Articles in the October 2006 Issue

From Sandra’s Desk:

The view from my desk….which you can hardly see these days…much like many others….shows that the days are moving by quickly. National School Lunch Week is a fun time to celebrate nutrition and the theme is especially fun this year with the ties to campaigns and kids getting a chance to vote for their favorite school lunch.

Child care centers that wanted to pick up on that theme could do so easily, too. The children could vote on their favorite food or meal by having plates with pictures of two or more foods served at the child care center. The children could each receive one token, such as a Lego-type block, a small piece of paper, or a smiling face that they could lay on the plate that had the picture of their favorite item. One could develop into secret ballots with more work. The result of a vote between two kinds of fruit might mean that is what is served that day or the following day as part of the snack.

Just as children will carefully study the choices to determine which item they like better, we must carefully study the issues on the ballot before us this coming November and make our choices according to our own values. The key is to be sure to vote! (An old wise saying: “If you don’t vote, you can’t complain!”)

You can see from the rest of the articles in the Bulletin that there continues to be a lot going on. Most staff members will be out of the office October 16 – 20 at a biennial regional meeting. We will try to check voice mail periodically while we are out. There will be staff in the office who can contact us if there is an emergency.

Enjoy the beautiful fall days. Go for a walk, play in the leaves, breathe the fresh air, and enjoy the fall bounty.

“The best things you can give children, next to good habits, are good memories.” - Sydney J Harris

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Do You Have a New School Food Service Kitchen Manager?

Those first months can be pretty overwhelming to a new kitchen manager who soon realizes their job responsibility includes a lot of paper work and reports and is more than just being sure all students are fed a proper meal. If you have a new manager who has not recently attended certification institute sponsored by CANS in June or did not have the opportunity to enroll in the New Manager’s pre-conference class at Fall Conference which was held in Sioux Falls, they will have another opportunity to get some training. A 1 ½ day class is being planned for presentation in Pierre on October 12 and 13. The notice and registration form dated September 8, 2006, was mailed to all National School Lunch Program authorized representatives. In order to reserve a seat in the class be sure to register by deadline of October 6, 2006.

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Food Safety Training Workshops

A limited number of training opportunities are being held this fall for those of you who would like to take INITIAL training on developing a written food safety program. These workshops will be an excellent opportunity to get help in developing a written food safety program if you are a new manager or if you were unable to attend previous workshops. The deadline for developing your program was the end of the ’05-’06 school year. The dates and locations of the trainings are as follows:

October 11 Platte 2:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

November 1 Mobridge 2:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

November 14 & 15 Batesland 2:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. (Must attend BOTH days)

November 19 Watertown 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

December 5 & 6 Kyle 2:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. (Must attend BOTH days)

A fee of $15.00 will be charged for each person attending a training session. Please note: An additional charge of $5.00 in Platte and $10.00 in Mobridge will be charged on site for those of you who choose to attend those training sites as we will be having supper catered in.

If you did not receive a registration form and would like one, please call 773-3413. These will be the only INITIAL trainings on developing a written food safety program being offered this year.

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October Data Survey

This year’s October Data Survey letter, dated September 8, 2006, was included in a recent packet mailed to all National School Lunch Program authorized representatives. The packet also included numbered memos. South Dakota Child and Adult Nutrition Services (CANS) gathers data each October which is a compilation of numbers for the month of October only. The information from this survey is used for many purposes and is required by federal regulation. The information is used for selecting sites to be visited during the school food authority’s review, determines site eligibility for the School Breakfast Program severe need option, Summer Food Service Program, and Daycare Home tier level. It is also used for reporting prices paid by children in our state for breakfast and lunch in the annual report to the American School Food Service Association, for data in response to questions by Congress and USDA, and reporting site eligibility to the National Center for Education Statistics for the core summary data. Several programs use the data including determination of e-rate and need for various title programs and grants.

The survey must be returned to CANS by November 15th to assure the October claim for reimbursement will be processed.

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The Verification Process Deadline is November 15th

Memo #51.2, which is the guidance memo for the National School Lunch verification process, has been mailed out to all schools and agencies and is available on the CANS website at http://doe.sd.gov/oess/cans/nslp/index.asp. School Food Authorities are required to report their verification activity and results to the State Office of Child and Adult Nutrition Services (CANS).  Additionally, State agencies must report the SFA level data to the USDA Food and Nutrition Services.  Submission of the SFA data will enable State agencies and Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) to better understand certification errors and to improve oversight activities.  This will help ensure that free and reduced price subsidized meals are provided only to eligible children.

Be sure to destroy NSLP Memo #51 and #51.1 and refer only to NSLP Memo #51.2 for instructions on how to count the number of applications a SFA has on file as of October 1 st.  Each SFA submitted, in their annual agreement, the dates they would use to complete the required verification process.  October 1 st is the date schools must know how many applications they have on file for the free and reduced meal benefits.  The deadline to complete the process at the local level is November 15 th  for school year 2006-07.  The last page of NSLP memo 51.2 is a form which is labeled 742SD.  That form needs to be completed by SFAs to report the results of their verification information which will be due no later than March 1, 2007 , to CANS.  If further action is required the affected SFAs will be notified.

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Building for the Future with the CACFP

Upcoming Training Events

“Basic Training in the CACFP” Workshop

October 24 – Pierre – State Library Conference Room – 800 Governors Drive

This workshop is designed specifically for new agencies or new employees working with the Child and Adult Care Food Program. For more information please contact Melissa Halling at (605) 773-3566 or by email at melissa.halling@state.sd.us.

CACFP Basics

Annual Training Requirement 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 annual training.

The Interim Rule, implementing legislative reforms to strengthen Program integrity published in the Federal Register on September 1, 2004 , requires the annual training of all key staff with duties relating to the CACFP. CACFP institutions must train all key staff. It is the responsibility of the institution to ensure that all key staff are properly trained. At least one individual from each institution must participate in a state-sponsored workshop. Institutions may decided to train all of their key staff by having them participate in state-sponsored training

Participation does not require physical attendance. Videos are available for check out for the most basic training needs in the CACFP. Basic Training sessions are provided periodically and are announced by mail and on our website. These workshops are designed for staff new to the CACFP requirements and space is very limited. The sessions provided at this workshop are available on videos which can be checked out for a 30-day time frame as needed. Additionally, the annual CACFP Plus! workshops in the spring/summer months meet this requirement for annual training. These workshops are designed for staff that have a basic understanding of the CACFP requirements but wish to improve the management or to add a little variety to the day to day operations of the Program. Again, these workshops are announced by mail and on our website.

Key staff is defined in the State of South Dakota as:

  1. Any individual who is solely responsible for a CACFP job duty within the institution (for example, one person may be responsible for tallying all of the meal counts from each facility; this person would require training on claims consolidation); and

  2. All individuals assigned to the duty of monitoring; and

  3. Site personnel from each facility:

    • At least one individual from each facility to cover each job responsibility in the CACFP (for example, one teacher who takes meal counts, one cook who prepares meals, and one staff who prepares the claim for reimbursement); or

    • One person from each facility who is responsible for the training of personnel within the facility with any CACFP job duties assigned to them (for example, a center director may be responsible to train the cooks, teachers, and business manager on the CACFP requirements. In this case, the center director would then be considered the key staff required to attend training.

If the agency is considered a sponsor (more than one site or only one site but the authorized representative is not “housed” in the child care center), monitoring of each child care site is required. All monitoring staff must include instruction, appropriate to the level of staff experience and duties, on the Program meal patterns, meal counts, claims submission, and claims review procedures, recordkeeping requirements, and an explanation of the Program’s reimbursement system. Training of all other key staff must include instruction, appropriate to the level of staff experience and duties, on creditable foods, meal pattern requirements, menus, production records, meal counting requirements, claim consolidation, and the collection of required records. Additional topics are allowable such as sanitation, food safety, purchasing, what it means to be a key staff or principal, etc.

Failure of key staff to receive annual training constitutes a serious deficiency and will be treated as such. Seriously deficient facilities and institutions will be notified of the serious deficiency and provided with a short time frame to correct the problem on a permanent basis or termination will occur. Termination under these circumstances would require that the names of the Local Agency, all responsible principals, and responsible individuals be placed on the National disqualified list.

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Whole Wheat Dough To Die For

Water, warm

Yeast, Bakers Active Dry

3 gallons

1 cup, dry

Attach dough hook to mixer. Set speed to 1. Mixer should be off. Add water and yeast. Turn mixer on briefly to dissolve yeast.

Sugar, granulated

Oil, salad

Milk, dry, non fat powder, W/O Vitamin A

1 cup

2 cups

2 lb

Add sugar, oil, and dry milk powder. Continue to mix.

Flour, All Purpose White, Enriched

Flour Whole Wheat

10 lb

25 lb

Begin to add flour gradually, until dough is smooth and elastic.

 

 

Recipe from Diana Tucker from Hoehne School District in

Colorado .

 

 

Clean and sanitize table top. Lightly flour dry work surface. Place dough on table, cover with saran and a clean towel. Let rise 45 minutes.

Form rolls by pinching into 2 oz. pieces. Shape into rolls.

Place rolls on parchment paper-lined sheet pans; 50 per pan.

Brush lightly with margarine. One tablespoon melted margarine per pan.

Place pans of rolls in proofing cabinet; allow to rise until double in size.

Bake at 450°F for 5-7 minutes. Allow to cool in bread curtain before stacking for serving.

 

Pizza Dough

 

Allow dough to rise for 1 hour. Shape dough into 2 LB balls. Spray sheet pan with pan spray. Roll each ball of dough to fit pan. Prick top of dough with fork. Allow dough to rise in proofer 1/2 hour. Bake at 450°F for 5-7 minutes. Cool crust; add toppings. Crust will be divided into 16 servings per pan or cut 4x4.

 

Breadsticks

 

Follow pizza dough directions, BUT before baking dough, brush with 1 tbsp. melted margarine. Sprinkle top with garlic powder, 3 tbsp. per pan. Use pizza cutter to cut into breadsticks. Let dough rise until doubled. Bake at 450°F for 5-7 minutes. Serving = 2 sticks (2 oz serving)

Nutrient Data:

  • Calories 181
  • Iron 1.96 mg
  • Protein 6.92 g
  • Cholesterol 1 mg
  • Calcium 46.56 mg
  • Carbohydrate 35.53 g
  • Sodium 17 mg
  • Vitamin A 3 IU
  • Total Fat 2.02 g
  • 10.05% calories from T Fat
  • Dietary Fiber 4.42 g
  • Vitamin C 0.18 mg
  • Saturated Fat 0.31 g
  • 1.55% calories from S Fat

Source: Colorado Communique Newsletter May 2006

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Did You Know...

Foreign Exchange Students and Meal Eligibility

Foreign exchange students do not automatically get free meals. They are part of the family that they live with. When the family applies for free and reduced price meals, they should list the Foreign Exchange Student as a household member - just like a regular application except they have one more household member.

If the household has been directly certified for free meals for their children, they would need to complete an application for meal benefits for the exchange student. The entire application should be completed.

This is cited on page 33 of the 2001 Eligibility Guidance for School Meals manual (the light green cover). It's on page 30 in the old book (1991 - dark green cover).

Free and Reduced Price Eligibility Carry-over in School Programs

Currently, the carry-over is optional as stated in 7 CFR 245.6(c): “…applications and documentation of direct certification from the preceding year may be used to determine eligibility only during the 30 operating days following the first operating day at the beginning of the school year, or during the timeframe established by the State agency…”

Given emphasis placed on prompt determinations and on ensuring access to program benefits, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will be revising the current regulations to require a carry-over of eligibility of up to 30 operating days into the subsequent school year.  This applies to direct certification, categorical determinations and income applications.  As in the past, a new eligibility determination in the current year supersedes the carryover eligibility.  Once the new rule is published the language may be changed and the number of days allowed may no longer be an option.  South Dakota allows the local agency to determine the number of days that carry-over will be allowed for maximum flexibility to fit the needs of the local agency.

The eligibility from new applications for free or reduced price meals replaces the prior year’s eligibility that has been carried over.  The determining official should not wait until the number of days has passed to update everyone’s eligibility.

After the number of days the local agency uses for the carry-over, children who are from households that have not turned in a new application for benefits or a direct certification letter need to be removed form their eligibility category and placed in the full pay category until such time as the family turns in an application or direct certification letter or other documentation shows they are eligible (such as homeless).

Once a determination of eligibility has been made for a family, it generally carries forward through the whole school year.  The requirement for reporting changes in household income and family size was removed with the reauthorization.  If a household believes they are eligible for higher benefits (going from reduced to free) or had been previously ineligible, the household can reapply at any time.

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DDN Monthly Sessions: January - April 2007

We will be offering monthly 2 hour DDN sessions from January through April of 2007 on topics that are of interest to school food service staff and other child nutrition program staff. We are in the process of selecting topics currently.

Do you have a topic that you wish we would cover? If so, we would like to hear from you. Please send an email to amy.richards@state.sd.us. Site selection will begin in about a month when an email will be sent to food service directors to apply to be a hosting site if they are interested in having the DDN broadcast at their school.

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Mark your Calendar for Certification Institute 2007

Save the date for Certification Institute 2007! Certification Institute will be June 24 through June 29th in Sioux Falls at Augustana College. Start making plans to attend!

Certification Institute is a great way to learn skills to help you serve attractive, healthy meals that meet the USDA guidelines as well as learn more about menu planning, ordering, commodities, marketing nutrition to students and supervision of food service staff. It is also a great way to network with other food service staff from across the state. We hope to see you there!

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Kids in the Kitchen

Melon with Blueberries

 

From Five a Day Cookbook, as published in Physical Activities and Healthy Snacks for Young Children; Team Nutrition Iowa;

  • 2 cups cantaloupe, cubed
  • 2 cups honeydew melon, cubed
  • 2 cups watermelon, cubed
  • 1 cup blueberries
  • 2 Tbsp. sugar or 2 Tbsp. honey
  • 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
  • Fresh mint leaves (optional)

14 servings

  • Combine cubed cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon, and blueberries in a serving bowl.
  • Mix together honey and lemon juice and pour over fruit. Toss to mix.
  • Cover and refrigerate until serving time.
  • Add mint leaves to decorate.

Snack Idea (1-5 year olds):

½ cup Melon with Blueberries and 2/3 cup Cereal Snack (see May 2005 Nutrition Bulletin)

  

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Kids on the Move - Kicking Fun

Adapted from Physical Activities and Healthy Snacks for Young Children; Team Nutrition Iowa ;

Items needed: 1 crushed newspaper ball per child

Arrange the children in 1 line facing long open area.

The objective of this activity is to practice and develop kicking skill. Kicking progresses in the following order:

  • Push a newspaper all forward with foot
  • Swing leg and contact newspaper ball with foot
  • Take one step and kick newspaper ball with foot
  • Take two or more steps and kick newspaper ball with foot
  • Run, take a large step (which lifts child off the ground), kick newspaper ball with foot.

Practice each skill, then once that skill is mastered move on to the next skill. Once the child has mastered 1-3 with a paper ball, use a foam ball, then a playground ball. Caution: children may step on a real ball and fall.

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Instant Read Digital Thermometer

9842Digital thermometers have a small thermistor at the end of the stainless steel shaft. The thermistor serves as a sensing element. Because of the thermistor construction, it is not necessary to insert the thermometer as deeply into food as you would with a bi-metallic stem thermometer.

Digital thermometers have a

  • Easy-to-read LCD readout.
  • Range -40°F to 450°F or -40°C to 230°C. °F/°C switchable.
  • On/Off switch for long battery life.
  • One-second updates.
  • Durable stainless steel stem.
  • Anti-microbial plastic storage case inhibits growth of pathogens.
  • Waterproof.
  • Recalibratable
  • NSF approved
  • Accuracy of +/-2°F

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Melissa Halling is elected to CACFP National Professionals Association

Melissa Halling, coordinator of the Child & Adult Care Food Program in Child & Adult Nutrition Services, was recently elected to the Child & Adult Care Food Program National Professional Association (CACFP NPA).

The CACFP NPA is a non-profit organization of professionals who support the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).  Association members include state agency staff and affiliate organizations. For information about membership benefits and dues, go to http://www.cacfp.com/join.asp.

Their goal is to promote sound Child Nutrition Programs that will:

  • provide nutritious meals to infants, children and adults
  • train child and adult day care staff on the principles and practices of food service management
  • train child and adult day care staff to operate the CACFP within their facilities
  • improve and enhance the impact of the foods provided through nutrition education

The CACFP is a federal nutrition program funded through the US Department of Agriculture that provides nutritious meal service to children in day care homes and child care centers and to impaired adults in day care centers. For more information about the CACFP NPA go to http://www.cacfp.com/home.html.

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MyPyramid Corner - Milk Matters

The role of calcium and vitamin D is very important to build healthy bones and children and teens need to get enough calcium and vitamin D to prevent developing osteoporosis when they are older. Adults need to continue to get the recommended amount of calcium and vitamin D to maintain the strength of their bones. Vitamin D is made by our skin when we are outside in the sun, however in the winter time most of us aren’t outside in the sun very much and we live far enough north that the sunlight we do receive in the winter time isn’t adequate to make the Vitamin D that we need. Milk has been fortified with Vitamin D as have a few other foods. Another component of strong bones is weight bearing exercise. This article will cover food sources of calcium and Vitamin D.

The MyPyramid recommends that everyone two years of age or older drink fat-free or low-fat milk to get their calcium and Vitamin D. While other dairy foods can be used to help meet calcium requirements, we need to be aware that some of them are high in fat and many have added sugar. When we eat foods that are not the low fat version or which have added sugar, it means that we are using some or all of our discretionary calories for the day.

The MyPyramid introduces the concept of discretionary calories to help people understand that the amount of calories we eat each day is like a budget and that within our calorie budget we need to spend most of our budget on foods without added fat, with limited amounts of saturated and trans fat, and without added sugar. Also, to stay within our calorie budget, we need to not eat more of the amount of food recommended for each food group for our age, gender and activity level. If we follow the MyPyramid guidance and eat the leanest forms of meat and eat grains, fruits and vegetables prepared without added fat and sugar we will have a small amount of calories remaining for dairy foods that are higher in fat or with added sugar such as ice cream, high fat cheese (such as cheddar) and flavored milk. We only have between 100-200 calories per day for discretionary calories (depending upon the person’s age, activity level and gender), so we need to choose carefully where we want to use our “extra” calories.

If we use our discretionary calories for a second helping of an entree or eat a treat such as a small brownie, piece of pie, fried chicken, bacon, sugar cereal, or French fries, then we very likely have eaten most or all of our discretionary calories for the day and we should consider consuming dairy in its lowest fat and no sugar added varieties so we don’t send our calorie balance over the limit for the day. Eating more than our calorie balance for the day will lead to weight gain if it becomes a pattern of extra calories consumed each day (unless we are able to consume less calories on some days to help make up for higher calorie days).

If your school has students who don’t like milk or who can’t drink milk for various reasons, there are other sources of calcium and vitamin D. Soy milk is a good option for vegetarian students who do not consume dairy products because soy milk has both calcium and vitamin D in about the same amounts as milk. Physicians might prescribe soy milk or rice milk for students with a food allergy to milk. If the student is lactose intolerant (which is different than a milk allergy), the student may be able to drink milk in small amounts and eat other dairy products such as cheese or yogurt or drink lactose free milk. Schools may provide alternatives to milk such as soy milk or rice milk, but are not required to do so unless there is a physician’s order that states that the child has a disability such as a food allergy that threatens a major life activity. Schools with vending machines could add foods or beverages other than milk that are sources of calcium such soy milk as an option if it fits within the school’s wellness policy and there is demand from the students for the product. Schools ­­ must offer fluid milk in a variety of fat contents, preferably low fat and fat free and may offer flavored or unflavored and lactose-free fluid milk per regulation. Soy milk and rice milk would not be acceptable in a reimbursable meal unless the student is on a doctor’s order that requires this.

Additional sources of calcium include calcium fortified breakfast cereals, orange juice fortified with calcium, some bread products, and tofu with added calcium. Broccoli, spinach, and soybeans and almonds are examples of foods from other groups that naturally contain calcium although they don’t contain as high of an amount of calcium as milk does.

Bottom line is that most children, teens and young adults need to get more calcium and vitamin D into their diets and fat-free or non-fat milk is recommended by the MyPyramid as the best source. But when people aren’t drinking enough milk to meet their requirements, other dairy and nondairy sources are an additional way to help meet their calcium needs.

For more information about what the MyPyramid says about the Milk Group, please visit the MyPyramid.gov milk page at http://www.mypyramid.gov/pyramid/milk.html.

Another great website is the Milk Matters website from the National Institute of Health available at http://www.nichd.nih.gov/milk/milk.cfm.

For more information about what the MyPyramid says about discretionary calories, please visit the Discretionary calorie page of the MyPyramid at http://www.mypyramid.gov/pyramid/discretionary_calories.html.

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Ordering the Power Panther Costume to come to your school

The Power Panther Costume is a great resource to help promote nutrition and physical activity in your school, child care or after school program. CANS has reserved the Power Panther in November for a little over 2 weeks and he will be visiting many schools and child care sites in South Dakota during that time. We have had applications from 25 schools and child care programs and we will be announcing his tour schedule soon!

If you didn’t sign up to have the Power Panther visit your school or child care program for the November outing, do not despair…. you can order the costume yourself to visit your site. However, he does need to be booked several months in advance and you may need to schedule your event around the time that the costume is available rather than plan the event and then try to get the costume as some months are much more popular than others and some times may be taken 6 months or more in advance.

If you are able to plan far ahead--consider requesting the costume for the 2007-2008 for the times you want and then your chances of getting the costume on the day you want are very high--for example if you know the dates of a school event next year such as a homecoming parade you have a good chance of being able to reserve the Power Panther for that specific date. (The Power Panther can’t walk in the parade, but he could be on a float promoting physical activity and healthy eating as long as he isn’t promoting any brand name foods or beverages).

There is no cost to schools or child care site for borrowing the Power Panther Costume and the USDA pays for shipping costs both directions. There are specific rules about taking care of the costume. The Power Panther does need an additional person to guide the person in the costume and talk for the Power Panther as the costume makes it hard to see and walk and talking to students is impossible as the person looks out the mouth opening of the costume.

The Power Panther is the mascot of the Eat Smart. Play Hard Campaign from USDA. There are downloadable songs that can be played for kids to help promote physical activity. Also table tents, tattoos, clip art, camera ready slicks, public service announcements, video clips for parents, and electronic greeting cards are all available at the website.

USDA has put together a lot of helpful tips and ideas for utilizing the Eat Smart. Play Hard materials in short newsletters called Bright Ideas, which are available at: http://www.fns.usda.gov/eatsmartplayhard/collection/main.html#BI. Examples of ideas include using Power Panther Stickers to make award ribbons, making window clings of the Power Panther for classroom windows, and having an American Idol contest for older students using the Power Panther songs.

To read more Bright Ideas go to the following website http://www.fns.usda.gov/eatsmartplayhard/collection/main.html#BI.

To order the Power Panther Costume please visit the following website http://www.fns.usda.gov/eatsmartplayhard/Zone/costume.html.

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Food for Thought: Food Quote for October

Source: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension in Lancaster County at http://lancaster.unl.edu

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