Offer Versus Serve
In the mid 1970’s Congressman Bill Goodling from
Pennsylvania and other congressional leaders believed that students were
throwing away far too much food, so they declared “war on waste”. They wanted
to reduce the waste of food and the waste of government money used to purchase
and prepare this food. A part of this “war on waste” was the Offer Versus
Serve (OVS) option. It was a way to avoid forcing students to take food they
did not intend to eat.
The goals of OVS are: 1) Minimize plate waste and 2)
Encourage more food choices.
Schools that implement OVS must offer all the planned
menu items to all students. Students may refuse a specified number of menu
items. Schools that do not choose to do the OVS option must serve all food
menu items to all students.
Senior high schools, usually considered grades 9-12,
participating in the National School Lunch Program are required to implement
OVS. In elementary and junior high/middle schools, OVS is a local option
whereby students may decline one or two menu components. School food
authorities may implement OVS in their School Breakfast Programs as well.
Full portions of a minimum required number of items must be taken for a meal
to be claimed for reimbursement.
Substantial cost savings may occur with OVS. The manager
determines the quantity to prepare based on previous production records and
menu pattern required serving amounts. The cashier and kitchen manager must
work closely together in defining the reimbursable meals for the day.
Meals must be priced as a unit. This means paying
students will pay the full meal price and students eligible for reduced price
will pay the current reduced price charge whether they take the minimum number
of menu items or the complete meal. The cashier needs to determine the menu
items and serving amounts before the meal service begins. A reimbursable meal
must be defined for claiming purposes.
At schools implementing either the Traditional or
Enhanced Menu Pattern meals, when students go through the line, they must be
offered five food items. Under OVS, a student may decline up to two of the
five required food items and still have a reimbursable lunch. In other words,
a student must take full portions of at least three of the five food items
offered to have a reimbursable lunch. Students are not required to take
specific food items as long as they choose at least a full serving of three of
the five items offered. Students do not have to take a milk or entrée
to have a reimbursable lunch. Any three components from a Traditional or
Enhanced menu pattern menu will make a reimbursable meal.
The five components of a Traditional and Enhanced menu
pattern include: one serving of Meat/Meat Alternate, two servings of
Vegetables and/or fruits, one serving of grains/breads, and one serving of
milk.
If the meat/meat alternate is split into two menu items,
i.e., the main dish and one other menu item, the student would have to take
both items for the meat/meat alternate to count as one of the five food
items. For example, the menu consists of a sandwich containing 1 ½ ounce of
meat and a celery stick with ½ ounce of peanut butter. These two items
comprise the required 2 ounces of meat/meat alternate component of the meal.
If the child takes milk and the sandwich, the child has taken only two items –
the milk and grain/bread. The celery with peanut butter would be needed to
count the meat/meat alternate as a full serving.
Under OVS, students may take smaller portions of the
declined food components. The required food components selected by the
students, however, must be a full serving. The decision to decline the
allowed number of food items or to accept smaller portions of otherwise
declined food items does not affect the charge for the meal. Within the
minimum quantities specified in the regulations for the various age and grade
groups, the menu planner establishes what constitutes a “serving.” It is the
student’s choice which items to decline including the entrée or milk.
OVS reduces plate waste and improves acceptability of the
meal. Students have choices available which encourages them to choose a meal
that is more specific to their preferences. The food service staff is
committed to promoting the nutrition goals of the school nutrition program by
providing students with healthy food choices.
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