Articles in the December 2006 Issue
- A Note from Sandra
- Building for the Future with the CACFP
- Fluid Milk Substitutions
- Make Plans Now to Celebrate School Breakfast Week in March
- Foods of Minimal Nutritional Value (FMNV)
- MyPyramid Corner: Fruits and Vegetables
- Better After-School Snack Choices Boost Nutrition for Low-Income Kids
- Professional Development
- Kids in the Kitchen
- Kids on the Move
- Resource Corner
- Food for Thought
- Happy Holidays
A Note From Sandra
With December here very likely winter weather is not far behind. The sweetest music ever heard on a cold morning is the sound of a car starting. Many food service and childcare personnel are the ones that get to hear the squeaky snow, the bright stars of winter, and find out first that cars are a bit reluctant to wake up and move. Thank you for your efforts on those mornings when it might feel better to curl up under the blanket.
The Power Panther’s “Eat Smart. Play Hard in SD.” tour was a success with stops in about 40 sites across the state. We’ve heard tales of some fun times at the schools and centers and I look forward to hearing more.
The school food safety and wellness policy implementation is happening across the state – comments about challenges for time and acceptance are mixed with knowing that the efforts are to insure the health of the children.
A favorite family activity as I was growing up was putting jigsaw puzzles together in the winter. My father’s specialty was to put one piece in his pocket so he could put the last piece in the puzzle to make it complete. As you work, remember that no matter how large or small you perceive your “piece” to be, all the pieces are important to complete the picture.
Have a safe and happy holiday season!
Building
for the Future with the
CACFP
CACFP Basics
Household Contacts in the Child and Adult Care Food Program – The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) reimburses centers and homes for serving nutritious meals to the children or adults in their care. Many different facilities operate the CACFP, all sharing the common goal of bringing nutritious meals and snacks to participants (Child Care Centers, Family Child Care Homes, After-School Care Programs, Shelters, and Adult Day Care Centers). Our CACFP Basics this month will cover the topic of Household Contacts.
Household contacts are defined in regulations as a contact made by a sponsoring organization or a State agency to an adult member of a household with a child in a family day care home or a child care center in order to verify the attendance and enrollment of the child and the specific meal service(s) which the child routinely receives while in care.
In South Dakota all Sponsoring Organizations of Child Care Centers, Head Starts, and Outside School Hours Centers are required to conduct household contacts in the situations described below:
1) Any time the five-day reconciliation of meal counts and enrollment forms turns up claiming errors for two consecutive reviews and/or follow-up visits.
2) Any time meal count records exceed enrollment at that site.
3) Any time the number of children in attendance during two consecutive monitoring visits is significantly (40%) lower than the average attendance for that meal service.
4) As a follow up to specific or identified meal count and/or attendance concerns brought to the attention of the sponsoring organization and/or state agency by licensing staff, parents, employees of the facility, the public, etc. (The local agency must also follow up on concerns brought to their attention in areas that are not related to meal count and/or attendance. Household contacts may or may not be appropriate means of follow up to other identified concerns.)
5) As a follow up to any concerns of fraudulent claiming discovered during monitoring visits.
6) As a follow up to any suspicious claiming patterns discovered during claims processing.
The following procedures are to be used when conducting household contacts:
1) If a site has been selected, the sponsor staff must select the parents to contact. On most occasions, all enrolled families will be contacted. There may be reasons not to contact some families (relatives of the provider who may alert other parents not to cooperate, etc).
2) Contacts may be made via letter, email, phone, or in person. Letters are strongly encouraged as families may be hesitant to share this type of information with a stranger over the phone. When using letters, sponsors are strongly encouraged to include a self-addressed, stamped envelope to increase the likelihood of response by the family. Sample surveys/letters are available from the State Agency.
3) Contact must be made directly with the family if at all possible. Under no circumstances may the sponsor ask the site supervisor, or employees of the center, to assist with the distribution of the letters to the families.
4) At least 25% of families must respond to the survey. Electronic means of contact and/or response, if available, is allowable.
5) If the 25% response rate is not achieved, follow up attempts must be made with all families who have not responded within 30 days of the original contact being made.
6) If the 25% response rate still has not been achieved after the second attempt, another follow up contact should be made to either collect the data on the survey or to encourage the family to send in the survey.
7) If the 25% response rate is not achieved within 2 months of the start of the process and all of the required follow up contacts were made, the sponsor may consider the survey “complete.”
8) Appropriate action must be taken by the sponsor for any discrepancies reported by the families.
9) If a survey is closed without any findings and a similar problem occurs again with the same site in the same Program year, the sponsor is not required to do another household contact. If the problem shows up in a different Program year another household survey must be completed for that site.
10) All contacts and responses must be documented and the documentation must be maintained for a period of 3 years beyond the end of the current Program year.
Should there be any questions, or need for additional guidance, in the implementation of these policies and procedures, please contact Child and Adult Nutrition Services at 773-3413 for assistance.
Fluid Milk Substitutions Comments sought on proposed regulationThe US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued proposed regulations regarding fluid milk substitutions. This substitution is allowed under the last reauthorization based on regulations from the Secretary of USDA. Comments are due to USDA by January 8, 2007. Comments can be submitted by mail, fax, email, delivery, or using the electronic federal rulemaking portal. Instructions are included in the introduction to the proposed regulation.
Section 102 of the Child Nutrition and WIC reauthorization Act of 2004 amended section 9(a)(2) of the Richard B Russell National School Lunch Act (NSLA), to include regulatory provisions and added the following requirements for substitutions for milk:
· Allows schools to make substitutions for students who have medical or dietary needs, other than a disability, and accept a statement from a parent or guardian in lieu of the statement from a recognized medical authority.
· Adds the requirement, except in the case of a student with a disability, that nondairy beverages offered for substitutions must be “Nutritionally equivalent to fluid milk” and meet the nutritional standards set by the Secretary of Agriculture;
· Grants schools the discretion to select acceptable substitutes that meet the nutritional standards established by the Secretary;
· Requires schools to inform the State agency if they choose to offer substitutes for fluid milk other than for students with a disability; and
· Requires school food authorities (SFAs) to pay for substitution expenses that exceed Federal reimbursements.
This can be read in detail on the USDA Food and Nutrition Service website at www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Governance/regulations.htm under Reauthorization Regulations titled Proposed Rule: Fluid Milk Substitutions in the School Nutrition Programs (November 9, 2006).
Make Plans Now to Celebrate School Breakfast Week in March
National School Breakfast Week (NSBW) will be observed March 5-9, 2007. This year’s celebration promises to be an exciting adventure as the theme explores “A World of School Breakfasts”. The chart below shows the growth of school breakfast programs in South Dakota from the year 2001 to 2006.
Although participation in school breakfast has grown steadily it pales in comparison to school lunch. If you are wondering if school breakfast would be a viable option for your school, contact Marlyce Micklos in CANS for some help and guidance. Or make plans to visit a nearby school to see how they have accomplished offering a breakfast program.
Child and Adult Nutrition Services (CANS) encourages food service directors to work with the teaching staff to plan activities that promote the importance of the breakfast meal, whether it is eaten at home or school. Please watch for the arrival of an activity packet from Child and Adult Nutrition Services to be mailed out the first part of February. Also reference the April and November 2006 School Foodservice & Nutrition magazine and www.schoolnutrition.org to get a jump start on making exciting plans for March.
Foods of Minimal Nutritional Value (FMNV)
There have been some recent inquires regarding what can be offered in vending machines and more specifically whether vending machines can be accessed during meal service if there is no longer any pop choices available in the machines. Keep in mind that the school food service programs are not to offer Foods of Minimal Nutritional Value (FMNV) in the food service area, as defined in NSLP Memo #63, during school meal periods. The Code of Federal Regulations 210.11 and appendix B to Part 210 provides the definition and purpose of enforcement of not providing FMNV to school children participating in the National School Lunch Program.
What are you offering in the vending machines? Have you stocked products that would promote good nutrition and health? Or are the vended options giving mixed messages? You want to promote the consumption of fluid milk in the meal as it is one of the required menu components in both school breakfast and lunch menus. It may be time to review: 1) what is considered to be FMNV, 2) whether vending machines can be on during meal service and 3) where does the money go from the vending machine sales.
The sale of competitive foods, that is, any food sold in competition with the Program to children in food service areas during the meal service period(s) and which do not include FMNV, may be allowed only if all income from the sale of such food accrues to the benefit of the nonprofit school food service account or the school or student organization approved by the school or agency. Therefore if the cheerleaders wanted to have a bake sale during school meal times, it would be acceptable if their profits go either to the school food service funds, or to the cheerleader fund, or a school general fund. However, it would be a better choice to advise school bake sales etc. to be at the end of the school day so they indeed do not compete with the school meals.
If the vending machines do not have any FMNV items such as pop (all carbonated beverages are considered FMNV), water ices, chewing gum or jellies, certain candies and hard candies as defined in CFR Appendix B to Part 210, the machines may be accessed. Acceptable choices to be dispensed would be water, 100% juices, and even some sports drinks. If the sport drink is not a carbonated drink or considered to be a soda it would be acceptable. Be sure to check labels, know your product and then ask yourself – “Is this a good choice to promote good nutrition and health for students?” Also ask yourself if these extra sales and vending follow the wellness policy and nutrition standards established by the school.
MyPyramid Corner: Fruits and Vegetables
We all know that we are supposed to eat our fruits and vegetables. After all, our mothers, fathers and almost everyone else has been telling us so for many years. But even though we know this is something we should do, many of us don’t eat as many of them as we should to help prevent disease and to help us manage our weight. There are many reasons why people don’t eat their fruits and veggies from taste preferences (people who don’t like sweets sometimes don’t like fruit and people who like sweets might not like veggies that are more bitter etc.), to the cost of fresh fruits and veggies, to preparation preferences (“I only like them raw, cooked or how my mom makes them”), to the time needed to prepare them (washing, peeling, chopping, cooking etc versus ripping open a potato chip bag). And for kids, teens and some adults there has been the peer influence factor: we all want to fit in and be cool. One of the messages to give young people is that eating your fruits and veggies helps you look good, feel good and do the things you like to do. Who cares if someone makes fun of you because you are eating your veggies—you will have the last laugh in the end. A lot of schools are adding salad bars which give students many choices—that way they can pick the fruits and veggies they like and leave the other ones behind for someone else to take that likes their fruits or veggies in a different form.
Sometimes we need more information than simply “you should”. Sometimes information can help us decide that it is worth the extra effort, time or money and that eating something that we aren’t as fond of has a bigger payoff than we realized. So what is the information that might help persuade us to eat our veggies first before we fill up on our favorite foods and decide we are too full for the healthy stuff? Well for starters, here is what the dietary guidelines say about eating your fruits and veggies:
“Compared with the many people who consume a dietary pattern with only small amounts of fruits and vegetables, those who eat more generous amounts as part of a healthful diet are likely to have reduced risk of chronic diseases, including stroke and perhaps other cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and cancers in certain sites (oral cavity and pharynx, larynx, lung, esophagus, stomach, and colon-rectum). Diets rich in foods containing fiber, such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.”
This information is telling us that what we are putting into our body now will pay off big time down the road in a similar fashion to those who start a savings plan when they are young and retire wealthy. Who doesn’t want to retire healthy! We need to sell this idea to kids and teens. Perhaps teens in a family and consumer science class or health class at your school would want to start a campaign at your school to encourage fruit and vegetable consumption. An example of a possible campaign slogan is: “Start your fruit and veggie health savings plan today— so you can still be cool cruising the mall at 102!” A contest could be offered at your school to develop the best slogan and then put the slogan in places students will see it. Another idea is to put together a bulletin board featuring fun facts about fruits and veggies, health benefits and possibly health consequences. For more ideas about how to promote fruit and vegetable consumption please consult your Fruits and Vegetables Galore Book (free from Team Nutrition). If you don’t have a copy, please call the CANS office at 605-773-3413 and we would be happy to mail one to your agency.
Did you know that the Dietary Guidelines separate vegetables into 5 different subgroups? The subgroups are: dark green vegetables, orange vegetables, legumes (dry beans), starchy vegetables, and other vegetables). The reason they have classified vegetables into different subgroups is because not all vegetables contain the same nutrients and we need to eat veggies from all the subgroups in order to get all of the nutrients that we need. How often do we need to eat veggies from each subgroup? The dietary guidelines suggest the following amounts per week for a 2,000 calorie diet (the amounts per week will be a little less for those who eat less than 2,000 calories/day and a little more for those who eat more than 2,000 calories a week):
|
Dark green vegetables |
|
3 cups/week |
|
Orange vegetables |
|
2 cups/week |
|
Legumes (dry beans) |
|
3 cups/week |
|
Starchy vegetables |
|
3 cups/week |
|
Other vegetables |
|
6 ½ cups/week |
What are examples of the each subgroup? Examples of vegetables from the dietary guidelines that meet each subgroup are as follows: “dark green (broccoli, spinach, most greens); orange (carrots, sweet potatoes, winter squash, pumpkin); legumes (dry beans, chickpeas, tofu); starchy (corn, white potatoes, green peas); other (tomatoes, cabbage, celery, cucumber, lettuce, onions, peppers, green beans, cauliflower, mushrooms, summer squash).”
Want to know more? Click here to view Chapter 5 of the Dietary Guidelines.
More information is also available at the MyPyramid website at www.mypyramid.gov. Find recipes and learn more about different kinds of fruits and vegetables at: http://www.5aday.gov/ and http://www.5aday.com/.
Better After-School Snack Choices Boost Nutrition for Low-Income Kids
School lunches and vending machines aren’t the only places to look for ways to improve students’ nutrition. Modest changes in the kinds of snacks offered at after-school programs can also have a significant positive impact on children’s diets. UC Davis researchers report in the September 2006 issue of the American Journal of Public Health.
The study suggests that a healthy snack menu in an after-school program can help low-income children – those at highest risk of obesity – consume more fruit and less saturated fat, said lead author Diana Cassady, an assistant professor of public health sciences at UC Davis.
TIPS FOR HEALTHY AFTER-SCHOOL SNACKING
Diana Cassady, an assistant professor of public health sciences at UC Davis, offers the following tips for encouraging healthy snacking in children:
1. Avoid serving desserts and chips.
2. Offer kids foods that taste good. For example, serve sliced fruits with a low-fat yogurt dip, or vegetables with a low-fat bean dip.
3. Model good eating behavior by enjoying healthy snacks with your child.
4. Eat fruit that is fresh, canned, dried or frozen. It’s all good. If you do choose canned fruit, select items packed in light syrup or fruit juice to reduce added sugar.
5. Choose only 100-percent juices to avoid added sugar in nectars and punch. But whole fruit, because it has fiber, is always a better choice than juice.
Click here to read the entire article.
Source: printed with permission from CDWIRE – an on-line newsletter. According to their site, Child Development Research for childhood professionals provides comprehensive news and research on child and adolescent development on the web.
How would you like to take a class and get continuing education units
without leaving your home or office computer? The School Nutrition
Association (SNA) has online courses available and the cost is very
reasonable because you aren’t paying for an instructor, travel costs
and room and board. The classes are online classes from SNA’s
Child
Nutrition University. More information can be found at:
http://www.schoolnutrition.org/Index.aspx?id=30.
Frozen Grapes
From California Project Lean website. Recipe courtesy of California Five a Day Campaign, as published in Physical Activities and Healthy Snacks for Young Children; Team Nutrition Iowa;
What could be easier than fresh frozen grapes? Just rinse and drain grapes. They should be fairly dry before freezing. Grapes should be cut in half for children under age 2 to avoid choking risk. Place a whole cluster in a bowl or loose grapes on a cookie sheet. Then freeze.
Eat them alone or tossed in yogurt or in a salad.
Snack Idea (1-5 year olds):
-
½ cup frozen grapes and 7 animal crackers
Beanbag Fun
From Physical Activities and Healthy Snacks for Young Children; Team Nutrition Iowa;
Items needed: 1 bean bag per child
Arrange the children in scatter formation or in a circle.
Present the following bean bag challenges to the children. Repeat. Put the bean bag in your:
-
Arm*
-
Shoulder
-
Knee
-
Foot*
-
Stomach*
-
Elbow
-
Back
-
Head*
-
Hand*
-
Thigh
-
Leg*
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Hip
-
Calf
-
Waist
The child responds by placing or touching the appropriate body part with the bean bag. Demonstrate as necessary. *Easy enough for the younger children.
Do the following with your bean bag:
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Balance it on your head and walk.
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Put it on the floor and walk around it, jump over it
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Toss it and catch it (older kids may toss it from hand to hand)
Looking for ideas for bulletin boards and nutrition education materials to encourage students to eat more veggies? Pennsylvania has developed some great education materials that you can duplicate and use to promote vegetables. A vegetable was selected for every month and then a bookmark, bulletin board, recipe, table tents, flyers, newsletter inserts, shopping guide, and activities for all ages were designed for each featured vegetable. December’s vegetable is broccoli and the newsletter has an article entitled “What’s so great about broccoli”, as well as preparation and storage tips and how to grow broccoli as well as other great articles. Check it out at: http://panen.psu.edu/snap/index.html and scroll down to the pictures of the vegetables.
Click here for an example of the materials is below in the form of a word search.Websites you might find useful regarding commodities
Here are some websites you might find useful when you are looking for facts on USDA commodities.
Check out the following Links:
http://www.horizonsnackfoods.com/productcatalog2.cfm?id=24
· Nutritional information for Horizon Snack foods. Horizon offers three different sizes of turnovers to South Dakota schools. If you know what size of turnover and what flavor you have you can find all the nutrient facts at this website.
http://jtmfoodgroup.com/schools/products.lasso
· JTM Foodservice lists all the products they have available for School Foodservice. The nutritional information for each product is listed here.
http://www.uncrustablesforschools.com/fsmkt/cds/
· This website offers nutritional information for the products they have available for Schools.
· Food and Nutrition Services National website for Food Distribution.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/fdd/facts/schfacts/cats.htm
· Commodity Fact Sheets for commodities. This site will have information on pack size, nutrition, as well as serving and heating suggestions.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/fdd/recipes/default.htm
· Suggested recipes for using commodities in a School Foodservice operation.
The Process Approach is a method of categorizing menu items into groups based on the number of times a food makes a complete trip through the temperature danger zone. Menu items are grouped in one of three categories:
· No Cook ( Food never goes over 41°F)
·
Same
Day Service (Food makes one complete trip through the danger zone.
Any food leftover is discarded)
· Complex Food Preparation—(Food makes one complete trip through the danger zone, is cooled and then can be served cold or is reheated to 165°F for 15 seconds within 1 hr.) Food included in this category: 1). All leftovers, 2). Any food item prepared in advance (e.g.whole turkey, lasagna, chili, etc.), 3). Any combination food item with one of its ingredients that is cooked in advance and then cooled (eg.potato salad).
