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The Abbey Group Well Represented at St. Johnsbury. -WCAX News Story- New cookbook for Vt. cafeteria cuisine

The Vermont Education Agency and a group of local nonprofits have come together to create the first-of-it’s-kind cafeteria cookbook. Abbey Group directors and chefs were there in St. Johnsbury to help try out some of the recipes and pick up new ideas. Check out the WCAX link below for the full video, and quote from Abbey Chef Director Josephi Gerardi.

http://www.wcax.com/story/23140230/new-cookbook-for-vt-cafeteria-cuisine

New cookbook for Vt. cafeteria cuisine

Posted: Aug 14, 2013 6:53 PM EDTUpdated: Aug 16, 2013 5:00 PM EDT

By Alexei Rubenstein – bio | email

ST. JOHNSBURY, Vt. -Call it a boot camp for school cooks. Dozens of school cooks and food directors from across the state are spending the week in St. Johnsbury to pick up new ideas and refine their techniques.When Penny Goss of Bakersfield started in the school kitchen back in the 1960s, it was simpler time.

“Back then there were hardly any regulations, you just fed the kids,” Goss said. “You did homemade things and you fed them. And now there a lot of things; you have to follow the rules.”

This year, the Vermont Education Agency and a group of local nonprofits have teamed up to produce a first-of-its-kind cookbook with recipes by school cooks for school cooks. Some seasonal items on the menu– sautéed greens and beans, Magenta-root slaw and corn salad.

“What we were trying to strive for was a cookbook that anybody would pick up and say, ‘wow, pictures– they’re great; the food looks wonderful,’ and that it brings up the level of school meals in terms of yeah, this is a profession, these are real culinary skills we’re talking about,” said Abbie Nelson of Vermont FEED.

Back in the classroom, the cooks fine-tune some of the recipes that will make the final cut.

There was a backlash at some schools last year over the news federal standards, complaints that there wasn’t enough to eat or that even popular local foods didn’t meet the standards.

“A little tough, but it really turned out well. And I think as we go forward with this, it’s going to change a bit. Kids are more accepting of it. I think it was the high school kids in the beginning that were kind of not too receptive. The younger kids coming up, they don’t know any better. They’re going to be really just learning it as they go and they think that is the norm,” said Joseph Gerardi of Townshend.

New England Culinary Institute students helped test many of the new recipes.

“The volume that school food service directors have to provide, the limited budgets that they work with, the limited staff that they get to work with was really a revelation for my students and myself, as well,” said Jim Birmingham of NECI.

The new cookbooks will go out to every school this fall– an effort to share the love of cooking with kids across the state.

Written by AbbeyGroup on August 17, 2013. Posted in Abbey in the News, Dishing Up Local, The Abbey Feeds, Uncategorized, USDA, VT Department of Ed

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Free Breakfast for All! – A Real Possibility

Check out this great informational sheet put together by the Food Research and Action Center about why offering school breakfast for free to all students is a great idea for the betterment of child nutrition. For many schools and districts offering free breakfast to every student is possible to do without breaking the bank. If you’re reading this and you think your school would be a good fit for this program, shoot us an email or give us a call for more information.

Offering breakfast at no charge to all students, often called “universal”, helps remove the stigma for low-income children of participation in school breakfast and is proven to increase participation.

Many children do not eat a nutritious breakfast every morning.

Many families are living on very tight budgets and can’t afford to provide good breakfasts at home every day nor the money to buy them at school.
Regardless of income, families today live busy lives, with long commutes and long and nontraditional work hours that often make it difficult to sit down long enough in the morning to eat a nutritious breakfast.

Schools that offer breakfast free to all children increase student participation rates.

Many students who are eligible for free or reduced price school breakfast do not participate because they do not wish to identify themselves as low-income by eating school breakfast. Offering breakfast at no charge to all students helps remove the stigma for low-income children of participation in school breakfast.
Only 47 children eat federally-funded free or reduced price school breakfasts for every 100 who receive free or reduced price school lunch. Studies show that offering breakfast at no charge to all dramatically increases student participation in school breakfast.
Some schools offer breakfast free to all children in the classroom as school starts in the morning, rather than in the cafeteria before school starts, which makes it easier for children to participate.

Programs that offer breakfast free to all children improve student achievement, diets and behavior.

Studies conclude that students who eat school breakfast at the start of the school day show a general increase in math and reading scores as well as improvements in their speed and memory in cognitive tests.
Children who eat breakfast at school – closer to class and test-taking time – perform better on standardized tests than those who skip breakfast or eat breakfast at home.
Children who have school breakfast eat more fruit, drink more milk, and consume a wider variety of foods than those who don’t eat breakfast or have breakfast at home.
Schools that offer breakfast free to all students in the classroom report decreases in discipline and behavior problems, visits to school nurses and tardiness; increases in student attentiveness and attendance; and generally improved learning environments.

HOW CAN SCHOOLS AFFORD TO OFFER FREE BREAKFAST TO ALL?

Provision 2 is a federal School Breakfast Program (and National School Lunch Program) option for schools to reduce the paperwork and simplify the logistics of operating school meals programs when they serve meals to all students at no charge. Schools should contact their State Agencies for assistance on implementing Universal School Breakfast through Provision 2.
Many school districts that serve a large percentage of students who are eligible for free and reduced-priced school meals find that they can break even when they offer breakfast at no charge to all, even without adopting the Provision 2 option. The increased participation brings in a sufficient amount of revenue to cover the additional costs.
State legislation provides special state funding for universal school breakfast programs in nine states. Illinois provides funding for a universal breakfast pilot program for schools with 80 percent or more free and reduced-price eligible students. Maryland allocates $3.1 million for “Maryland Meals for Achievement”, an in-classroom universal free school breakfast program. Massachusetts provides $2 million annually to support universal breakfast, allocated for a reimbursement of $0.24 per breakfast for any school offering universal breakfast if costs exceed other reimbursements. North Carolina allocates $2.1 million annually to provide free universal school breakfast to kindergarten students in districts where 50% or more of the kindergarten students are eligible for free and reduced-price school meals.
States also provide funding to support the School Breakfast Program in general, which can provide larger benefits to schools that have larger participation rates. Some states provide additional funding for each breakfast served (California, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin); some provide funding for breakfast start-up costs (California, Illinois, and Washington); and some provide additional incentive funds for increased participation (Pennsylvania and Virginia.)

It is little to spend on long term results… It gives me time to visit with [my students]… It is a nice way to start the day nutritionally, socially, and emotionally. – Minnesota teacher

Written by AbbeyGroup on June 11, 2013. Posted in Dishing Up Local, Education, Inside The Abbey Group, USDA

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Healthy Portion Sizes

New federal efforts aimed at improving children’s health and preventing childhood obesity by regulating school lunches and breakfasts does not have to stop when your children return home. Rest assured that your children are being fed properly during breakfast and lunch but it can be difficult to know what is appropriate and how much in these extra cheese, supersize-me times in which we are living.

The best way to keep your child’s portions in check is through the use of visual cues. When filling a child’s plate (6+), remember that they need 5-7 servings of Grains, 5-6 servings of proteins, 3 servings of dairy, 4-6 servings of vegetables, 3-4 servings of fruit. For consideration, students will receive about 2/3rds of their daily nutritional requirements at school if they eat everything they are provided. Make sure to ask your children what they ate for lunch/breakfast at school every day. Try to eat as many meals with your child as you can so they can see you eating fruits, vegetables, and whole grains at meals and snacks.

Written by AbbeyGroup on February 25, 2013. Posted in Education, Inside The Abbey Group, USDA

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The New Government Food Program

Our side of the story

We’ve all seen the news and recent viral videos about students complaining that they’re not getting enough food at the cafeteria to make it through the day without passing out at football practice. Some of this attention has been directed at us. While it’s true there have been some changes to our lunch trays, The Abbey Group has been well ahead of the curve in terms of healthy options offered at lunch. For example, we’ve been offering whole grains for decades and two years ago, we were recognized in our efforts by winning the national Whole Grain Challenge Award. Because of this, the transition for most that eat lunch with us every day has been relatively harmless. Some students haven’t even noticed the differences.

On the other hand, for those who are concerned that students are not getting enough food to eat to keep them full throughout the day, take comfort in knowing that kids are technically getting MORE food this year than last but they will only receive the nutritional benefits, i.e. keeping students full throughout the day, if they actually eat the extra food that they’re receiving.

These are the main differences that effect students who eat with The Abbey between last year and this year:

Last year:

Higher calorie maximums
Looser guidelines on types of vegetables offered per week
Larger protein portions per meal
Larger grain potion per meal

This year:

Lower calorie maximums
Strict guidelines on types of vegetables offered weekly
Smaller protein portion per meal
Smaller grain portion per meal
Unlimited access to fruits and vegetables

Why we’re conflicted

As much as some parents and students dislike the new meal patterns, we dislike not meeting a client’s satisfaction. And though we are required to support the USDA’s updated meal requirements and will continue to promote healthy eating habits, our hands are tied in terms of what we can offer students.

We will continue to strive to offer the highest quality, most local, fresh made products that we can. We are also soliciting inputs from schools and students to help generate new menu ideas that would better serve all of our students and customers.

If you have any questions, concerns or suggestions regarding the new meal patterns please talk to your local food service manager, email info@abbeygroup.net or visit the USDA website, for more information. http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/governance/legislation/nutritionstandards.htm

Written by AbbeyGroup on October 4, 2012. Posted in Announcements, Dishing Up Local, Inside The Abbey Group, USDA

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