Congratulations to Lori Robinson and Adele Blaisdell, two Abbey Group employees at the Barre Town School, for saving a 5th graders life. Because of their quick actions on September 11th, 2012 a little girl’s life was spared.
The young girl is highly allergic to turkey and she had put some on her tray by accident. The ladies noticed what she had done and quickly told her she needed a new tray. The young girl said she already had eaten some of the turkey. The rushed the girl down to the nurse’s office where an EPI pen was administered and 911 was called. At that time the young girl was already starting to have seizures. Without their heroic efforts this young girl would not be with us today.
Two days ago they were presented with Good Samaritan awards from all of us at The Abbey for their extraordinary efforts.
Thank you Adele and Lori from all of us at the Abbey Group. You make us very proud!
The Windham County Farm to School is at it again with their celebration of a different vegetable every month. Back again this year to represent October is Broccoli. Please enjoy the following fun facts about broccoli provided by the Windham County Farm to School!
Fun Facts
Broccoli is in the Brassica plant family, along with its siblings: cauliflower, kale,
cabbage, collards, turnips, rutabagas, Brussels sprouts, and Chinese cabbage. These
vegetables all have similar flowers with four petals. The flowers resemble a small cross,
which explains why these vegetables are also called crucifers.
Broccoli originated in the Mediterranean area, probably in Turkey, and was popular as
far back as the Roman Empire, two thousand years ago. Although broccoli was grown
in the U.S. by Thomas Jefferson in his garden more than 200 years ago, it didn’t
become popular until the 1920’s. That’s when the D’Arrigo brothers came from Italy with
their broccoli seeds. They started a farm in California and soon were growing lots of
broccoli and shipping it as far away as Boston. The name ‘broccoli’ comes from the
Italian word brocco and the Latin bracchium meaning arm, branch, or shoot.
Broccoli is essentially a large edible flower. The head of broccoli is a collection of many
small green flower buds called florets; if you wait too long to harvest broccoli these
florets will open up and become yellow flowers. The flower stalk that holds up the head
is quite edible, and both the head and stalk of broccoli can be eaten raw or cooked. The
bitter leaves that grow below the head are not usually eaten but they are edible and can
be stir fried like other greens such as kale. If you like broccoli, try broccoflower, which is
a cross between broccoli and cauliflower. Broccolini, also called baby broccoli, is
another new vegetable; it’s a cross between broccoli and kale.
Ninety percent of the broccoli grown in the U.S. comes from California. However, a lot of
other states grow broccoli, too – just not as much. Broccoli prefers cool growing
conditions, between 40 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and moist soil. The heads are ready
to harvest in about 100 to 120 days after planting the seeds.
Broccoli is one of the nutritional giants of the vegetable kingdom. It is high in vitamin A
and contains beneficial compounds like carotene and folic acid. A cup of cooked
broccoli has as much calcium as four ounces of milk, and also provides ten percent of
the daily recommended iron requirement. If that’s not enough to convince you to eat
your broccoli, one cup of cooked broccoli also has as much vitamin C as an orange.
By: Vern Grubinger
This past September one of our innovative dishes was featured in The Vermont Fresh Network’s Fresh Feed. Read below for the full article! for more information on the Vermont Fresh Network and all of the great things they’re up to, please visit: http://www.vermontfresh.net/
Harvest Mac and Cheese from The Abbey Group
The Abbey Group provides school lunches for nearly one hundred schools in Vermont and New Hampshire. The Abbey Group helps some of these schools source lunch ingredients from Vermont farms like Maplebrook, Mazza’s, Clear Brook Farm, and their own school gardens. Nicole Fournier of the Abbey Group is excited about her Harvest Mac & Cheese and shares the secret of it’s success: “The unique thing about this recipe is the butternut squash turns yellow and, believe it or not, the students are more accepting of it because of the yellow color.” Innovative ideas like macaroni and cheese with butternut squash helps get local, whole foods into school lunches and into kid’s bellies!
Recipe for The Abbey Group’s Harvest Mac & Cheese
1 lb Whole Grain Macaroni
2 lb Roasted Butternut Squash
1 ½ Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
4 c Milk
½ c Whole Wheat Flour
1 tsp Dry Mustard
2 lb Vermont Cheddar Cheese
a pinch of nutmeg and black pepper
1- Cook pasta al dente taking care to not overcook as you will also be baking the dish.
2- Place oil in a heavy bottom sauce pan, whisk in the flour and mustard. Add the milk slowly, whisking continuously until smooth. Add the pinch of nutmeg and cook on low heat until the sauce thickens and the flour taste dissipates.
3- Whisk in the cheese, a little at a time, and fold in squash puree. Season with pepper.
4- In a large mixing bowl- combine pasta and sauce and spread into a greased, shallow baking dish.
5- Bake at 350 until golden brown (25-35 minutes).
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!
