?
A: NO! Not all food items need to be individually wrapped. If students are still going through the food line and eating in the cafeteria – items do not need to be individually wrapped. Have staff members dish food out for students, or place items on the serving area (finger width apart) for students to pick their own item without touching another. If there is a chance that students are grabbing something themselves and have potential chance to touch another item – then you might want to consider individually wrapping that item.
Q: How do I handle the milk cooler?
A: There is no specific guidance on how this should be done. To limit contact with surfaces your milk cooler could possibly be moved close to the checkout (where you may already have a staff member) and as the staff member is checking to ensure for a reimbursable meal, ask them which kind of milk the student wants.
Q: Do I have to have students cover their trays or food items when walking to the cafeteria to eat?
A: If students are eating in the normal lunchroom/cafeteria they do not need to. The only time you might consider covering food items would be if the student has to walk a distance back to their classroom holding their food. Consider then to cover the tray with a sheet of foil to prevent from environmental contaminants.
Q: Do we have to use all disposable items?
A: Disposable dishware is not needed if you have appropriate cleaning methods for your dishes, such as a high temperature or chemical dish machine. If you are unable to provide enough clean utensils, then you may need to consider supplementing with disposable dishware.
Q: Do staff members serving food need to change processes we previously had in place?
A: The recommendations from CDC and FDA on handwashing and glove usage has not changed. Employees should continue to use some sort of barrier between their washed hand and the food item (such as using a deli tissue, utensil, or single use glove).
Q: How do I make sure that I am using appropriate chemicals for cleaning?
A: Check with your local health agency or your chemical representative for “sanitizer” products Ensure you are using a “food safe” product. Food service facilities need to “wash-rinse-sanitize” food contact surfaces. Disinfectants are not a food safe product to use on food contact surfaces, as they could potentially lead to a chemical contaminant due to their high concentrations.
Q: We use tape on the tables to indicate social distancing, we heard we should not do this. Why?
A: Tape on a food surface, in this case where the students are eating, can harbor bacteria. This is due to tape not being a fully washable surface and bacteria can get beneath the tape. Consider alternative ways of indicating distance on your tables, such as a washable table tent, a tabletop specific sticker, assigned pods to keep the same students/classroom together.
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NSBW: “Score BIG with School Breakfast” |
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“Score Big with School Breakfast” is the latest tagline to celebrate eating the morning meal in school. National School Breakfast Week is slated for March 8 th through the 12 th, 2021. We hope that you will join us in celebrating the role that breakfast in school plays in student wellness and academic achievement. Find the toolkit to encourage breakfast participation at this link: SNA breakfast resources. It is available to members and non-members. Those school districts not participating in school breakfast programs can celebrate with the popular Brunch for Lunch menu during March madness offering pancakes, eggs, hash brown patty, orange juice and milk. Contact your school administration for the possibility of a pajama day to highlight the celebration.
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Breakfast, the Best Part of Waking Up |
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Ninety three percent of North Dakota schools are offering breakfast this year which is slightly up from 92% last year. However, actual students eating breakfast in North Dakota schools was only 29,270 each day in School year 2019 according to the USDA State numbers. By comparison, participation for school lunch in that year was 93,332 ND students. Increasing breakfast participation should be a goal of all schools to achieve (“Score Big”) in student academics and wellness.
Research on successful school breakfast programs show common themes. The top three are offering a variety of choices, followed closely by bringing breakfast to the students and finally, promotion.
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Breakfast of Champions: Offering a variety of choices
The School Breakfast Program only has three food components in the meal pattern. Components required at each meal are 1 cup of fruit (can be vegetable), 1 ounce of grain (although 2 ounces each day would make the weekly minimum of grain) and 1 cup of milk for all grade levels. If the school is using the offer versus serve rule, then there must be at least 4 food items for students to choose from. In the School Breakfast Program, one of the items on the tray must be a ½ cup of fruit or vegetable.
There are so many breakfast foods that are kid favorites and relatively inexpensive for schools to menu. An easy first choice is cereal and toast along with an apple and a milk. Expand from here with cold choices of muffins, cinnamon rolls, yogurt, cheese sticks, hard boiled eggs, and juice. Hot favorites are breakfast pizza, breakfast burrito, egg bakes, all the pancakes and French toasts, and egg and cheese biscuits. Increased participation will happen if more choices are menued and at least one of them is hot.
Contact NDDPI-CNFD for help with choices on your breakfast menu. |
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Wake up and Smell the Breakfast: Bring breakfast to the student
When the cafeteria is a distance from lockers and classrooms, alternative methods of breakfast delivery can bring the smells closer to entice hungry students. Incorporating more than one way may increase participation by meeting the students where they are at.
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Breakfast, it does a Body Good: Promote the benefits – nutritious and delicious
Most of us know that breakfast is a healthy habit, but some people need to see the facts in writing to be persuaded. “ Ending Childhood Hunger: A Social Impact Analysis” from Share Our Strength and Deloitte, noted that students who eat school breakfast attend 1.5 more days of school per year and score 17.5% higher on standardized math tests. Students who attend school regularly have 20% higher high school graduation rates which in turn are shown to have greater long-term economic productivity. You could use these statistics for a quick marketing campaign to promote school breakfast OR you could use the following resources from the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) to run a longer campaign leading up to the March celebration. FRAC has a series of documents that list research-based data in short one-line summaries to use in social media, with PA announcements and as colorful poster titles for the cafeteria. Pair each point with a picture or description of a tasty breakfast item.
Click on each title to access the information on all the data-driven benefits of breakfast.
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Keep Calm and Eat Breakfast: Promote benefits to parents as well
Parents need to see that their children are out of bed and at school in time to eat breakfast before the school bell rings. Promote the importance of breakfast as nutritious and low cost. Communicate with parents through an article in the back to school information as well as on the monthly menus. This takes care of the yearly requirement for the School Breakfast Program that schools “must inform families of the availability of breakfasts”. (This is a question on the Administrative Review.)
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Start your day sunny side up with Breakfast.
USDA has developed a resource for schools trying to increase breakfast participation or implementing a breakfast program for the first time that will turn the frown upside down. Marketing posters, newsletters, flyers, surveys, and informative handouts targeted to superintendents, teachers, and parents have already been created for you to use. There are also easy worksheets to calculate breakfast profit or loss, expenses and revenues and break-even points if new menu options or alternative delivery methods are being considered. Find these resources for breakfast expansion at Discover School Breakfast
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January Professional Development Opportunities
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Kitchen Counter Conversations – Menu Documentation, Part 2: Finding Your CN Labels AND Product Formulation Statements |
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Join us on January 19th at 2 pm. Over Microsoft TEAMS to ask questions about CN Labels/PFS
A recording will be made of the session in case you can’t make it that day. Join the meeting at the link below.
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January 19 Microsoft Teams meeting (KCC: CN Labels)
Join on your computer or mobile app
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CSI FoodPro Virtual Food Show
– January 20th through 28th
Free! Unlimited Access – visit any time on your own schedule through the week, Browse creative ideas for your menus.
Dee Carroll has been holding these virtual shows for 7 years now – long before the pandemic made us stay at home and visit vendors virtually. This year’s show features new, individually portioned fruits and vegetables, several beef sticks, trendy seasonings and a redesigned breakfast cart and many more creative ideas. You still can taste the latest products just by requesting a sample. She also finds great resources to print out for your kitchen and interesting podcasts to earn additional professional development hours.
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Purple Power in Fresh Fruits and Vegetables! |
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Seed catalogs are stuffing the mailboxes again. On the cover of many of them, will be some new vegetable in the color of purple. Purple is the color of royalty so no wonder that vegetable growers want these richly colored plants. The purple pigment in plants were actually used in the past as dyes.
Now purple is more exciting because it is associated with an abundance of nutrition and antioxidant properties. The anthocyanins that produce the purple hue have been shown to be healthy for both the human heart and brain, can reduce inflammation and act as a cancer preventive.
Purple pigments have existed in vegetables naturally. Bluish purple blueberries, almost black purple eggplant and black berries and grapes of all shades are examples. About a decade ago, the purple pigments in the Brassicas or Cole crops were becoming popular. Groceries began carrying purple or red cabbage, purple cauliflower, kohlrabi and broccoli. New to the American plate are purple asparagus and purple potatoes.
The most recent addition to the food distribution inventory is purple carrots. However, when first domesticated, carrots were purple. Plant breeders in the 1600’s opted to select for the orange pigments in this plant root. The orange comes from increased amounts of beta-carotene in the plant rather than the anthocyanin. Now plant geneticists are selecting for the anthocyanin again to bring back the purple carrot.
Science is so cool! Tidbits like these can be used as nutrition education in your fresh fruit and vegetable program or marketing to get students to try something new on the lunch line. Other vegetables available from food distributors in uniquely purple are bell peppers, kale, beets, tomatoes and basil. Try them! They might like them.
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Best Wishes for an Awesome 2021! |
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NDDPI Child Nutrition and Food Distribution
Main Office:
600 E. Boulevard Ave, Dept 201
Bismarck, ND 58505
PHONE: 701-328-2294 or 888-338-3663
FAX: 701-328-9566
Mayville Office:
14 Main St E, Mayville, ND 58257
PHONE: 701-877-8901 or 888-788-8901
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Non Discrimination Statement
In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA.
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g. Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.), should contact the Agency (State or local) where they applied for benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.
To file a program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, (AD-3027) found online at: http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, and at any USDA office, or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by:
(1) Mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410;
(2) Fax: (202) 690-7442; or
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