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Child Nutrition Programs Summer Institute

Many Abbey staff members recently attended the Vermont Department of Education and Child Nutrition Child Nutrition Programs Summer Institute at Spaulding High School in Barre. The Program has released the following press release:

August 15, 2012

Making food fun for kids while gearing up for school lunch program changes

MONTPELIER – The 2012 Child Nutrition Programs Summer Institute kicked off this week at Spaulding High School in Barre with school food service staff, nurses, classroom teachers, and child care staff from around Vermont gathering to learn more about whole and local foods that fit the most recent Dietary Guidelines. School personnel studied new meal pattern requirements, food safety and sanitation, and took an in-depth look at the USDA Foods Program.

Much of the conference has concentrated on cooking with the seasons, while also focusing on nutrition, new dietary guidelines, and food safety and sanitation. The Child Nutrition team partnered with Vermont FEED and the Vermont School Nutrition Association to create workshops which explore creative and healthy ways to incorporate local foods into menu planning.

“This year the Institute is offering approximately 30 courses to school food service staff and child care program staff as they work to implement the new meal patterns established by the USDA” said Laurie Colgan, Child Nutrition Program Director. “These new meal patterns require the schools to offer a wider variety of fruits and vegetables, more whole grain items, and to incorporate beans, peas, and legumes into school menus” she said.

Working with farm and garden-fresh produce is becoming the norm in Vermont schools and with the changes this year to the National School Lunch Program requirements, the amount of available fresh fruits and vegetables used in school meals will be increasing every day. The challenge for many schools and families is to find creative ways to introduce children to healthy foods and to encourage them to broaden their tastes. Throughout the week-long institute, school personnel have had opportunities to learn from local chefs and entrepreneurs, to take part in menu planning sessions, kitchen organization strategies, hands-on cooking activities, and to explore the financial and nutritional benefits of using whole foods by integrating school gardens and partnering with local farmers.

Participants have been learning ways to incorporate the More than Mud Pies curriculum to create fun and interactive nutrition education and physical activity in their child care programs while embracing components of the Healthier U.S. School Challenge (HUSSC). Harwood Union High School Chefs Paul Morris and Gary McCafferty explored ways to create meals that utilize healthy foods that are inexpensive, and to cook from scratch using seasonal vegetables,

nutritious legumes, whole grains, and lean proteins. The common theme threaded throughout the Institute has been to encourage creativity in the kitchen while staying mindful of healthy eating, partnering with local farmers and businesses, and focusing on the new meal pattern and dietary guidelines while meeting the challenge of serving cost-effective and nutritious school meals.

“The Department’s Child Nutrition team is a valuable resource for schools” said Education Commissioner Armando Vilaseca. “The Summer Institute is one of many outreach and training efforts the Department has facilitated over the last decade.” The Commissioner will speak to the summer institute attendees on Friday afternoon over the lunch hour. Vilaseca believes in bolstering school nutrition knowledge and food offerings, and supports farmers and schools working together to provide as much locally grown produce as possible to Vermont’s kids. Additionally he strongly encourages all schools to explore federal programs that can allow schools to provide meals and snacks for the children after school, during school vacations, and throughout the summer.

Contact Laurie Colgan, Director – Child Nutrition Programs, at (802) 828-5153 or laurie.colgan@state.vt.us for more information.

Written by AbbeyGroup on August 21, 2012. Posted in Announcements, Dishing Up Local, Education, Events, USDA, VT Department of Ed

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Straight from the USDA- Taking on your own Whole Grain Challenge

Taking on your own Whole Grain Challenge

It’s hardly a secret that whole grains are better for you than refined grains. That’s why in 2010, The Abbey Group decided to eliminate all refined grain choices in every food except pizza, which until 2012 we offered a choice between the two. It was because of this sweeping effort The Abbey Group was nominated for and won a nationally recognized Whole Grain Challenge Award from the Whole Grains Council.

“The Abbey Food Service Group was the hands down favorite to win the ‘Wild Card’ category in the 2010 Whole Grains Challenge.” –Whole Grains Council

Sometimes we encounter resistance from children when they, as we say, “make the switch” but we know all of the tricks to make the transition as painless as possible. In many of our schools, whole wheat has totally integrated into student’s daily life and if parents make the switch at home, then it becomes the new normal for kids. That makes it easy for children to make other healthy decisions throughout their entire lives. If you’re looking incorporate more whole grains into your diet but thought you couldn’t, just remember the thousands of children who’ve done it right in the cafeteria. We’ve included a few helpful tips distributed by the USDA to help you make the switch.

Make Simple Switches

-To make half your grains whole grains, substitute a whole-grain product for a refined-grain product. For example, eat 100% whole-wheat bread or bagels instead of white bread or bagels, or brown rice instead of white rice.

Whole Grains Can Be Healthy Snacks

-Popcorn, a whole grain, can be healthy snack. Make it with little or no added salt or butter. Also, try 100% whole-wheat or rye crackers.
Save Some Time

-Cook extra bulgur or barley when you have time. Freeze half to heat and serve later as a quick side dish.

Mix It Up With Whole Grains

-Use whole grains in mixed dishes, such as barley in vegetable soups or stews and bulgur wheat in casseroles or stir-fries. Try a quinoa salad or pilaf

Try Whole-Wheat Versions

-For a change, try brown rice or whole-wheat pasta. Try brown rice stuffing in baked green peppers or tomatoes, and whole-wheat macaroni in macaroni and cheese.

Bake Up Some Whole-Grain Goodness

-Experiment by substituting buckwheat, millet, or oat flour for up to half of the flour in pancake, waffle, muffin, or other flour-based recipes. They may need a bit more leavening in order to rise.

Be A Good Role Model For Children

-Set a good example for children by serving and eating whole grains every day with meals or as snacks.

Check The Label For Fiber

-Use the Nutrition Facts label to check the fiber content of whole-grain foods. Good sources of fiber contain 10% to 19% of the Daily Value; excellent sources contain 20% or more.

Know What To Look For On The Ingredients List

-Read the ingredients list and choose products that name a wholegrain ingredient first on the list. Look for “whole wheat, “brown rice,” “bulgur,” “buckwheat,” “oatmeal,” “whole-grain cornmeal,” “whole oats,” “whole rye,” or “wild rice.

Be A Smart Shopper

-The color of a food is not an indication that it is a whole-grain food. Foods labeled as “multi-grain,” “stone-ground,” “100% wheat, ”cracked wheat,” “seven-grain,” or “bran” are usually not 100% whole-grain products, and may not contain any whole grain.

By the way– Any food made from wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley, or another cereal grain is a grain product. Bread, pasta, oatmeal, breakfast cereals, tortillas, and grits are examples. Grains are divided into two

subgroups, whole grains and refined grains. Whole grains contain the entire grain kernel—the bran, germ, and endosperm. People who eat whole grains as part of a healthy diet have a reduced risk of some chronic diseases.

for more information on whole grains please visit myplate.com.

Written by AbbeyGroup on August 1, 2012. Posted in Education, The Abbey Feeds, USDA

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July’s Veggie of the Month-Squash

Every month the Windham Country Farm to School program highlights a new vegetable each month in an effort to increase awareness, information and consumption of local and in season vegetables. And even though school is out, they continue this practice all year long. This month’s highlighted veggie is squash.

Windham County Farm to School is just one of many regional Farm-to-School programs that we work with and has been a model for startups around the country.

Written by AbbeyGroup on July 15, 2012. Posted in Uncategorized, Veggie of the Month

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Tina Bushey Represents The Abbey Group at Shelburne Farms’ Nutrition Education Institute

click here for full article!

This month, one of our own Food Service Managers, Tina Bushey, was featured in an article published by the Burlington Free Press. The article was a recap on the 2012-2013 Nutrition Education Institute at the Coach Barn at Shelburn Farms in Shelburne on June 26, 2012.

The three day intensive course was organized by Shelburne Farms, Vermont Department of Education, Vermont Food Education Every Day ( VT FEED) and the School Nutrition Association of Vermont. The purpose of the Institute was to unite food service professionals with school nurses, community volunteers, physical education teachers and school officials, and together learn from one another and eventually develop a set of guidelines to be used by every school around the state.

Written by AbbeyGroup on July 15, 2012. Posted in Abbey in the News, Dishing Up Local, Education, Sustainability

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