Chefs M ve to Schools

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1 Welcome to Cooks for Kids. Children should have access to healthy food and be able to make healthy food choices wherever they are at home, in school, and in the community. Improving the health of the nation s children and reversing the childhood obesity epidemic is a shared responsibility and will take the commitment of parents, the foodservice industry, the media, and schools working together. USDA s vision is to improve the health of school children through better nutrition. Implementing the Dietary Guidelines for Americans in school meals will have important health benefits for children. What chefs bring to school nutrition Passion for food Knife skills and knife safety knowledge Creativity An eye for food presentation Kitchen efficiency skills Positive public relations What chefs need to know about partnering with schools Start by talking with an administrator (the school nutrition director, principal or superintendent). Get to know the school and its operations via the principal/vice principal and school nutrition director or manager. Discuss what is happening at the school and how you might fit into their program. Assess the feasibility of the chef-school partnership and what activities might work best. School nutrition programs face unique challenges. A school operates quite differently from the restaurant/kitchen environment. School kitchens often face severe budgetary constraints, limited facilities, older equipment, and other challenges. Food safety and sanitation guidelines are taken very seriously in school environments and are required by regulation. Food costs are limited. As ways to enhance school meals are considered, it must be kept in mind that, on average, the cost of the food component of the typical school lunch averages $ Schools are required to serve lunches that meet the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and provide minimum calorie levels, and one-third of the Recommended Dietary Allowances of protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, iron and calcium. What schools need to know about partnering with chefs Prepare to identify your needs and a vision for how a chef can best support your efforts prior to the initial contact with the chef. The initial discussion will allow you to establish a successful partnership. Talk to school administrators, parents, school nutrition staff about the goals of the Chefs Move to Schools initiative and encourage them to support the partnership. Plan to help the chef understand and comply with any state and local requirements that may apply to school volunteers. Explain the regulatory requirements of school meals if the chef is going to be in the kitchen. Chefs Move to Schools The Chefs Move to Schools program has created successful chef-school partnership across the country with children being the benefactor. Working together, chefs and school nutrition departments can enhance the programs offered to our nation s children in many ways. Consider forming a chef-school partnership to: Enhance and promote school meals Work together and apply to become a HealthierUS School. Work with school nutrition staff, students, parents and interested community members to develop tasty and healthy new recipes featuring spice blends, whole grains, dark green and orange vegetables, and/or dried beans and peas for inclusion on school lunch menus. Brainstorm alternative menus and hold taste tests to get students involved. Drive food education programs throughout the school Present hands-on cooking classes Create cooking clubs Facilitate a meet-the-farmer/meet-the-chef event Plant a garden Organize a school cookbook Assist or train school nutrition personnel Offer to assist with training staff to use various pieces of commercial equipment more effectively. Brainstorm with staff on ways to present food attractively. Teach culinary skills and use of different cooking techniques to school nutrition staff. Work with school nutrition staff to develop ideas for using new foods and introducing students to new tastes. Resources Chefs Move to Schools, The HealthierUS School Challenge (HUSSC), 1. Lets Move, Chefs Move to Schools. (nd) A chef s guide. Washington, DC: Author. National Food Service Management Institute The University of Mississippi 6 Jeanette Phillips Drive Post Office Drawer 188 University, Mississippi nfsmi@olemiss.edu For more information, visit us on the Web at 1

2 Farm to School The more each partner understands the other s business, the better. School nutrition programs have a way of doing business -- just like all other businesses. Consider this information about school nutrition purchasing when planning to sell to a school system. Customer service and professionalism are considered when school nutrition staff make business partner selections. Food bid contracts are usually created in the late winter or early spring. What schools need to know about partnering with farmers What farmers need to know about partnering with schools Products that are locally grown, grow in quantity and easy to transport, may be perfect produce items to consider offering to the school nutrition program. Traditionally, school nutrition programs conduct business with a small number of vendors, allowing them to handle limited numbers of orders, delivery schedules, and invoices. A farmers cooperative could reduce the paperwork and might encourage a school nutrition director to do business with local sources. A product that requires minimal preparation may be easier to market to schools. Making changes in any purchasing system can be a challenge. Building relationships and engaging in good communication are key ingredients of successful farm to school programs. It is important to understand the advantages of buying locally. Consider these reasons for doing business with a local farmer. Produce purchased locally is picked at its peak of ripeness and transported over shorter distance. Seasonal produce featured on school menus can provide opportunities for students to taste and enjoy a variety of fruits and vegetables. Farmers are very knowledgeable about their crops, farming techniques, market trends, and agricultural history. They can be excellent contributors to the educational experience of students. Buying locally supports the economic viability of communities by keeping money cycling locally. Students can gain environmental and sustainability education through local sourcing. Schools can help protect the environment by reducing the distance products travel and the amount of fuel being used for transportation costs. Hands-on classroom learning opportunities such as school gardens, recycling, and composting programs can fit into academic requirements. Local farms are a great resource for field trips, taste test samples, and school garden consultation. School nutrition staff want safe, reliable, and high-quality products. Standardized packaging and weight may be required in order to meet federal regulations. Some school systems require one to two deliveries a week on specific days in order to utilize their storage space and meet demanding menus. Since school nutrition programs are self-supporting, cost could be a major consideration when evaluating bids. School nutrition programs are required to follow a food safety plan based on principles of HACCP and will expect their vendors to follow high food safety standards. As a rule, there is no payment upon delivery. Terms are generally set by the district business office. Farmers Connect with your local school and offer to conduct a classroom session or offer to host a visit to your farm. Become a classroom pen pal. Many schools don t have the money for farm field trips, but stories and photos from the farm are the next best thing. Technology can make this very realistic. Promote Farm to School Month on your farm or at your farmers market booth with posters and other materials, which can be downloaded or ordered from farmtoschoolmonth.org. School Nutrition Professionals Invite a local farmer into the cafeteria. Promote Farm to School Month on the school menu and in the cafeteria. Find logos, posters and sample language at farmtoschoolmonth.org Do a taste test of local products, or feature one item for lunch, breakfast or snacks. Create a Farm to School salad bar using local products. Adapted from: Florida Farm to School: Shortening the Distance, Implementation Guide; Developed by: Florida Department of Education, Office of Food and Nutrition Management; pubform/pdf/f2simplementationhandbook.pdf Resources USDA Farm to School, htm National Farm to School, USDA Know your Farmer, Know your Food, knowyourfarmer 2

3 School Gardens Starting a School Garden You don t need much to grow a garden. Enthusiasm is the most important component. Gardening is a skill everyone can develop. If you re not interested in learning to garden, there are many other ways to support a school garden. 1. Gather support. Since this is a school project, it is very important to have the support of administration, teachers and parents. You probably won t have difficulty finding students who like to play in the soil. 2. Find out who is interested in being involved. Send out a flyer announcing a school garden meeting. Personally announcing the meeting to local groups may be more effective. 3. Decide where to build the garden on campus. The following concerns should help you decide where plants will grow best: z Sun. A vegetable garden needs five to eight hours of full, direct sun every day for plants to be healthy. z Water. Hoses are heavy and often can t be left in the schoolyard. You will want to build your garden as close as possible to a water spigot, hose bib, or install one near your garden site. z Drainage. Most plants will die if they sit in soggy soil. Make sure that the site you choose isn t the lowest place on campus. z Soil. You can build a garden on asphalt by using raised beds. If you are going to use soil that is already on campus, it is important to have it tested. z Access. The garden needs to be close enough to classrooms that it can be used regularly. A garden that is out of sight is hard to monitor, maintain, and enjoy. z Tool Storage. Choose a location to store and secure tools close to the garden. z Materials Used. Make sure materials used to build raised beds or the garden perimeter are safe for growing foods. Avoid old tires and creosote-soaked railroad ties. 4. The site will often determine if you will build raised bed boxes above the ground or put your garden directly into the ground. Note that it is often safer to build raised beds than to remove asphalt and work with the soil underneath. 5. Find out how many teachers would like to participate with their class. It will take a small amount of time to coordinate parents and community volunteers to help teach gardening to the students. 6. If possible, build a raised bed for each classroom that participates. Otherwise find a way to divide the space so that everyone can work without disturbing gardens belonging to other classes. 7. Plan a community workday to build your raised beds and get the soil ready for planting. There are many tasks included in planning a workday. Some of the most important are: z Publicity z Refreshments and drinking water z Tools (shovels, trowels, garbage bags, wheel barrels and rakes) z Construction supplies z Crew manager 8. Training of volunteers. Volunteers need to: z Be available during the school day for a few hours every week. z Be able to attend training sessions or have experience teaching children and gardening. Adapted from: Gardening Angels, A School Start-Up Guide: Easy Steps to Building a Sustainable School Garden Program in Florida. Developed by: Florida Department of Education, Office of Food and Nutrition Management and Office of Healthy Schools. cshp/pdf/gardeningangels.pdf Resources Florida Department of Education School Gardens, org/bii/cshp/schoolgar.asp Florida Agriculture in the Classroom, Inc., 3

4 Hummus Pizza Roll Serving Size: 1 each Number of Portions: 24 This wrap is a different spin on an old favorite. This whole wheat wrap, filled with spicy hummus, cheese and vegetables is sure to be a favorite for all - including vegetarians! This recipe was Bridgewater Middle School s (Orange County Public Schools) entry in the USDA s Recipes for Healthy Kids competition. Hummus pounds cups Pizza sauce, thick 13 ounces cup Oregano, dried 3 4 ounce 1 4 cup Red pepper flakes 1 5 ounce 1 tablespoon Whole wheat tortillas, 6 inch pounds 24 each (at least 0.9 ounce each) Ingredients Weight Measures Instructions Mozzarella cheese, low-fat, shredded 8 ounces 2 cups Selection of vegetables: Spinach 1 ounce 1 cup Carrots, shredded ounces cup Red pepper, diced ounces 1 cup Mushrooms, sliced ounces 1 cup Broccoli, florets ounces cup 1. Mix hummus, pizza sauce and spices together. The mixture should be smooth and still thick. 2. Spread No. 10 scoop ( 1 4 cup) hummus mixture on flat whole wheat flour tortilla, leaving inches around the edges. 3. Sprinkle 1 8 cup mozzarella cheese evenly around. Top with 1 4 cup vegetables. 4. To roll, fold in sides and roll. Cut in half on bias. CCP: Cool to 41 F or lower within 4 hours. Cover. Refrigerate until service. 1 roll provides 1 ounce of meat/meat alternate, 1 4 cup of vegetable and 1 servings of grains/breads Nutrients per serving Calories 212 Saturated Fat 1.8 g Iron 2.1 mg Protein 7.9 g Cholesterol 5.6 mg Calcium mg Carbohydrate g Vitamin A 1823 IU Sodium 298 mg Total Fat 7.9 g Vitamin C 18.6 mg Dietary Fiber 4.3 g Source: Adapted from Orange County Public Schools For additional recipes: USDA recipes for schools. University, MS: Author. USDA recipes for child care. University, MS: Author. 4

5 Roasted Fish Crispy Slaw Wrap Serving Size: 1 each Number of Portions: 24 A crunchy taste delight! A pleasing combination of colors and textures, this Roasted Fish Crispy Slaw Wrap overflows with fresh vegetables, spicy fish, and a burst of citrus all contained in a whole grain tortilla, with fresh avocado providing the bow. This recipe from Liberty Middle School (Orange County Public Schools) was a finalist in the USDA s Recipe for Healthy Kids competition. Cabbage slaw: Carrots, shredded 12 ounces cups Green cabbage, shredded 12 ounces 5 cups Red cabbage, shredded 12 ounces 5 cups Bok choy, julienne 6 ounces cups Cilantro, fresh, chopped 1 2 cup Balsamic dressing 18 ounces cups Taco seasoning 1 ounce 4 tablespoons Olive oil 5 ounces 1 2 cup, 2 tablespoons Frozen Tilapia, 4 ounce portions 6 pounds 24 each Whole wheat tortillas, 6 inch pounds 24 each (at least 0.9 ounce each) Ingredients Weight Measures Instructions Romaine lettuce, chopped 14 ounces 6 cups Avocado, fresh, peeled and sliced 6 ounces each Lime, fresh, cut into 16 wedges 5 ounces each *1. To make cabbage slaw: mix together carrots, white cabbage, red cabbage, bok choy, cilantro and balsamic dressing. CCP: Cool to 41 F or lower within 4 hours. Cover. Refrigerate until service. 2. Sprinkle taco seasoning and olive oil on fish (tilapia). Place on baking sheet with pan liner. 3. Bake at 375 F in a conventional oven for 12 minutes until internal temperature reaches 145 F. Fish should flake easily with a fork. CCP: Heat to 145 F or higher for at least 15 seconds. CCP: Hold for hot service at 135 F or higher. 4. Assemble each wrap: Lay whole wheat tortilla on the wrap paper. Put 1 4 cup chopped romaine on whole wheat tortilla. Cut one piece tilapia in half place on top of lettuce. Put 1 2 cup cabbage slaw on top of fish. Place 1 slice avocado on top of slaw mixture. Squeeze 1 lime wedge on top of mixture. Roll wrap, cut in half on bias. 1 wrap provides ounces of meat/meat alternate, 3 4 cup of vegetable and 1 servings of grains/breads Nutrients per serving Calories 150 Saturated Fat 1.0 g Iron 0.8 mg Protein 12.5 g Cholesterol 27 mg Calcium 20.7 mg Carbohydrate 9.8 g Vitamin A 1557 IU Sodium 211 mg Total Fat 6.7 g Vitamin C 10.7 mg Dietary Fiber 1.5 g Source: Adapted from Orange County Public Schools *When working with raw meat, poultry and fish, use separate cutting boards to prevent cross contamination with produce. For additional recipes: USDA recipes for schools. University, MS: Author. USDA recipes for child care. University, MS: Author. 5

6 Fruit Spring Roll Serving Size: 1 each Number of Portions: 24 This recipes was developed by the students at Wolf Lake Elementary (Orange County Public Schools) with the guidance of the chef and school nutrition manager. It is a fun, flavorful way to serve fruits. Ingredients Weight Measures Instructions Strawberries, small dice ounces 2 cups Honeydew melon, small dice 1 pound cups Cantaloupe, small dice 1 pound 3 cups Pineapple, small dice 1 pound cups Mint leaves, fresh, torn small 1 tablespoon Rice paper or spring roll wrapper 10 ounces 24 pieces Yogurt, lowfat 6 pounds 3 quarts 1. Wash all fruit with running water. Core strawberries and peel melons and pineapple using sanitized work surfaces and knives. Cut fruit into a small dice. Mix all fruit and mint in bowl. 2. Prepare a bowl of warm ( F) water to soak rice paper. 3. Soak paper one sheet at a time until it softens but still pliable. 4. Place ¼ cup of fruit mix on the rice paper sheet on one end. Roll the paper over the fruit mix. Tuck sides over and continue to roll. Keep the roll tight. 5. Let roll rest for a minute before cutting on bias. CCP: Cool to 41 F or lower within 4 hours. Cover. Refrigerate until service. 6. Serve with 1 ounce yogurt for dipping. Nutrients per serving 1 wrap provides 1 ounce meat/meat alternate and 1 4 cup of fruit. Calories 137 Saturated Fat 1.2 g Iron 0.3 mg Protein 8.0 g Cholesterol 7.4 mg Calcium mg Carbohydrate 22.1 g Vitamin A IU Sodium 102 mg Total Fat 2.2 g Vitamin C 27.6 mg Dietary Fiber 0.8 g Source: Adapted from Orange County Public Schools. This project has been funded at least in part with Federal funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service through an agreement with the National Food Service Management Institute at The University of Mississippi. The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. government. The University of Mississippi is an EEO/AA/TitleVI/Title IX/Section 504/ADA/ADEA Employer. In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color national origin, sex, age, or disability. To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights; Room, 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC or call (202) (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. 2011, National Food Service Management Institute, The University of Mississippi Except as provided below, you may freely use the text and information contained in this document for non-profit or educational use providing the following credit is included Suggested Reference Citation: National Food Service Management Institute. (2011). Cooks for kids: Chefs move to schools. University, MS: Author. The photographs and images in this document may be owned by third parties and used by The University of Mississippi under a licensing agreement. The University cannot, therefore, grant permission to use these images. For more information, please contact nfsmi@olemiss.edu. 6