Articles in the March 2008 Issue

• A Note from Sandra
• March is National Nutrition Month
• Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Application Deadline is March 7, 2008
• Social Marketing 101 - Topic for next DDN Sessio
• Child Nutrition Institute Registration is Open
• Summer Feeding Opportunities
• Summer Feeding workshops
• MyPyramid Corner
• Food Safety Education
• Building for the Future with the CACFP
• Kids in the Kitchen
• Kids on the Move
• Have you expressed your appreciation lately?
  Child Nutrition Employee Appreciation week
• Belle Fourche Celebrates Valentines Day
• Little Bits of Wellness Wisdom

Hamburger, anyone? While school personnel may feel like "enough, already" regarding the hold and eventual recall of Westland Ground Beef, it raises our awareness of how strongly people feel about public feeding programs such as the National School Lunch Program. The concern is good - people care and are alert. This should be winding up very soon with the disposition of the recalled meat. The meat is to be destroyed on site (less than one case) or will be picked up for burial at a landfill. We hope to have this wrapped up by the end of March. I appreciate everyone's patience and vigilance in checking and reporting the product. Once the destruction form is turned in, that chapter should be closed. Did you use this opportunity to review your policies and procedures for dealing with emergencies?

Child Nutrition Institute announcements have been made - plan for June 22 - 27 at Augustana Campus in Sioux Falls. You can read the information on-line at http://doe.sd.gov/oess/cans/. Click on Child Nutrition Institute in the CANS box on the far right. Continued involvement in education and training keeps you from getting stagnant and inspires new ideas for the menus and marketing. Keep your customers' interest - keep them coming back to see what is new.

We are looking forward to reading the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program applications to see the creative ideas for incorporating and providing fresh fruits and vegetables into the children's diets outside of the cafeteria. Did you say, "Oh, no, not more work" or did you say, "here's my chance to help out"? Are you in a rut or are you looking for ways to be a part of the whole district?

The Child and Adult Care Food Programs are growing. Melissa recently reported that there were 12 agencies that had requested information and/or applications for program participation.

Summer feeding workshops are scheduled in March. This is an excellent opportunity to provide meals to hungry children in your area when school is not in session. It might also provide a good connection to the gardening projects. Kids who see where the fresh fruits and vegetables come from are more apt to be excited about them and willing to try them.

Child & Adult Nutrition Services will have a couple of staff members out on medical leave in March. If the person you normally call is not in, rest assured that you can always call 773-3413 and Shar will refer your question to someone who will find the answer.

We also regret to say good-bye to LeEtta Shaffner. LeEtta has been a valuable member of the the food distribution team and has assisted with other tasks since 2005. She is going on to new and challenging work designing websites. We appreciate what she has done for us.

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March is National Nutrition Month

The National Nutrition Week campaign was first launched in 1973 with a presidential proclamation. The American Dietetic Association enthusiastically embraced the campaign as an opportunity to promote the profession as well as a way to deliver nutrition education messages to the public. In response to the popularity of National Nutrition Week and the public’s growing interest in nutrition and health, the House of Delegates called for an expansion of National Nutrition Week to become National Nutrition Month beginning in 1980.

For further interesting reading regarding the history of National Nutrition Month copy and paste the following link into your browser: http://www.eatright.org/ada/files/PIIS0002822306000228.pdf 

Copy and paste the following link from Child and Adult Nutrition Services (CANS) http://doe.sd.gov/oess/cans/docs/Banana%20Grams.rtf to find useful nutrition and health messages. These messages were first used by the School Nutrition Association of South Dakota as “banana grams” (the messages were written directly on fresh banana skins) to give to the SD legislators on the day that SNASD served breakfast at the Capitol for legislators. The “banana gram” messages can be copied onto mailing labels and adhered to napkins, placemats, cups, fresh fruit, mini raisin boxes etc. as a fun and easy way to promote nutrition and good health during March’s National Nutrition Month. You can even modify the wording to say “brought to you by school food service” or whatever may be appropriate at your school.

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The deadline is quickly approaching to submit your Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) application. Applications must be completed and postmarked by March 7, 2008. Faxed or email applications are not accepted. Information on the application process can be found at http://doe.sd.gov/oess/cans/FFVP/index.asp.

Schools will be notified whether or not they have been chosen to be a FFVP school for the 2008-2009 school year by March 31, 2008.

If you have questions about the FFVP, please call Janelle Peterson at 605-280-4278.

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Social Marketing 101 Topic for next DDN Session March 19, 2008

Come join us at the next DDN session in March and learn how to get students excited about nutrition and physical activity. Catch student’s attention, get them to try new foods, and keep them coming back day after day. Social marketing seeks to influence social behaviors to benefit the target audience and general society and it uses many of the same strategies as marketers us to promote their products. The Power Panther Campaign is an example of social marketing. This session will be presented by Karlys Wells from SDSU as well as others.

The DDN session runs from 2 pm -4 pm Central Time, 1pm -3 pm Mountain Time at the following locations:

*The Tea site is using older equipment and is unable to view PowerPoint or video clips—they are only able to see the presenter—so you may want to go to a different viewing area if you would like to see the Power Point slides and any video clips that are shown.

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Child Nutrition Institute Registration is Open

Do not wait; the time will never be “just right”. Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.

-Napoleon Hill

Have you made plans yet to attend Child Nutrition Institute? Don’t miss out on this one of a kind educational opportunity just because the time is not “just right.” Sometimes you just have to make it the “right time.” Child Nutrition Institute offers just the right combination of “learning” time and “you” time. The Institute is held in Sioux Falls—a place where you can find lots of things to do—no matter what your interests. Shopping, places of historical interest, the zoo, Falls Park (great backdrop for you photographers out there!), baseball games, walking and bicycle paths…the list is endless. Worried about being out of your “comfort zone”? Lots of people have this feeling…but, after just a short time on campus, you’ll meet others who feel the same way and soon you’ll be making new friends, sharing interests and planning fun things to do in your free time. This year’s Institute will be held June 22-27, 2008 on the campus of Augustana College. Information packets were mailed to schools in mid-February. A registration blank was included in this information. You may also apply on-line. Go to http://doe.sd.gov/oess/cans/training/Institute/index.asp

Don’t miss this years opportunity for learning and fun!! Come join us as we “Jump Into Good Nutrition”.

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Summer Feeding Opportunities

Do the children in your community have the opportunity for healthy meals in the summer? Are they looking for a place to eat? Schools or community areas that have 50% or more of the children eligible for free and reduced price meals can apply for programs to provide meals to the children. Most sites can offer up to two meals per day choosing from breakfast, lunch, and snack. It is acceptable to offer only one meal. Camps and migrant sites can offer more than two meals. Some communities combine senior meal programs and children's summer meals.

There are three opportunities to provide meals:

• Regular National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs: School Food Authorities (SFAs) that are providing summer school and that want to feed the children in those programs can apply to extend their National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) agreement.

• Seamless Summer Feeding: SFAs that have one or more sites with 50% of the children eligible for free/reduced price meals can apply for this program. The SFA generally follows the School Lunch and Breakfast Program regulations and receives reimbursement at the regular NSLP/SBP rates. The application is short and the reimbursement form is the same as the regular program.

• Summer Food Service Program: SFAs and other agencies in areas that have one or more sites with 50% of the children eligible for free/reduced price meals can apply for this program. This is a separate application and reimbursement form. The rates of reimbursement are higher for SFSP than for the other programs. As noted in the February bulletin, this program has changed to simplify the reimbursement process by providing one rate (instead of separating operation and administration). Agencies will report the number of meals served and payments will be made based on meals times rates instead of the former year to date comparison to expenditures and budgets. This will also eliminate the requirement to submit expenditure documentation. Program reviewers will look over the documentation when they are on site.

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Summer Feeding workshops

Three workshops will be held in March on the following dates and locations. Attendance at a workshop does not obligate the agency to offer a summer feeding program. It is also acceptable to attend more than one workshop if you are trying to check out the various options. You will be able to access the summer feeding applications on the CANS website at http://doe.sd.gov/oess/cans/sfsp/index.asp. Copies will also be mailed to interested agencies.

• March 10 - Seamless Summer: 1:00-1:45 PM CST over the Dakota Digital Network (DDN)
  • This session will only cover the Seamless Summer including operation, application, and reimbursement process. See list below for DDN sites.
• March 21 - Summer Food Service for prior sponsors: 2:00-4:00 PM CST over the Dakota Digital Network (DDN)
  • This session is for those experienced sponsors from 2007 who successfully operated the program. Agencies with new administrative or management personnel are to attend the full-day training on March 26.

DDN workshop sites are:

• Watertown, Lake Area Technical Institute

• Pierre, Capital Studio B

• Rapid City SDSM&T / CB 109

• Mitchell, Mitchell Technical Institute / TC 155

• Sioux Falls, University Center / 282

March 26 - Summer Food Service Program 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM CST; Pierre School District Administration Building, 211 S Poplar Avenue. This session is for

• new sponsors that have not participated in the program,
• have new staff responsible for the operation of the SFSP, or 
• Any agency that did not participate in the SFSP in 2007.

Application/Agreement packets will be mailed out to all interested sponsors the first part of March. Child and Adult Nutrition Services must receive a completed Agreement by April 10 to ensure approval by the time operation begins. This Agreement must be approved before a sponsor can begin to serve and claim meals at the sites. If you have further questions or need more information, contact Cassandra Pope at (605) 773-3110.

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MyPyramid Corner—and meeting USDA fat requirements

It can be a challenging to serve foods that children will eat, that are in their lowest form of fat and sugar, and that meet the USDA requirements for meals served.  Following the MyPyramid can help with this because if the fats you serve are the healthy fats, you can meet the 30% requirement for fat and be serving foods that meet the dietary guidelines.

How do you do this? Well, first let’s talk about which fats should be avoided and which fats should be encouraged.  Saturated fat and trans fat should be decreased.  In the kitchen, in place of solid fats such as shortening, lard, margarine, and butter, use oils such as canola or olive oil. Canola oil is a good source of omega 3 fatty acids which most of us don’t get enough.  Look for recipes that use oil instead of solid fat.

Serve plant based foods that naturally contain healthy monounsaturated oil such as avocados, olives, nuts, and seeds.  Oily fish such as salmon, tuna, and mackerel are a great source of omega 3 fatty acids.  Ground flax seed is also a very good source of omega 3 fatty acids and even dark green leafy vegetables contain omega 3 fatty acids.

To keep the fat levels at 30 percent in your meals and to decrease saturated fat and trans fat at the same time, serve more nuts, seeds, olives, and fish and use canola oil in place of solid fat in cooking and baking.  Serve less full fat and reduced fat cheese and serve more nonfat and low fat cheese.  Serve very lean meats and serve more fish.  Only offer nonfat and 1% milk.  If you have a salad bar or food bar, put seeds, nuts, and olives on it.  If you make guacamole, use a recipe that doesn’t add sour cream unless it is nonfat sour cream.  When serving refried beans make sure they use oil and not lard or shortening.  Use ground flax seed if you bake your own cookies or sweet breads.

Following all these steps will help the meals you serve be heart healthy and better meet the 2005 Dietary Guidelines.  For more information about the 2005 Dietary Guidelines please visit www.mypyramid.gov.

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Food safety education

This month’s food safety education is about the Food Safety Checklist. Share this article with your staff and record it on your employee training records.  

Food Safety Checklist:

The Food Safety Checklist is an assessment tool that managers should incorporate as part of their written food safety program. Two-thirds of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) refer to the Food Safety Checklist.

What is it?

The Food Safety Checklist is a four page checklist that covers personal hygiene, food preparation, hot holding, cold holding, refrigerator, freezer & milk cooler, food storage & dry storage, cleaning & sanitizing, utensils & equipment, large equipment, garbage storage & disposal, and pest control. Under each section is a list of questions that can be answered yes or no. There is also space to note any corrective action needed. For instance, under utensils & equipment there is a statement that “Thermometers are cleaned and sanitized after each use.” While filling out the checklist, you  say “yes”, but also notice that the supply of alcohol wipes is low. On the corrective action line a note to “order alcohol wipes” can be written. Once the foodservice director reviews the checklist, they will see that they need to re-supply the work areas with alcohol wipes.

Where do I find this checklist?

The checklist is posted on the Internet on the Child & Adult Nutrition Services website. Click this link, http://sop.nfsmi.org/HACCPBasedSOPs.php and scroll down to the middle of the page. You will see Food Safety Checklist. The form can be printed out in Word or Adobe format.

How do I use this form?

There are many ways you can incorporate this food safety checklist into your day to day operations. One way is to assign each “area” of the checklist to other foodservice staff. Make it there responsibility to complete their section daily or weekly. The foodservice director or manager needs to review these weekly so that any corrective actions can be followed up on immediately. Talk with your staff and get their input on how they think this checklist can be used most effectively.

How often do I fill this out?

USDA suggests that this food safety checklist be filled out daily. You know your situation best and what’s possible. I would suggest that if daily is too overwhelming, start by filling it out on a weekly basis. Make sure however, that once you decide on the frequency, (daily, weekly, or bi-monthly) that you change the wording in each of the Standard Operating Procedures that talks about the food safety checklist. Reference to the food safety checklist is always found under the “verification and recordkeeping” portion of the SOP.

Building for the Future with the CACFP

Upcoming Training Events –

“CACFP Plus!” Workshops

“CACFP Basic” Workshops

The CACFP Plus! workshops are designed for veteran staff that have a solid understanding of Program requirements. The CACFP Basic workshops are designed for new staff that need to be trained in the basics of the CACFP. The basics class is limited to 25 participants per class. Pre-registration is required. There is no charge to attend. For more information please contact Melissa Halling at (605) 280-2696 or by email at melissa.halling@state.sd.us.

CACFP Basics –

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 topic this month is tips for preventing food hassles.

Tips for preventing food hassles

"Clean your plate."

"No dessert until you eat your vegetables."

"If you behave, you can have a piece of candy."

For parents and caregivers, these phrases probably sound familiar. Food should be used as food, not as a reward or punishment. In the long run, food bribery usually creates more problems than it solves.

Adults often view a child's odd food and behaviors as a problem. Childhood food binges, food strikes and other unusual habits are usually a part of normal development.

Children use the table as a stage for showing their independence. Sometimes, food isn't the issue at all. The eating process is just one more way children learn about the world.

Here are some common childhood eating situations. Try these simple tips to make meal time a more pleasant experience.

Situation: A child will eat one and only one food, meal after meal (food jags).

Solution: Allow the child to eat what he or she wants if "jag" food is wholesome. Offer other foods at each meal. After a few days, the child will likely try other foods. Don't remove the "jag" food, but offer it as long as the child wants it. Food jags rarely last long enough to cause any real harm.

Situation: A child refuses to eat what's served ("Short Order Cook Syndrome")

Solution: Have bread, rolls or fruit available at each meal so there are choices that the child likes. Be supportive, set limits and don't be afraid to let the child go hungry if she or he won't eat what is served. Which is worse - an occasional missed meal or a parent or caregiver who is a perpetual short-order cook?

Situation: A child wants to watch television at meal time.

Solution: Turn off the television at meal time. Meal time television is a distraction that ruins social interaction and interferes with a child's eating. Value the time spent together while eating. Often it is the only time during the day when the whole family is together.

Situation: A child will only eat bread, potatoes, macaroni and milk - "The Great American White Food Diet."

Solution: Avoid pressuring the child to eat other foods. Giving more attention to finicky eating habits only reinforces the demands for limited foods. Continue to offer a variety of foods. Encourage a taste of red, orange or green foods. Eventually the child will move on to other foods.

Situation: A child refuses to try new foods - "Fear of New Foods."

Solution: Continue to introduce and reintroduce new foods over time. It may take many exposures to a new food before a child is ready to taste it and a lot of tastes before a child likes it. Encourage, but don't force, children to try new foods.

Parents and caregivers act as "gatekeepers," controlling what foods come into the house. Having lots of healthful food choices available eliminates the need for you to be a "food dictator" at meal time. Limit the undesirable foods you serve. This helps children understand that healthful food choices are a way of life.

Prepare children to be ready for meals. A five-minute warning before meal time lets them calm down, wash their hands and get ready to eat. A child who is anxious, excited or tired may have trouble settling down to eat.

Consistent food messages encourage children to eat and help prevent arguments over food. Try these simple steps:

• Be a smart gatekeeper: buy only the foods you want the child to eat.

• Don't worry if the child won't eat any of his or her food.

• Set an example by eating good foods.

• Let children make their own food choices from the good choices you provide.

It's important to keep a clear division of responsibility when feeding youngsters. Children are the best judges of how much they should eat. Parents and caregivers are not responsible for how much a child eats or even whether a child eats.

Here are five important feeding jobs for parents and caregivers:

• Buy healthful food.

• Serve regular meals and snacks.

• Make meal times pleasant.

• Teach good manners at the table.

• Set a good example.

Happy encounters with food at any age help set the stage for sensible eating habits. Handling food and eating situations positively encourages healthful food choices.

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Kids in the Kitchen

Baked French Toast Strips – from Montana Master Menu Volume 3

• 6 slices Texas Toast or ½ inch slices of French bread

• 4 eggs

• 1/8 tsp. salt

• ½ tsp. cinnamon

• 3 Tbsp. sugar

• ¾ tsp. vanilla

• 1 c. milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut each slice of bread into 4 even strips. Place strips of bread on lightly greased 9” x 13” x 2” baking pan. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla until well blended. Pour egg mixture over bread slices and cover with plastic wrap. Chill for 4 to 24 hours. Remove wrap. Sprinkle cinnamon on top of bread strips. Bake for 30-40 minutes until eggs are set and toast is lightly browned. Serve with fruit sauce, low-fat yogurt, fresh fruit, or maple syrup.

12 (1-5 year old) Servings

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Kids on the Move

Ask everyone to stand on one leg.  This is an excellent assessment of ankle strength, and balance. Ask who can be the last one left standing? Swap legs and try again. You can also try hopping on one leg, and then the other. Be creative and vary this for an endless list of activities for children.

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May 5-9 is Child Nutrition Employee Appreciation week. The School Nutrition Association has designated this one week each year to honor child nutrition employees. Be sure to set aside some time to celebrate just how special these employees are and let them know you’re thinking of them.

Certificates of appreciation are available from Child and Adult Nutrition Services for long-term employees to be honored or those that are retiring. Certificates can be requested at 10 years and at 5-year intervals after that (15 years, 20 years, etc.) Certificates for retirees can be requested at any time. You can request a certificate of appreciation for the employee by providing the name, years of service, and school/agency where they are employed. You can include years of food service at other schools or agencies, also. Be sure to note who the request should be sent back to and if you need it by a certain date such as for a retirement party.

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Belle Fourche Celebrates Valentines Day

Belle Fourche lunch personnel celebrated Valentines Day at the main kitchen wearing their red shirts/sweatshirts. On their shirts is a cute bear with a chef hat on and he is surrounded by hearts. The words are MADE WITH LOVE on the top and LET'S DO LUNCH on the bear's bucket then Belle Fourche School District is below the picture. 

Pictured are:  Back row: Julie Frasier, Chuck Capp, Food Service Manager Rhonda Johnson and Cathy Shoop. Front row:  Deb Ward, Yvonne Franke, Sylvia Preszler, Daisy Baumeister (seated), Holly Mielke, Marcie Minor and Cheryl Quenzer.

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Little Bits of Wellness Wisdom
 

√    Reduce your stroke risk. Folate, and its synthetic form, folic acid, have been found to reduce the risk of neural tube birth defects, and may protect against heart disease and stroke.

√    Good sources of folic acid include: cereal, enriched and sandwich bread, bagels and enriched pasta. Other good sources of folate include: orange juice, spinach, strawberries, green peas and romaine lettuce.

√    Avoid emotional snacking. If you’re bored, depressed or stressed – call a friend, go for a walk or read a good book. Snack only when you’re hungry and watch those portion sizes so the snack doesn’t become a meal.

√    Manage your stress levels. Recognize when you’re stressed and learn stress management techniques like yoga, walking or breathing exercises.

√    Try a glass of water before reaching for a snack – you may not be hungry, just thirsty.

Source: Life’s Little Book of Wellness, SD Wheat Commission

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