What’s for
lunch
Volume #08 May 2013
Inside this Issue: Necessary Step for Developing a Proper School Meal Charge Policy pg 1
necessary Steps for Developing a Proper School Meal charge Policy written by Milt Miller, President at Milton Miller Consulting
From the chef: Chicken Stir-Fry pg 3
School lunch account issues are appearing daily in the news media. School districts are concerned that debts incurred by unpaid student accounts are crippling the sustainability of school food service programs nationwide. The most publicized concern is upset parents, students, and school administrators over poorly handled and poorly implemented school meal charge policies. Because the main goal of school lunch programs has always been to insure students receive a nutritious, well balanced, reasonably priced lunch. Little to no thought is often given to the issue of delinquent lunch accounts until they become a problem. Problem meaning the have reached a level detrimental to the program. At this crisis point food service directors and FSMC’s are mandated to remedy the problem. Many times policies are hastily put in place without full understanding of what the proper steps for initiating and implementing such a policy might be. The first thing to remember is this must be a Board of Education Approved Policy. The policy may be drafted by the food service director or the FSMC, but it is a district policy and therefore must have board approval. It cannot be an FSMC policy because it is directly tied to the district as the SFA in the NSLP Agreement. Once written, before going to the board, the policy should be approved by the state educational agency to make sure it follows FNS Instruction 765-7 to Section 245.8 of the National School Lunch Act. This is known as the “Handling of Lost, Stolen, or Misused Ticket Instruction.” The term “Ticket” referring to “any and all forms of exchange used in the schools’ or institutions’ food service collection systems.” To be compliant with this instruction, the policy must state the following: It applies to all students whether they are Free, Reduced, or Paid (required to pay full price for meals) to avoid the overt identification of needy students.
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Study Suggests Preordering School Lunches Leads to Healthier Decisions pg 2
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‘Yuck: A 4th Grader’s Short Documentary About School Lunch’ pg 4 San Antonio Schools Address Nutrition Problem pg 4
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Parents and students will be advised in writing of the schools’ policy regarding missing meal tickets and of the student’s responsibility for their meal tickets. Such notice will be provided at the time applications are distributed to households or upon approval for free and reduced priced meal benefits. A minimum of three ticket replacements, or special meal arrangements resulting from three lost or stolen tickets, will be allowed each student within each school year. The school will maintain a list of students who have reported missing original tickets in the current school year and the number of occurrences for each student. Prior to denying any meal to any student without a ticket, the list will always be reviewed to determine if the student has already had three ticket replacements or special meal arrangements for lost or stolen tickets within that year. At least one written warning will be given to the students and the parent (s) prior to refusal to allow additional meals or ticket replacements. The written warning will include an explanation that the student has repeatedly requested replacement tickets and that each subsequent time the student fails to have a ticket, he/she will be expected to bring a lunch or pay full price for lunch. A meal will always be provided to preprimary and primary (K3) students or for any handicapped students who may be unable to take full responsibility for a meal ticket.
Once drafted and approved by the state education agency and the board, the two most important aspects of the success of this policy come into play, communication to parents and students and employee training. These last two steps should be repeated on a yearly basis to keep all parties involved up to date and current with the policy. These steps are the most overlooked areas and cause the greatest concern to parents and employees, not to mention embarrassment to the district and FSMCS’ via bad media coverage and public relations. It is the district’s responsibility to keep its constituents and employees informed of its stance on this issue. A copy of the policy should be sent to every household yearly and it is recommended that the policy should be posted at the point of sale in every cafeteria and on school office bulletin boards. The use of media public service announcements concerning this policy is also helpful to increase public awareness. Employees should receive extensive training on how this policy should be carried out. Staff members are the district’s first line in dealing with student customers and can keep embarrassment and concern to a minimum through proper training. Following this simple guideline schools can lessen parent and student concern caused by poor communication of policy issues. These issues could potentially result in bad media coverage of this potentially volatile area.
Study Suggests Preordering School lunches leads to healthier choices Study author Andrew S. Hanks, Ph.D.
A research letter by Andrew S. Hanks, Ph.D., of Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, and colleagues examined whether having students preorder their entrée (main dish) of their school meal improves the healthfulness of entrees selected for lunch. (Online First) A total of 272 students in 14 classrooms (grades 1-5) from two elementary schools in upstate New York participated in the study. The schools are located in a predominantly white (96.6 percent) county where 55 percent of students receive free or reduced-price lunches. Students used an electronic system to preorder their lunch entrée over a 4-week period (November – December 2011). According to the study results, when students preordered their entrée, 29.4 percent selected the healthier entrée compared with 15.3 percent when preordering was not available. The less healthy entrée was chosen 70.8 percent of the time by students who preordered, and students who ordered in the lunch line selected the less healthy entrée 85.7 percent of the time. It appears that hunger-based, spontaneous selection diminished healthy entrée selection by 48 percent and increased less healthy entrée selection by 21 percent. Together, both consumption and selection data demonstrate how a simple environmental change—preordering—can prompt children to choose healthier food” the study concludes.
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FROM thE CHEF Chicken Stir-Fry
this UsDa school recipe is from www.nfsmi.org
Meat/Meat Alternate-Vegetable
Main Dishes 50 Servings
Ingredients
Cornstarch
100 Servings
Weight
Measure
Weight
Measure
4 ½ oz
1 cup
9 oz
2 cups
Directions
1. Dissolve cornstarch in water and soy sauce. Add ginger, granulated garlic, and pepper.
Water, cold
½ cup
1 cup
Low-sodium soy sauce
½ cup
1 cup
Ground ginger
½ tsp
1 tsp
3 Tbsp
¼ cup 2 Tbsp
Ground black or white pepper
2 tsp
1 Tbsp 1 tsp
Chicken stock, non-MSG
2 qt
1 gal
Granulated garlic
D-39
2. Heat chicken stock to a boil and slowly stir in cornstarch mixture. Return to a simmer. 3. Cook for 3-5 minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat.
5 lb 10 oz
1 gal 1 ½ qt
11 lb 4 oz
2 gal 3 qt
OR 6 lb 12 oz
OR 1 gal 2 qt
OR 13 lb 8 oz
OR 3 gal
*Fresh onions, diced
1 lb 6 oz
3 ⅔ cups
2 lb 12 oz
1 qt 3 ⅓ cups
5. Add onions and cook for 1 minute.
*Fresh broccoli, chopped OR Frozen mixed Oriental vegetables
4 lb 1 oz OR 4 lb 15 oz
1 gal 3 ¼ qt OR 2 qt
8 lb 2 oz OR 9 lb 14 oz
3 gal 2 ½ qt OR 1 gal
6. Add broccoli and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove to steamtable pan (12" x 20" x 2 ½"). For 50 servings, use 2 pans. Add salt. Keep warm.
*Fresh carrots, peeled, 1/4" chopped OR Frozen sliced carrots Vegetable oil
½ cup
Chicken Stir-Fry Salt
Raw skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut in ½" cubes Meat/Meat Alternate-Vegetable
Sauté carrots in oil for 4 minutes.
1 cup
2 tsp
1 Tbsp 1 tsp
8 lb 15 oz
17 lb 14 oz
Comments: *See Marketing Guide.
4. Prepare no more than 50 portions per batch.
7. Sauté chicken in oil for 3-5 minutes. Add chicken to vegetables in steamtable pan. Main Dishes Add sauce and mix to coat chicken and D-39 vegetables.
Marketing Guide for Selected Items CCP:
Vegetable oil
1 cup
Food as Purchased for
50 Servings
SERVING:
6 lb 13 oz
Mature onions
1 lb 9 oz
Broccoli
5 lb 1 oz
YIELD:
Chicken Stir-Fry Meat/Meat Alternate-Vegetable Comments: *See Marketing Guide.
10 oz at 135° F or higher. 8. CCP: Hold for 13 hotlbservice 3 lb 2 oz Portion with 2 rounded No. 10 scoops (¾ cup 1 Tbsp).10 lb 2 oz
VOLUME: about 23 lb 4 oz
100 Servings: about 46 lb 8 oz
50 Servings:
about 2 gallons 2 quarts
100 Servings:
about 5 gallons
Main Dishes
D-39
Marketing Guide for Selected Items
Tested 2004
Special Tips: 1) For an authentic Oriental flavor, substitute ¼ cup of sesame oil for ¼ cup of vegetable oil to sauté chicken, for each 50 servings.
Food as Purchased for Carrots
Chicken Stir-Fry Mature onions
2) Fresh vegetable mixes can be varied to include combinations of broccoli, Meat/Meat Alternate-Vegetable Broccoli cabbage, celery, Chinese pea pods, onions, peppers, and water chestnuts. 3) Reduce saltSERVING: if using regular soy sauce.
100 Servings
2 cups
Carrots
¾ cup 1 Tbsp (2 rounded No. 10 scoops) provides 2 50 Servings: oz equivalent meat/meat alternate and ½ cup of vegetable.
Heat to 165° F or higher for at least 15 seconds.
YIELD:
¾ cup 1 Tbsp (2 rounded No. 10 scoops) provides 2 50 Servings: 4) If using Oriental vegetables, add frozen vegetables tocup sautéed oz equivalent meat/meat alternate and ½ of chicken in step 7. vegetable.
Nutrients Per Serving Calories
about 23 lb 4 oz
50 Servings
100 Servings
6 lb 13 oz
13 lb 10 oz
1 lb 9 oz
3 lb 2 oz
5 lb 1 oz
Main 10 Dishes lb 2 oz
VOLUME: 199
Saturated Fat
1.47 g
Iron
46 mg
Calcium
44 mg
Vitamin A
11928 IU
Sodium
197 mg
Vitamin C
29.3 mg
50 Servings:
Protein
19.31 g
Cholesterol
Carbohydrate
11.12 g 8.64 g
Total Fat
100 Servings: about 46 lb 8 oz Text63:
100 Servings:
about 2 gallons 2 quarts
Dietary Fiber
about 5 gallons
1.26 mg
2.9 g
Tested 2004
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Special Tips: 1) For an authentic Oriental flavor, substitute ¼ cup of sesame oil for ¼ cup of vegetable oil to sauté chicken, for each 50 servings.
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‘Yuck: A 4th Grader’s Short Documentary About School lunch’ A New York City elementary school student who couldn’t stand the way his school lunch tasted made a secret documentary that is now winning audiences and awards at film festivals. The boy, who is called Zachary Maxwell in the film, which is called “Yuck: A 4th Grader’s Short Documentary About School Lunch,” was in fourth grade when he embarked on his project last year. He was sick of reading the lunch menu posted online by the Department of Education, with descriptions that made the food sound delicious, only to be sorely disappointed day after day after day.
He began sneaking in a camera and collected footage for about six months. Then he and his father, a lawyer, pieced together the documentary, according to this New York Times story. Maxwell is actually the boy’s middle name; his last name was withheld at the request of his parents. Besides being amusing, the documentary points out the very wide gap between what the adults say they are serving — even as they try to make meals more nutritious for students — and what is actually given to students. link to Trailer By Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post
San Antonio Schools Address nutrition Problem Every day children show up to school tired and hungry. I’m not talking about homeless or abused children. But kids from loving homes near the San Antonio Schools whose parents don’t understand the impact of nutrition and a good night’s sleep on a student’s ability to focus and learn. Good nutrition is a necessity of life. A healthy diet enables the body to work more efficiently, improves mental health, and makes learning possible. A person who does not eat well tends to be more sedentary, depressed, and uninterested in learning. San Antonio Schools are not only providing their students with good, healthy meals, but also offer various opportunities and tips for students and parents to learn more about healthy eating.
The San Antonio Schools nutrition department partners with the USDA in offering these tips for healthy eating:
Thousands of students enrolled in San Antonio Schools depend on free breakfast and lunch at school as their main source of nutrition. In the summer months, San Antonio Schools students can continue to enjoy these meals at no charge. As part of the Texas Department of Agriculture’s “Seamless Summer Nutrition Program”, San Antonio Schools campuses that are hosting summer school programs will offer anyone 18 years old and younger one breakfast and one lunch through Aug. 9, free of charge, regardless of ability to pay.
1 Set a good example: Be active and get your family to join you.
The “Seamless Summer Nutrition Program” is required by law in San Antonio Schools where large numbers of students receive free meals during the school year, such as those who attend San Antonio Schools. Participants are eligible regardless of whether they are enrolled in a summer program and no application is required. How many children would have better focus if they ate a healthy breakfast, and stopped living on a sugar high? The mission of the San Antonio Schools Food and Child Nutrition Services is to enhance the learning and health of children by nourishing their bodies and minds through healthy, nutritious meals that meet or exceed the Federal requirements set forth by the National School Breakfast and Lunch Programs. It’s about time that districts recognize that holistic health impacts learning.
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1. Make half your grains whole 2. Vary your veggies 3. Focus on fruits 4. Get your calcium-rich foods 5. Go lean with protein 6. Change your oil 7. Don’t sugarcoat it Tips offered for San Antonio Schools students who want to get active:
2 Take the President’s Challenge: As a family, track your activities at http://www.presidentschallenge.org. 3 Establish a routine: Adults need at least 30 minutes of activity most days of the week; and children should exercise 60 minutes everyday or most days. 4 Have an activity party, such as skating or bowling. 5 Set up a home gym; use canned foods for weights and the steps as a stairmaster. 6 Move it! Instead of sitting through TV commercials, get up and move. 7 Give activity gifts San Antonio Schools are working hard to give their students good nutrition when they are on campus and good education about nutrition, healthy eating habits and exercise tips for when they are off campus. Go San Antonio! Author: Patricia Hawke
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