Friday Focus
February 9, 2024
SCHOOL NUTRITION NEWSLETTER
Message from the Director
There's a lot to celebrate this year during February providing many promotion and new menu opportunities! It's Black History Month, American Heart Month, Lunar New Year, Super Bowl Sunday, Mardi Gras, Valentine's Day, Presidents' Day and Leap Year. Make marketing easier by sketching out your holiday promotion calendar, purchase supplies and reuse them each year. You will always have different and unique promotions, but you can streamline recurring holiday events. I love seeing the creative things you do for your students! We all benefit from each other's ideas, thank you for sharing and helping your coworkers. Your photos tell a story that you can be proud of as you make nutrition education fun. We also want to make Friday Focus a valuable tool for each of you. Help us know what could make it even better by taking the quick one question survey below.
With gratitude,
Kathy
What do you find most useful about Friday Focus?
CONGRATULATIONS!
Ashley Taylor
Ashley Taylor is the Cafe Manager at Parkview. She began as a substitute, then became a Food Service Tech and now works in management. She completed 40 hours of training on her own to obtain the IDOE Certificate for Managers. Thank you for your commitment to learning and to the students of Parkview!
Lovie Marich
Lovie has been hired as a Food Service Tech in the Satellite operation at VHS. While she's been a great substitute, we're thrilled to have her on a permanent basis! Her restaurant experience has taught her to move with a sense of urgency and that's a perfect fit for the high volume, high speed Hungry Viking.
Black History Month
From No Kid Hungry
History teaches us that if we really are interested in making long term progress in communities, we have to understand what the barriers and challenges are by hearing and working directly with those who are impacted. When the Black Panther Party was established in 1966, they begun to hear loud and clear that children in Oakland were hungry and did not have access to nutritious meals. They understood that the ability to focus and be ready for school is so much harder for a child if they don’t have a nutritious breakfast. They started the free breakfast program in 1969 to help ensure kids had a healthy start to the day. By 1971, the Black Panthers had implemented programs in 36 cities across the country. Serving children in church basements, community centers and cafeterias – they served free meals to thousands of young people. Their efforts ultimately helped to inspire the National School Breakfast program which Congress authorized and expanded to all schools by 1975.
National School Breakfast Week
March 4-8, 2024
The School Breakfast Program serves 14.7 million students each school day in approximately 90,000 schools nationwide. These breakfasts are not just your average fare—they tend to be more nutritious than the average breakfast a child gets from home or a convenient fast-food restaurant. So, let’s hang loose and celebrate the power of a healthy school breakfast. Be a part of ensuring that every child catches the wave of nourishment, setting them up for success and learning! Start planning now to promote NSBW with a beachy theme, dude.
Food Rescue
Since we started our partnership with K12 Food Rescue in 2016, we've kept over 280,000 food items out of landfills and donated them to local community organizations in need. On top of that, the greenhouse gas emissions we saved by recycling 5.5 tons of food is equivalent to emissions from burning 767 cylinders of propane! Another way to look at this is through carbon sequestration. It would take 19 acres of forests to absorb and "filter" the same amount of carbon dioxide emissions that we saved. Food Rescue is good for people and good for the planet. Thank you for making it matter!
Promotions
Thank a Farmer Thursday at Central
This week's Thank a Farmer Thursday sample is a lettuce mix from Rainfield Farm in New Carlisle, Indiana. This is the same lettuce mix they sell in grocery stores. The flavorful lettuce is Certified Naturally Grown which means no synthetic herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers, antibiotics, added hormones, or genetically modified organisms were used.
Special Menu Item For all K-12 Schools
Coming next week to celebrate Valentine's Day. All K-8 schools will serve this menu, VHS will offer Fruit Smoothie Pops with every Combo meal. This one is going to be big!
We Really A "Peach" iate You! 🍑
Nutrition Education
The middle school and high school menus are now featuring Rainbow Cauliflower. The colors are all natural, grown from different varieties. Sometimes students think we "dye" white cauliflower, so this graphic was created to help introduce them to the many natural and colorful varieties of cauliflower.
American Heart Month
Heart Disease
Accounting for 1 in every 4 deaths, heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) isn’t exclusive to just older adults, either. Data show that CVD and CVD mortality are increasing among younger populations. Explore more about heart disease and prevention at https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm
Myth or Fact?
From Ashley
Do you ever wonder where we get our produce from for Thank a Farmer Thursday at Central Elementary? We have been so fortunate to be able to participate in a grant-funded program that provides local produce and proteins directly from the farmers to our schools at no cost to us! Region Roots is the local hub that we order from and I have enjoyed working hand in hand with them on this journey! On Monday, February 26 from 5 pm to 8 pm, we have been invited to the Region Roots Farm Fest at County Line Orchard (Hobart) for an evening of everything local food! Gather with farmers, chefs, school food service employees, food entrepreneurs, and wholesale buyers to network and celebrate all the talent and farm-fresh goodness of our region. This in-person event is a perfect opportunity to connect with local farmers, learn about what each farm has to offer for the 2024 season and indulge in delicious farm-fresh goodies with live demos and music. Due to limitations on tickets, if you are interested in attending this event with me, the first NINE people to reach out to me via email will secure a spot to join me and attend this fun "after hours" event!
Industry News: AGRICULTURE
❤️From USA Today❤️
The America Farm Bureau awarded it's Farm Dog of the Year to a Great Pyrenees named Casper who was viciously attacked by a pack of coyotes while trying to defend his farm's flock of sheep. Casper, from Decatur, Georgia, was just 20 months old at the time, and suffered major injuries. After backing the sheep into a corner to protect them, Casper charged into the middle of the pack, starting a scrum that lasted roughly 30 minutes and killed eight coyotes. The dog, who underwent multiple surgeries after the attack, suffered wounds to his neck and back, and had to have his tail amputated.
“Casper has come so far in the last year," wrote the owner. "Except for his missing tail, you would not know that he suffered any trauma at all.”
Happy Lunar New Year!
Welcome in the Year of the Dragon on Saturday, February 10 by trying traditional "lucky" foods. Longevity noodles are thought to bring long life and prosperity. The recipe below is traditional, but I think you can easily use any long noodle, ingredients and sauce that you like to make this dish. Another traditional concept is Hot Pot. This can be used for entertaining by having a flavored broth in a central (crock) pot and several toppings for guests to choose from to make their own custom bowl. Typical toppings include noodles, bacon, chicken, beef, mushrooms, onions, or anything else that sounds delicious.
Need to Print Your W-2?
Getting ready to prepare your taxes and need your W-2? Payroll has posted your form in Skyward and it's convenient to access and print from anywhere. Follow these easy instructions from Laura.
How to Use Skyward Employee Access
Do you need help or a refresher on how to log in to Skyward Employee Access? The file linked below will take you step by step (with pictures) through this easy process. You need to be able to log in to Skyward Employee Access to request time off, print your check or tax forms. When you view your check, you should review the deductions and be sure they are correct based on what you chose during your enrollment appointment with American Fidelity.
Financial Check Up
Valparaiso Community Schools continually strives to offer and educate staff about our unique and advantageous benefits. One such benefit is our elective retirement savings plan(s) that employees can utilize to help provide financial security at retirement. To ensure you receive information about this benefit, we are pleased to provide you with a newsletter (below) that has been prepared by the compliance administrator for our plan(s), U.S. OMNI & TSACG Compliance Services (OMNI/TSACG). In addition to providing information about our plan(s), OMNI/TSACG also offers a Financial Wellness website that covers areas such as managing personal finances, college funding options, and how to navigate Social Security when the time comes. You will find calculators, videos, and informative content on various topics to help guide you in your planning process.
Free Employee Assistance Program
Your Perspectives EAP is here to provide confidential, no-cost support for you and your family 24/7.
Call or text 800.456.6327 to schedule an appointment with a counselor or contact us for in-the-moment support.
Use the “Live Chat” feature on your Perspectives Online Portal to instant message with a counselor 7 a.m.-9 p.m. CST Mon.-Fri. (Remember to use your unique Access Code, and your Password is perspectives
Resources
Digital Resources
Open Positions
Non-employees can apply by completing an online application as an External Applicant here: https://www.applitrack.com/valpo/onlineapp/
FS Tech, VHS, 6 hours
FS Tech, Heavilin, 4 hours
FS Tech, BF Middle, 4.5 hours
FS Tech, Central, 4 hours
FS Tech, VHS, 4 hours
2023-24 Calendar
February 16, 2024 eLearning Weather Make Up Day (Regular Work Day)
February 19, 2024 Presidents' Day (No Work Day)
March 4 - 8, 2024 National School Breakfast Week
March 25 - 29, 2024 Spring Break (No Work Days)
2024-25 Calendar
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https://www.valpo.k12.in.us/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1221036&type=d&pREC_ID=1455849
About Us
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
Email: kkane@valpo.k12.in.us
Website: https://www.valpo.k12.in.us/apps/pages/nutrition
Location: 2727 N. Campbell St., Valparaiso, IN 46385
Phone: (219) 531-3050
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ValpoSchoolFood
Twitter: @ValpoSchoolFood