As of summer 2001, at least 12 states are deep-sixing junk foods in schools. Schools face an uphill battle on nutrition education. Commercials promoting junk food seem ubiquitous, and children are spending too many inactive hours watching television. Major challenges include the open-campus lunch period and cash-strapped schools using profits from…

"Satelliting" or transporting food in bulk from one school kitchen or from a factory-like kitchen to smaller schools can help school districts reduce cost, improve efficiency, maintain quality, and standardize products. (MLF)

School food-service programs, endangered by rising costs, would benefit by taking the following steps: (1) improve food quality and presentation; (2) renovate the appearance of cafeterias; (3) enlist cafeteria personnel in reforms and include profit sharing; (4) update management procedures; and (5) cut bureaucracy. (MLF)

The goal of the Offer Versus Serve (OVS) option in the Healthy School Meals Initiative is to minimize plate waste and to encourage more food choices in school meal programs. This manual was designed for child nutrition programs as a tool in helping them meet the Healthy School Meals Initiative, in particular to assist them in identifying a…

Today the National School Lunch Program is serving nutritious meals to nearly 24 million children in about 90,000 schools. Among the measures taken to improve the program are food procurement workshops, recipe card testing, and improvement in commodity purchase selections for schools. (MLF)

A Pennsylvania school district served meals to nearly 80 percent of the students this past year. Student participation was achieved by asking students' opinions, monitoring food quality, redesigning menus, increasing staff morale, providing a pleasant cafeteria atmosphere, and sponsoring nutrition programs. (MLF)

Nutrition integrity ensures that all foods available in schools for children are consistent with recommended dietary allowances and contribute to the development of lifelong, healthy eating habits. Attaining nutrition integrity is the goal of numerous changes in National School Lunch and Breakfast Program regulations. Outlines new federal…

This nutrition education packet provides information to schools setting up healthy school meal programs and nutrition education programs. Team Nutrition schools will involve students, teachers, families, food service personnel, and community organizations in nutrition education activities. The packet contains fact sheets that focus on: the Great…

In a properly designed and implemented central kitchen and commissary, nutrition is retained, student acceptability is high, and cost-effectiveness for the school district is attained. Employee productivity can be increased three or four times the average production rate. (MLF)

This chapter of "Principles of School Business Management" provides an overview of the history, regulation, and administration of school lunch programs and related food services. The historical review discusses factors prompting federal intervention in food programs for school children and cites legislation mandating funding. The chapter then…

School food service should be considered a vital aspect of school operations, not an appendage to the educational program. This handbook revolves around the federal Child Nutrition and National School Lunch program serving about 24 million pupils daily in over 90 percent of the nation's 89,200 public schools. The booklet helps explain various…

This guide is based on the latest federal regulations and meal pattern requirements for the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs. It considers current food production and marketing techniques, packaging methods, grading standards, and changing food habits in the American population. The guide gives average yield information on over 600…

Some children have chronic illnesses that require diet modifications as part of their medical treatment. Advises school districts to hire a registered dietitian or look for resources at a local hospital or public health office. In addition, schools should work with parents, improve staff training, and conduct spot checks of school cafeterias. (MLF)

These guidelines offer recommended topic areas and content for training local-level food service personnel. The recommended topic areas for training school food service directors/supervisors and food service managers are nutrition requirements, menu planning for school meals, procurement, financial management, marketing, food production, program…

Introductions to menu planning I and II--including nutrition requirements for children of all ages--are the subjects of the first two lessons of this Food Service Training Manual. The menu planning system of lesson 3 deals with place and time, as well as with needs for eye appeal and contrast. Lesson 4 is a progress test with answer key for…