Dishing Up Local – Page 12

New School Lunch Regulations

Healthier schools meals to improve childhood health is a U.S. Department of Agriculture goal for the new school year.

The USDA released the following press video regarding new school lunch regulations:

The new regulations and requirements are great news for our students! They will help The Abbey Group build on the work we are already doing to provide more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and healthier main dishes in our school cafeteria. Some of the New Requirements Include:

Increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables
Reducing the sodium in meals over the next 10 years
Setting calorie maximums for the first time
Increasing whole grains
Limiting the amount of meat/meat alternatives and grains

Students will now be required to have ½ cup of fruit or vegetable on their tray for it to count as a full meal. Anything less than a full meal will be charged as individual items. We plan to offer a variety of fruits and vegetables daily to give students more options in the hopes that choosing fruits and vegetables will be easy. Schools are now limited on how much meat/meat alternate and grains that can be offered. This means that some of the main dishes may not be as large as they have been in the past. Remember, though, there will be more fruits and vegetables available to fill out the meal and ensure students have plenty to eat! In The Abbey Group, we have already made the changes to meet the new requirements.

What We Are Already Doing:

Fresh fruit and vegetables are served every day.
Sandwiches are served on whole wheat buns.
All pasta served is whole grain.
Main dishes have been changed to include lower sodium options.
Dark green and orange vegetables are served on a weekly basis.
Dried beans have been incorporated into some of the recipes.
Salad bars are available every day that include romaine lettuce and spinach.

We’ll face some challenges to meet the new requirements on a tight budget, but our school nutrition program will work hard to make these healthy changes for our students and make each meal something our students will enjoy!

How Can You Help?

The food in the cafeteria is only one piece of the puzzle of an overall healthy school environment. Health and wellness can be incorporated into classroom activities through nutrition education and short physical activity breaks. Give parents the opportunity to support healthy behaviors with suggestions for healthy class party snacks and provided with wellness information that they can utilize with their families. The school nutrition program needs the support of school staff to succeed! You are a powerful role model for your students and this is a fabulous opportunity to model healthy choices. Whether you join your students for lunch or make time to talk with them about the food they eat at school, taking an interest in the school meal programs will demonstrate that you are aware of and supportive of the changes that the students will be seeing.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us. We are here to help!

Written by AbbeyGroup on August 30, 2012. Posted in Dishing Up Local, Uncategorized, USDA

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The Abbey’s Meggen Hanna of Barstow Memorial School is featured on Jamie Oliver.com!

Congratulations to The Abbey’s own Meggen Hanna, whose story has been featured on www.jamieoliver.com, (you know, the guy who started the food revolution across two continents?!).

Read her full story on his website, or click on the link below.

http://www.jamieoliver.com/us/foundation/jamies-food-revolution/news-content/it-can-be-done

Written by AbbeyGroup on August 25, 2012. Posted in Announcements, Dishing Up Local, Education, Inside The Abbey Group, Sustainability

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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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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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