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In light of the wellness policy requirements, the State Dept of Education and the State Board of Education will work together to develop a policy that schools can refine, revise, add to, or delete as fits the needs of the local agency. Many schools have a unique situation so they’ll want to review the policy and make changes so it fits the individual school. A group will be called together to gain input from various aspects. With changes in the Child & Adult Care Food Program, several memos were sent out in late March regarding meal count procedures, enrollment records and processes, household contacts, and reviewing claims for reimbursement. Training will be provided in the coming months on these issues. Summer Food Service is up and rolling – the administrative workshops have been held and the operation workshops are planned. If the children in your area are in need of meals in the summer, contact the CANS office for ideas on how to meet that need. New resources available to the schools soon (if you don’t have them already) include Making it Happen: Success Stories from Schools and the Offer vs. Serve guidance divided up by the menu planning options. Be sure to keep the whole Offer vs. Serve guidance piece so the others are readily available if you change the menu planning option that is utilized. Don’t wait for your ship to come in – swim out to it!
Fiscal Year 2005 - Best Practices Awards Child and Adult Nutrition Services (CANS) is pleased to announce another year of “Best Practices Awards” in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP). In order to encourage and reward outstanding practices in school food service, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will recognize outstanding practices in four categories in schools and School Food Authorities (SFA’s) participating in the NSLP and /or SBP. Nominations must be submitted on an official nomination form and received in the CANS office by 5:00 p.m. April 7, 2005. Child and Adult Nutrition Services (CANS) encourages nominations from local communities, school boards, school food authorities, superintendents, business managers, school food service directors, and school food service inspectors from the South Dakota Department of Commerce and Regulations. There is no limit to the number of nominations CANS may submit to USDA for each category; however, nominations will be screened by CANS to be sure nominations come from SFAs which have an “overall” well-administered program. To view ideas given for each of the four categories click on CANS web site at www.state.sd.us/deca/CSCF/CANS/index.htm The ideas shown are not intended as limitations. Nominations of creative or innovative ideas in all areas are encouraged. The four categories to be considered for nominating schools and SFAs for outstanding and/or innovative practices include: 1) Reaching Needy Children in the Summertime, 2) Increasing School Breakfast Program Access, 3) Increasing Consumption of Fruits / Vegetables and/or Whole Grains by Participants, and 4) Healthy School Nutrition Environment. Each of these categories is important to a healthy school environment and has an impact on nutrition and physical activity.
CHILD NUTRITION EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION CERTIFICATES Early May is Child Nutrition Employee Appreciation week. This is a good times to honor folks in child nutrition programs. Certificates of appreciation are available for long-term employees to be honored (10+ years) or those that are retiring. You can request a certificate of appreciation for years involved in providing nutrition to children by sending:
Send it by letter, fax to 605-773-6846 or e-mail shar.venjohn@state.sd.us for completion.
Certification Institute - June 19-24, 2005 Come join us in Sioux Falls for our annual Certification Institute. This is the place to be if you want to gain new skills for your job. The theme this year is Step up to the Plate for Child Nutrition and the Institute will be held at Augustana College in Sioux Falls from June 19-June 24th. Some of the topics that participants in different tracks will learn include: how to be a professional, safe food handling, new dietary guidelines, menu analysis and production records, understanding the school lunch program, incorporating whole grains into baked products, communication, computer and management skills. All participants receive a certificate for completing the track that they attend. Food service professionals who complete the first four tracks of the institute (one track a year) will be honored at a banquet on Thursday evening of the institute. A new 30 hour track has been added this year called the Healthier Schools track which includes HACCP training, new wellness policy requirements, the HealthierUS School Challenge, the new dietary guidelines, teaching nutrition from the cafeteria, and blowing your own horn (promoting the good things that school nutrition does). In addition there is a baking track, an entry level computers track and an advanced computers track which teaches participants how to use the Nutrikids program to analyze their menus (this information can then be used to blow your own horn and let your community know that you are serving healthy meals). Early bird registration deadline is April 29th. For more information about the institute and how to register please visit the website or call and talk to a CANS staff member at: 773-3413. This is a great chance to hone your skills and learn more about school nutrition as well as make some new friends from around the state. Hope to see you there!
It is allowable to switch certain commodity entitlement dollars from one group to another.
You must return a Commodity Manifest/Receipt with the discrepancies noted in order to get credit for that item. If you do not receive a Commodity Manifest/Receipt from the delivery person, then you should call our office we can send/fax you a copy to fill in and return. As the school year ends look at clearing out your storage areas. Try not to keep a lot over the summer especially in frozen items. Each year we receive calls from schools with a freezer that has malfunctioned and a lot of food is lost. So it is a good idea not to stockpile over the summer. You may have heard that the Nonfat Dry (NFD) Milk will not be available next school year as a bonus item. We will not be doing as much processing of the NFD Milk because of this. This will affect some of the items you order from East Side Entrees and Miceli Dairy. The milks from East Side Entrees will not be available. Please contact Elaine Scott at 773-4769 or e-mail Elaine.scott@state.sd.us if you have any questions.
Food Allergy Hot Topics: SunButter versus Peanut Butter Allergies to peanuts and sunflower seeds There has been some confusion about peanut allergies and what foods besides peanuts also fall under a peanut allergy as well as what foods should be substituted for a peanut allergy. Hopefully, the following information will help clear up the issue. Peanuts are a member of the legume family (which also includes soybeans, lima beans, kidney beans, etc). Because it is rare for people to be allergic to more than one member of the legume family, it is not normally suggested that other members of the legume family are avoided when someone has a peanut allergy. Interestingly enough, however, people who are allergic to peanuts are sometimes also allergic to tree nuts (walnuts, almonds, pecans, etc). More frequently, however, the allergic reaction is from contamination with peanuts in the processing and packaging and so the allergic reaction to the tree nuts was actually caused by tiny amounts of peanuts that were also present. It is not uncommon for physicians to provide a diet order for a child to avoid tree nuts when there is a peanut allergy just to be on the safe side. Although peanut oil does not contain the part of the peanut that generally causes allergic reactions, peanut oil should be avoided by those who are extremely sensitive to peanuts. Sunflower seeds are in a totally separate family from legumes and tree nuts and so any allergic reaction when sunflower seeds or SunButter is eaten is either a separate allergy or the sunflower seeds or SunButter has been contaminated somewhere in the processing or use of the SunButter (for example if peanut butter sandwiches and SunButter sandwiches were made side by side and somehow a tiny bit of peanut butter got in with the SunButter sandwich…). The SunButter company that makes sunbutter for our commodities assures us that their plant is peanut free. Often times children are allergic to more than one thing as in the case of children who are allergic to both milk and wheat. While the most common allergies are peanuts, tree nuts, cow’s milk, fish, shellfish, soybeans, eggs and wheat, it is possible for students to have a sunflower seed allergy. Sunflower seed allergies are more rare than peanut butter allergies, but the symptoms are just as severe as a peanut allergy. Does this mean that schools should not use SunButter as a substitute for peanut butter? No, it means that schools simply need to be aware that a student could also have an allergy to sunflower seeds and that if they do, that the same level of precaution needs to take place as would for a peanut allergy and a signed diet order needs to be on file from the child’s physician.
As far as what can be substituted for peanuts or peanut containing foods such as peanut butter for a child with a documented peanut allergy---only a physician can list what foods are to be substituted. A registered dietitian can give you additional guidance once the diet order has been issued to help you know what foods fit within the guidelines prescribed by the physician. References:
Understanding what is required by the nutrition department for documented food allergies Schools must provide a menu substitution for students if students have a documented disability. A severe food allergy which is life threatening or limits a major life activity such as breathing is considered to be a disability. Examples of food allergies which meet this are peanuts and sulfites (an additive) which both cause serious life threatening asthmatic reactions. The school nutrition department must provide children who have a documented food allergy disability with substitute food items at no additional cost to the child as long as a signed physician’s statement has been received. The signed statement must state the child’s disability and explain why that particular disability restricts the child’s diet. In addition, the statement must include which major life activity is affected by the disability (breathing for example). Finally, the statement must include which foods must be omitted and which foods should be substituted. If a student has a food allergy or intolerance that doesn’t meet the qualifications of a disability, the school is encouraged to make substitutions for the student, but is not required to do so. In addition, the school must still have a signed form from a medical authority in order to make substitutions, but in this case the medical authority that is authorized to sign the form for substitutions includes others besides the physician (physician assistants and dietitians/licensed nutritionists for example). When a diet order is received from a physician for an allergy, the school nutrition department must read labels very carefully to make sure that the student doesn’t receive even the slightest amount of the food because in the case of a peanut allergy, even tiny amounts can trigger a severe allergic reaction. If the school nutrition department is not sure what the ingredients are in a food item, they should call the manufacturer to find out this information. USDA has given guidance as far as personal responsibility in the case of negligence when working with children with special dietary needs. Schools “could be held liable if persons without sufficient training are performing tasks or activities such as developing or modifying a diet order prescribed by a licensed physician”. Schools may want to hire a registered dietitian to oversee menu substitutions, answer food service questions related to food substitutions and work with the physician to ensure that the diet order and the resulting child’s menu meets the needs of the student. For more guidance about food allergies, please see NSLP numbered memo #60 and #47.1 from CANS and refer to the booklet from USDA entitled: Accommodating Children with Special Dietary Needs in the School Nutrition Programs: Guidance for School Food Service Staff. In addition, schools can call CANS for more information about special diets.
A memo on health inspections was sent to schools March 11. This is a short summary of that memo. Health Inspection frequency will change beginning with the 2005-06 School year. The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-265) amended a section of the National School Lunch Act to require two health inspections per year in schools participating in the National School Lunch or School Breakfast Programs. In addition, the health inspections shall be posted in a public place and the State must submit a report to the US Department of Agriculture. All sites where meals for School Lunch and/or Breakfast are prepared and/or served (satellite) fall in the requirement for inspection. Most inspections are completed by Department of Public Safety staff and that will continue. The school food authority is required to post the results in a publicly visible location and must provide a copy of the food safety inspection report to a member of the public upon request. The report is to remain posted until a new inspection is completed. Staff members in CANS will continue to review the results and ask for corrective action as needed. If there are questions please contact a member of the Child and Adult Nutrition Services staff.
Navigating and Implementing the New Wellness Policy Requirement All local educational agencies in South Dakota that participate in the school lunch program are required by law to have a school wellness policy in place by the beginning of the school year 2006 that covers four basic components:
Local educational agencies are responsible for writing a wellness policy that covers each of the four required components. When developing the policy, the local educational agency must include parents, students, representatives of the school food authority, the school board, school administrators, and the public. A good starting point for each school is to join Team Nutrition and form a committee or team (if there isn’t one in place already) to work on accessing the wellness needs of the school. This assessment then can be used to help each school determine what its wellness needs are. To join Team Nutrition go to the following website: www.fns.usda.gov/tn/ and click on Join the Team and then click on Enrollment form. Print the form, complete it and fax it to the number listed on the website. Once enrolled in Team Nutrition, it is a good idea to order the Changing the Scene toolkit from the Team Nutrition Website by clicking on Resources. This kit has an evaluation questionnaire that can be used to assess the nutritional environment at your school. Once the evaluation of your school has been done and input has been gathered from local stakeholders, the committee will be ready to work on putting together a local wellness policy. Some areas for consideration within each component are as follows: 1. Nutrition education: Nutrition in health curriculum, nutrition in physical education curriculum, nutrition education incorporated into core classes such as science, math and reading, standards for the health educator, linking the cafeteria to the classroom, nutrition, and nutrition education of parents/families. 2. Physical Activity: The minimum amount of time students are physically active during the school day, the amount of time spent in physical education, amount of time students have for recess as well as other free time students have for physical activity, programs such as walking clubs, before and after school activity programs, classroom activity, walk to school programs, elective PE classes and standards for physical education teachers. 3. Nutrition Standards: Standards for competitive foods (a la carte, vending and school stores), standards for food and beverage fundraising activities, guidelines for snacks served in classrooms, guidelines for special school occasions, class trips and class parties, and suggestions to parents for packed lunches. 4. Other School Based Activities: Encourage teachers, parents, administrators, food service professionals, students and other community members to be role models for healthy eating and physical activity, schedule recess before lunch so that children are less distracted and ready to eat, provide nutrition and physical activity education to food service staff and teachers, allow adequate time for students to eat healthy foods such as salads and fresh fruits and vegetables and prohibit the use of food as a reward or punishment. This is information in addition to the letter you would have received dated February 14, 2005. Examples of wellness policies from other schools in other states can be found online. The SD Department of Education will be writing a sample policy for schools. For questions related to the new requirements, please contact: Sandra Kangas or Amy Richards with Child and Adult Nutrition Services at 773-3413.
Child & Adult Nutrition Services is pleased to introduce LeEtta Shaffner as the new Senior Secretary for CANS. LeEtta replaces Elaine Scott who recently moved to the Commodity Program Specialist position. LeEtta and her husband recently moved to Pierre from the Spearfish area where she worked for the Homestake Mining Company for several years as a Ventilation Technician. Remodeling their new home is taking a lot of their spare time. LeEtta is originally from Pierre and enjoys rollerblading, windsurfing, sewing and crafting in her spare time as well as spending time with her two grandchildren when they come to visit. Please contact LeEtta regarding any questions concerning your monthly commodity order.
Homemade Tortilla Chips from Physical Activities and Healthy Snacks for Young Children; Team Nutrition Iowa; Spray light coating of cooking oil or water on 4-5” flour or corn tortillas For
herb or cheesy chips: For
sweet chips:
Reveille Adapted from Physical Activities and Healthy Snacks for Young Children; Team Nutrition Iowa Arrange the children in 1 line on one side of a rectangular space. Upon a signal by the ship’s captain the children will run to the other side of the rectangle and stop on a line. They should stand very tall, straight, and still. The children should salute the captain. The captain then says “dismissed” and the children say “aye, aye, captain” and return to the first line. The captain selects a new captain and the game continues to that all children have at least one turn as captain.
Building for the Future with the CACFP Be on the Lookout… All CACFP agencies should have recently received several memos to assist in the implementation of the interim rule that was published on September 1, 2004. Most of these requirements went into effect immediately though time is being provided for the full implementation of the new requirements. Among the new requirements are: 1) To make sure that all key staff participate in annual training, 2) To collect enrollment forms for all children that show the normal days and hours in care, and the normal meals eaten while in care. These enrollment forms must be updated by parents on an annual basis. 3) Sponsors of homes and/or centers must implement edit checks to look for block claiming (any site claiming the same number of any one or more meals for a period of 15 or more days) and if block claiming is found specific procedures must be followed after such a discovery. 4) Sponsors of homes and/or centers are now required to conduct a 5-day reconciliation of meal counts against enrollment forms during every monitoring visit. 5) Household contacts policies must be developed by the State agency to be implemented by sponsoring organizations as required by these policies. For more information please contact Melissa Halling at (605) 773-3566 or by email at melissa.halling@state.sd.us.
It has come to our attention that the name on KRAFT® cheese spreads and cheese foods have changed to Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product. “Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product” is not creditable for any food-based menu planning approach for the Child Nutrition Programs. “Cheese Product” has never been a creditable ingredient in the Child Nutrition Programs. Cheese spread and cheese foods are creditable as shown in the Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs. Contact Child & Adult Nutrition Services at 773-3413 concerning any questions.
UPDATED QUANTITY RECIPES NOW AVAILABLE ON THE WEB The updated recipes from
USDA’s 1988 Quantity Recipes for School Food Service and the 1995 Tool
Kit for Healthy School Meals have been posted to the National Food Service
Management Institute’s (NFSMI) Web site! These recipes for schools have been
edited and reflect the yield changes in the newest edition of the Food Buying
Guide for Child Nutrition Programs. You can download these recipes in
alphabetical order from
http://www.nfsmi.org/Information/school_recipe_index_alpha.html or numerical
order from
http://www.nfsmi.org/Information/school_recipe_index_number.html using Adobe
Acrobat Reader. At present, the recipes are available only on the Web from NFSMI,
the Healthy School Meals Resource System, and Team Nutrition. The recipes will
be printed by USDA/FNS at a later date.
If you have questions or comments regarding the recipes please e-mail nfsmi@olemiss.edu. | ||||||||
