Tom Horne Superintendent of Public Instruction Providing the latest dish on School Health and Nutrition News and Information Volume 3, April 2006 “Scoops” is published quarterly by the Arizona Department of Education, School Health and Nutrition Team 2005 North Central Ave Phoenix, Arizona (602) 542-8700 ade.az.gov/health-safety/ cnp/ Mary Szafranski Deputy Associate Superintendent Patricia Johnson RD SFNS Scoops Editor Professional Development Training Coordinator Katrina Klatt RD SFNS CRE Coordinator Kacey Frey RD SFNS SMI Coordinator Traci Grgich RD FSMC/ School Breakfast Coordinator Lynn Ladd RD SFNS STEPS Grant Coordinator Nicholas Dunford NSLP Training Coordinator Special Milk Program Crystal Kalahar Welcome Assistance Coordinator Afterschool Snack Program Mat McCarty RD Team Nutrition Grant Coordinator Cara Peczkowski RD HACCP/Food Safety Coordinator Nicole Anderson RD Special Assistance Coordinator Erin Yde RD Well Street Journal Editor Fruit & Vegetable Program Breann Westmore Health Standards & Physical Activity Coordinator Jackie Wilson Program & Project Specialist Genevieve Tapia-Marin Administrative Assistant Third Annual Summer Food Kick Off Event for Arizona The Arizona Department of Education was pleased to present the third annual Summer Food Service Program Kick Off event on March 22nd. We expanded our kick off event to include more attendees and moved our location to a larger venue; the Mesa Conference Center. The focus of this years kick off event was outreach to various non-profit organizations. We started off the morning with a presentation from Catholic Charities of Arizona. Four presenters representing various aspects of this non-profit organization spoke on programs they offer to meet the needs of Arizona children. Ron Friesen, Lead Counselor provided an overview of the agency programs. Pat Gillem, Volunteer Coordinator Refugee Resettlement, Michael Floreth, Immigration Case Worker and Soledad de La Rosa, Administrative Assistant for Foster Care Services rounded out this panel. Representatives from the Boys and Girls Club of Arizona also detailed how the summer food service program is intertwined with their organization. It’s important to realize that many non profits administer to the same audience as the sponsors of the Summer Food Service Program and they are often an untapped resource of information and potential sites for summer feeding. After hearing from our first non-profit organization, the 2005 USDA Sunshine Award winners from the State of Arizona, Anthony Bruno, Amado Community Food Bank, in southern Arizona and Johnny Hollister, Kayenta Unified School District, in northern Arizona shared the secrets of their success that lead them to national recognition. We strongly encourage all our sponsors to nominate themselves for the 2006 Desert Oasis Awards and get the recognition you rightly deserve. Check out the nomination criteria on the Summer Food website: www.ade.az.gov/health-safety/cnp/sfp/ Tamera Zivic, Ph.D., Executive Director of WHEAT, whose mission is to educate, advocate, motivate and empower individuals to action in the fight against hunger further inspired the audience to participate in the Summer Food Service Program. Dr. Zivic works diligently to bridge the gap between social service agencies and faith-based organizations in the fight against hunger. As USDA Secretary Mike Johanns said “As part of the President’s Faith Based and Community Initiative, USDA is partnering with faith based and community organizations to alleviate hunger and build strong communities.” The final part of the day highlighted the Simplified Summer Food Service Program. Tim Thole, USDA Western Regional Office provided insight into the creation of the newly awarded Simplified Summer Food Program to the State of Arizona. He recognized the wonderful job that all of you are doing to meet the nutritional needs of children in the summer. Since the Simplified Summer Food Program is a new one for our state, we invited the Idaho Department of Education to come and share their success stories with our sponsors and provide some insight into this exciting new program that truly does simplify the Summer Food Service Program. Lynda Westphal, Idaho Department of Education, provided information from the state agency perspective and Michelle Esterline a summer food sponsor from the Nampa School District in Idaho talked about how the simplified program affected her department in a positive way. We thank all of you who took the time to come and join us for our Summer Food Kick Off event. Whether you were able to join us for this informative day or not, we hope all of you have a successful summer feeding program. Circulate to: ❑ Principal ❑ School Nurse ❑ Business Manager ❑ Health Teacher ❑ Kitchen staff ❑ Secretary/Bookkeeper Higher Plate Waste linked to sales of Competitive food items Laying the Foundation for a Successful HACCP Program in School Foodservice A recent study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that food preparation methods and competitive food item purchases influence plate waste by sixth-graders. Sixth graders at three middle schools in Frankfort, Kentucky participated in the study. In the spring of 2002, plate waste from 369 sixth graders was collected and measured. The procedure was repeated again in the fall of 2002 with 374 new sixth graders. Students were required to purchase school lunch before purchasing competitive items such as sweet snacks, salty snacks and other beverages (fruit flavored drinks, sports drinks, and teas). Ninety-two percent of the food items purchased were from the school lunch menu. The rest of the food items were competitive foods. The study found that students who purchased competitive foods along with the school lunch had higher plate waste than those who only purchased the school lunch. The impact was greatest on plate waste of fruits and mixed dishes such as tacos, spaghetti, and sandwiches. They also found that food preparation had an impact on plate waste. Fresh whole fruit such as apples and oranges had more waste than prepared fruit such as applesauce and canned fruit. Mashed potatoes had less waste than oven-heated French-fried potatoes. Results of this study suggest that competitive foods served during mealtime have a negative impact on the amount of plate waste from school lunch meals. Involvement in the foodservice industry demands critical awareness from directors and employees concerning food safety. According the US General Accounting Office, school-related foodborne illness outbreaks increased about 10% per year in the 1990’s. The goal of school foodservice is to produce quality food, which is defined as “food that is selected, prepared, and served in a way so that it retains its natural flavor and identity, is nutritious and is free of unsafe bacteriological or chemical contaminations” (1). One way of insuring procedures are in place to decrease the risk of foodborne illness is to have a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) Program. The National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods defined HACCP as a management system which addresses food safety through analysis and control of biological, chemical, and physical hazards from raw material production, procurement and handling, to manufacturing, distribution, and consumption of the finished product. According to an article published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association in 2003, 70% of school foodservice directors did not have a comprehensive HACCP program in place (1). Data was compiled via mailing questionnaires to a national random sample of 600 district foodservice directors. 35% of the directors responded to the survey, two thirds of which had food safety certification. HACCP programs were implemented in 22% of the school districts. The level of the foodservice managers’ sanitation knowledge, certification, sanitation training program availability, sanitation practices, and size (number of breakfasts and lunches served daily) had a positive impact on HACCP utilization. Those directors without sanitation knowledge and certification had kitchens with a higher incidence of poor personal hygiene practices along with inadequate time and temperature results (1). The results of the study illustrate that more managers and employees need to become certified in food safety. Even though nearly 75% of directors are certified in food safety, the number of managers and employees who are certified are significantly lower. This is a clear indication of the need to implement basic food safety training and certification for all levels of school foodservice employees (1). The study also found those districts that involved employees in the implementation of HACCP programs were more successful in proper food safety principles (1). A critical part in laying the foundation for a school food safety plan is to ensure all foodservice employees are adequately trained in basic food safety knowledge. The USDA has developed a curriculum specifically for school food safety called Serving It Safe. For the upcoming 2006-2007 school year, ADE will offer three Serving It Safe training sessions. Attendees of the course will take part in a two-day training and have an opportunity to become a certified food safety manager by taking a test from the National Registry for Food Safety Professionals (NRFSP) on the second day of this course. Marlettt M, Templeton S, Panemangalore M. Food Type, Food Preparation, and Competitive Food Purchases Impact School Lunch Plate Waste by Sixth-Grade Students. J Am Diet Assoc. 2005;105:1779-1782. 2 Serving it Safe/NRFSP Test Dates for 2006 -2007 school year: August 29-30, 2006 January 30-31, 2007 March 28-29, 2007 Registration for these sessions is available online at www.ade.az.gov/ onlineregistration. For more information, please see the 2006-2007 Comprehensive Workshop Brochure and visit the ADE food safety website at: www.ade.az.gov/ health-safety/cnp/nslp/Operating/ foodsafety/default.asp Reference: 1. Youn S., Sneed J. Implementation of HACCP and prerequisite programs in school foodservice. Journal of The American Dietetic Association. 2003;103:55-60. Arizona Nutrition Standards Assist Schools in Wellness Policy Development With the end of the 2005-2006 school year coming to a close, ADE would like to remind all schools of the local wellness policy regulation. It is required that all schools have a local wellness policy in place by July 1, 2006. For information on local wellness policies, please visit our website at https://www.ade.az.gov/ health-safety/cnp/nslp/Operating/Wellness/. In addition to our website, the School Health Index is a great tool to help your school implement a comprehensive health policy. It can help your school address all issues relating to school wellness. For more information on School Health Index you may visit http:// www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/. The Arizona Nutrition Standards (ANS) were released in January and are available on our website. These standards are a great first step in your school’s wellness policy. The following are areas of school health that are not covered under ANS: • Classroom parties • Foods provided by teachers as incentives or rewards at the K-8 level • All high school vending, a la carte, fundraisers and school events • Nutrition education • Physical education This is where the local wellness policy comes into play by allowing the development of district guidelines that go above and beyond the ANS. The wellness policy provides a way for your school to improve nutrition in all areas of the school, not just with a la carte, vending, and school stores. Additionally, these standards only apply to grades K-8, but can easily be incorporated in all grades within your district. The ADE will conduct trainings on the ANS during the A+ School Lunch Trainings. Additionally, 4 individual trainings specifically on the ANS will be held in July and August to allow those sponsors who would like more information on the nutrition standards but do not need to attend the entire A+ School Lunch Workshop. To assist schools with the ANS, ADE has developed a tool titled Arizona’s Healthier Snack Wheel. This tool will help schools determine if a snack item meets the ANS. ADE is pleased that Arizona is on the cutting edge of child nutrition and we would like to thank all of our sponsors for their support and dedication to improving the health of Arizona’s children. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Are YOUR Schools Up for the Challenge? With obesity as a growing concern for school children in the United States many schools have already made changes to their school nutrition environments, improved the quality of the foods served, and now provide students with more nutritious choices. If you feel that your school(s) has made these changes the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) encourage you to Take the Challenge! The HealthierUS Schools Challenge was developed by USDA to encourage schools to go further and to recognize those who chose to do so. FNS has developed an application packet and instructions that detail the criteria that must be met. The application requests specific information to verify a school’s adherence to the criteria. The school’s completed application packet must be evaluated by a local review panel and endorsed by the school’s leadership, including its principal. The school’s application packet should then be sent to ADE. ADE will evaluate and forward the application packet to the USDA FNS Regional Office. Take the Challenge! By following these steps: ❤ Download the application packet ❤ Convene a review panel ❤ Complete the review ❤ Obtain the required approvals and signatures ❤ Submit the completed application to ADE For more information about the HealthierUS School Challenge and to obtain a copy of the Application visit: www.fns.usda.gov/tn/HealthierUS/index.html. Commodity Update In an effort to help schools meet the new guidelines for increased fiber and whole grains from USDA, whole wheat flour (B351) and brown rice (B545) will be offered next year with general allocations. Recipes are available on our website (http:/ /www.ade.az.gov/health-safety/ cnp/fdp/resourceslinks.asp) that utilize these commodities. We hope to add more recipes and ideas to the NSLP & Food Distribution websites in the near future to assist schools with meal planning with these commodities that are higher in fiber. The surplus list is available to anyone interested. If you are short enough items to make your minimum order you can use the list to help fill minimum delivery requirements. To receive a copy please call ANY member of the Food Distribution team listed below. We will fax you a list and you can fax it back to us with your requested items. Items will then be allocated to you according to fair share; we do not place them on an order for you. It is your responsibility to place the items on an order after we have allocated them to you. As the 2005-06 school year comes to an end, we would like to remind you to order your commodities out as soon as you can in an effort to move the inventory out before the end of the school year. The last shipments from USDA will arrive in April. The last of the orders will be shipped out by U.S. Foodservice the week of May 29th, so keep that in mind when placing your orders. If you have any items that you cannot use or if you are looking for an item, please give us a call and we may be able to help. Tina Herzog, Program Director 602-542-8781 Leona Benally, Processing Specialist 602-364-1965 Dawn Irvin, Processing Specialist 602-364-0714 Barbara Lado, Program & Project Specialist 602-542-8721 Danielle Bowman, Administrative Assistant 3 602-542-8729 The Safety and Nutrition Content of Foods Served in the Classroom Important Reminders! If your school operates with a Food Service Management Company (FSMC) you will need to submit a contract amendment for the 06-07 school year before the end of your current contract year. Failure to submit a timely amendment may delay the approval of your application and receipt of federal reimbursement. If you have any questions about the contract renewal process please visit our website: http:// www.ade.az.gov/health-safety/ cnp/nslp/Operating/ FSMCsteps.asp. In addition, if the 06/07 school year is the last year of your FSMC contract and you want to go out for bid again or if you are currently self operating and considering outsourcing your food service then you will need to attend one of the mandatory training dates to learn more about the approval and submission process. The first training is scheduled for August 31, 2006. For more information on training dates visit our web site: http://www.ade.az.gov/ onlineregistration/. Finally, if your school operates with a caterer you must submit a new contract to our office before the end of your current contract year. Failure to submit a timely contract may delay the approval of your application and receipt of federal reimbursement. If you have any questions about the contract renewal process please visit our website: http:// www.ade.az.gov/health-safety/ cnp/nslp/Operating/ obtainingcaterer.asp. If you have any questions about the procurement or contract process please contact the Health and Nutrition Administrative Services Officer, Brian Walsh at (602) 542-6208 or Brian.Walsh@azed.gov Many teachers, students, and parents often entertain the idea of celebration in the classroom. The celebration may be focused on student accomplishments, birthdays, holidays, or even for just plain old fun with teaching and learning. Whatever the case may be, serving food to the students is a common practice during the classroom-based celebrations. Consider who typically provides food for these functions and how or where this food is prepared. Many times foods are homemade by a parent or teacher or purchased from a store or restaurant and then brought into the classroom. Have you ever given any thought to the safety of the food served or its nutritional content? This is a matter of unintentional and accidental contamination (physical or chemical) of food, the development of food-borne illness and the associated risks. The legalities and liabilities related to serving students food prepared from parents’ homes vary from case to case. Learning about this issue and taking precautions to prevent any negative outcomes of events intended to be celebrations is a good policy. In order to minimize risk and help keep the school and parent’s liability to a minimum, here are a few ideas to keep food safe (and healthy) for classroom parties. • When planning a classroom party, involve the school food service department for food preparation and ask for healthier food choices. Many food service departments have access to Nutrient Data Bases and are educated in providing nutritious snacks and meals to kids. Most food service employees have also had formal food safety education, training, and certification. • For classroom parties, avoid serving food prepared in someone’s home. Instead, obtain foods from licensed food production facilities, such as the school cafeteria. • If food is ordered or acquired from licensed food production facilities or vendors, follow procedures to ensure food is safe and does not place students at-risk for food borne illness. Do not be afraid to ask for nutrient information on the foods and make your selection accordingly. • Incorporate food safety education for children prior to serving food at classroom parties. There are many food safety and hand washing education kits for teachers and students. Resources are available at the Team Nutrition website: www.fns.usda.gov/tn and from the National Food Service Management Institute: www.nfsmi.org. One final tip from the Arizona Department of Education: As you are working on the development of your school wellness policy, consider including policies related to classroom parties. Items to consider include addressing what should be done to ensure foods offered in the classroom are safe and healthy for kids. Congratulations to Lynn Ladd and her husband on the birth of their daughter. Sarah Elizabeth weighed in at 8.3 lbs and 21 inches and was born on March 30th. 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