School Nutrition Weekly Newsletter
January 31, 2020
Updates and New Resources
Substitution of Vegetables for Fruit at Breakfast Memo Update
- USDA released a memo in March allowing SFAs participating in the School Breakfast Program to credit starchy vegetables, in place of fruit without including vegetables from other subgroups on the weekly menu.
- This flexibility has been extended through June 30, 2021.
- To read the original memo with details on this flexibility, click here.
- Questions? Contact your field specialist.
Breakfast after Two-Hour Delays
- The following are common questions we receive when schools have a two-hour delay.
- USDA requires lunch to be served between 10 am to 2 pm. So if the kids arrive after 10 am do we lose our chance to serve breakfast?
- No, you can serve breakfast after a two-hour delay, even if students arrive after 10 am. Just make sure breakfast is spaced far enough from lunch so students are hungry by lunchtime.
- Are we required to serve breakfast after a two-hour delay?
- No, schools are not required to serve breakfast. This is especially understandable if lunch is scheduled shortly after students arrive at school.
- In our elementary school we have some students who eat lunch shortly after arriving after a two-hour delay and other students who eat lunch much later. Can we offer breakfast to those who have lunch later without offering breakfast to the students with an earlier lunch?
- No, if offering breakfast you would need to make sure all students in the school building are given the opportunity to have breakfast. You cannot offer it to some students and not others.
- We are trying to figure out a way to feed students quickly after a two-hour delay. Can we implement a grab-and-go sack breakfast on these days even though we don't implement this serving method normally?
- Yes! Just make sure you are offering all of the components in the correct portion sizes. For more information on grab-and-go breakfast check out the School Breakfast Program webpage or contact your field specialist.
- More questions about two-hour delays? Contact your field specialist or Allie Caito-Sipe at acaito@doe.in.gov.
What You Can Do to Prevent Wasted Food Resource
USDA’s Team Nutrition has released a slightly revised “What You Can Do to Prevent Wasted Food” booklet for school meal programs.
Team Nutrition has updated this publication to include new tips and resource links to help reduce, recover, and recycle food to lessen food waste.
View and download this colorful eight-page resource here.
Questions? Contact TeamNutrition@usda.gov.
For additional resources to help prevent food waste, click here.
Food Waste Warriors
- Be a Food Waste Warrior! Access this toolkit from the World Wildlife Organization that challenges schools to reduce food waste by teaching students how much food is being wasted in their cafeterias, the effects of food waste, and what schools can do to help reduce waste.
- Click here to read stories from schools across the country, including six in Indiana on how they are reducing waste in their schools.
- Click here to access the Food Waste Warrior toolkit.
Upcoming Trainings
Indiana School Nutrition Association (ISNA) Winter Seminar
- ISNA will be holding their annual Winter Seminar on Thursday, February 6 at the Willows on Westfield.
- Based on feedback from ISNA members, Winter Seminar will have two sharing sessions as part of the day to increase networking and encourage sharing of ideas and best practices. The sessions will include all four USDA key areas.
- Dynamic keynote speaker Martha Bryan will present Dealing with Difficult People and Coaching and Mentoring.
- Other sessions will include:
- Digital Food Production Records
- 21 Rules for Food Presentation
- Breakfast: More than Cereal and Milk
- Social Media
- Leveraging Community Partnerships for Improved Health and Nutrition
- Join ISNA for a wonderful day full of professional development and networking.
- Click here for more details and to register!
- Questions? Contact Sheri Shipp at sheri@indianasna.org.
ISNA/IDOE School Nutrition Certificate Program
- IDOE and ISNA are excited to announce that the next set of courses through the ISNA/IDOE Certificate Program will take place Friday, February 7 at the Willows on Westfield.
- In the morning, learn about creating and implementing your HACCP plan.
- During the HACCP plan course, you will earn what the requirements are for a proper food safety plan, how to write standard operating procedures and develop policies, how to train your staff, and so much more!
- In the afternoon, gain an understanding of the requirements and best practices for planning and managing the facilities used in school nutrition.
- During the facilities planning and management course, review the foundations of kitchen asset management, learn how to manage contracts and services, determine inventory requirements, and more!
- Click here for more details and to register for one or both of these courses.
- Questions? Contact Jan Frost at jan@indianasna.org.
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If you have any questions or concerns regarding this newsletter, please contact Allie Caito-Sipe at acaito@doe.in.gov, call (317) 232-0849, or toll-free at 1-800-537-1142 ext. 20849, or contact Ashley Heller at aheller@doe.in.gov, call (317) 232-0544, or toll-free at 1-800-537-1142 ext. 20544.
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Website: https://www.doe.in.gov/nutrition
Phone: (317) 232-0850
Twitter: @EducateIN