USDA – Page 5 – The Abbey Group

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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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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The Abbey Feeds: A Highlight on Vermont Conservation Camps

Now that children are out of school for the summer, parents often struggle with how to keep their kids active, healthy, and engaged. Though summer can be ripe with fresh fruits and vegetables, it can also be a time where children have a relaxed schedule and can fall into unhealthy and inconsistent eating habits. One way to curb all of these summer parent struggles is by having children attend any youth summer camp. These can have a tremendous positive impact on their physical wellbeing as well as a positive effect on psychological development, self-esteem and independence.

Of course there are tons of different types of camps available to children, ranging from computer camps, sports camps, religious camps, and beyond. But did you know that, in true Vermont fashion, the state of Vermont offers two summer conservation camps for Vermont youth that run from June to August? These camps are located in Buck Lake in Woodbury, Vermont and Camp Kehoe is located on Lake Bomoseen in Castleton.

What makes these programs so unique is that they’re sponsored and directed by Fish & Wildlife Department professionals-the same people who manage the fish and wildlife resources in Vermont. The students work with biologists, foresters, game wardens and conservation educators who teach these young people about Vermont’s forests, wetlands and wildlife. Not only do the youth develop valuable life skills but they also gain environmental knowledge so they can continue the state’s traditional rural pursuits–enjoying all aspects of the outdoor world.

Not only do students peruse many physically stimulating activities in these camps that keep them fit in the summer, they also are fed by us, The Abbey Group, around the same guidelines that guide school nutrition throughout the school year so parents can sleep easy.

Please see the Vermont Fish and Wildlife website at http://www.vtfishandwildlife.com/edu_camps.cfm for more information.

Written by AbbeyGroup on June 29, 2012. Posted in Events, The Abbey Feeds, USDA

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