How to Succeed in Taking the Healthier US School Challenge (HUSSC)

1. How to Succeed in Taking the HealthierUSSchool Challenge (HUSSC) October 21, 2010 Montana Team Nutrition www.opi.mt.gov/Programs/SchoolPrograms/School_Nutrition/index.html

2. Goals for this session • Participants understand the three basic criteria required to apply for a HealthierUS School Challenge Award • lunch and competitive foods criteria; • physical education and activity; • nutrition education • Participants are motivated to apply for a HUSSC award. • Participants feel comfortable with the application process.

3. What Do We Know AboutChildren’s Wellbeing? Obesity Rates: Children Ages 6-11 6.5% in 1980 19.6% in 2008 Adolescents Ages 12 – 19 5% in 1980 18.1% in 2008

4. What Do We Know AboutChildren’s Wellbeing? Food/Nutritional Intake: Key nutrients, like calcium, iron, zinc, and fiber and often lacking in children’s diets 40% of a child’s daily calories are from added fat and added sugar Physical Activity Levels: Decrease as children increase in age <60% of Montana teens report participating in moderately vigorous physical activity on a regular basis

6. What is the HealthierUS School Challenge? • USDA initiative to improve student health and well-being • School commitment to providing students with a healthy school environment Visit the HUSSC web site at: http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/HealthierUS/index.html

7. Howdoes it work? • Voluntary program for elementary and secondary schools • Schools must meet or exceed criteria • Apply for Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Gold Award of Distinction • Certified for 4 years • National recognition and prestige

8. What are the 5 Basic Criteria? Be enrolled as a Team Nutrition School Offer reimbursable lunches that demonstrate healthy menu planning practices and meet USDA nutrition standards Maintain required levels of Average Daily Participation (ADP) in the Lunch Program Bronze Level: No required ADP for All Schools Silver Level: 60% for Elem/Middle School and 45% for High Schools Gold Level: 70% for Elementary/Middle Schools, and 65% for High Schools

9. More Basic Criteria 4. Meet or exceed menu criteria established for School lunches and Competitive foods and beverages. 5. Provide students with: Nutrition education, Physical education (PE) or Health Enhancement and Physical activity opportunities (PA)

10. Are we a TEAM Nutrition school? • Go to the Team Nutrition website to find out. http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/ • On the left hand side, click Join the Team, then Schools Database, then Search. • Search for your school by entering in your zip code. • You may need to sign up or UPDATE your current info. Use enrollment form.

11. Who needs to be involved? A school-based review team of at least: School foodservice manager and district-level foodservice director Team Nutrition School Leader Parent organization representative (e.g., PTA/PTO) School nurse, Coordinated School Health staff, Physical Education (PE) or classroom teacher Principal or other administrator Visit the HUSSC web site at: http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/HealthierUS/index.html

12. The Application Process Elementary or secondary levels Simplified on-line application or Hard copy application School or district level applications available Start at the Bronze Level and work your way up Receive monetary incentives Give time to implement changes in food, education or physical activity programs http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/HealthierUS/index.html

13. Why should our school apply? • Be a Wellness Champion • Gain recognition • Receive an award plaque, monetary awards, banner, and community recognition Lolo School Our First Winner

14. Menu Criteria for School Meals Competitive Foods Ala carte Offerings in Cafeteria, Vending Machines, Snack Bars, and Student Stores Lunch Menus +

15. Menu Criteria-Making the Healthy Choice the Easy Choice Meal Components Milk Meat/Protein Fruits/Veggies Grains/Breads

16. Menu Criteria - MILK • Offer only low-fat (1%) or fat-free (skim) milk • Low-fat or fat free Flavored Milk is Allowable

17. More whole-grain products Offer a variety of whole-grain products (not the same one each day) Silver/Bronze: A serving three times a week Gold Level: A serving each day Menu Criteria - GRAINS

18. What is a Whole Grain? • Whole grains consist of the entire seed or kernel. (Bran, germ and endosperm) • Whole grains have more nutrients, more fiber. • See Attachment A for a list of common Whole Grains • Don’t be fooled by names/claims on packaging or by color of the product • Only way to tell if true whole grain is to read the label!

19. Identifying Whole Grains Activity • Blue sheet • Find a partner and complete this page together. (Use Attachment A.)

20. Must offer 1 serving of Whole Grain • Make sure the whole grain which you are serving equals 1 Grain/Bread serving as defined by the USDA Food Buying Guide. • ½ cup rice, pasta, cooked cereal • 1 oz (25 grams) bread, rolls, buns, tortillas, tortilla chips, crackers http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/resources/FBG_Section_3-GrainsBreads.pdf

21. Documentation of Whole Grain products for the HUSSC Whole Grains foods that meet the HUSSC criteria are divided into 2 groups: • Group A: food products with whole grain as the primary ingredient by weight(A whole grain is listed first in the ingredient list.) • Group B: food products with whole grains as the primary grain ingredient by weight (The total weight of the whole grains is more than the weight of the primary grain ingredient. Whole grain is not listed first in the ingredient list.) Group A whole grain products must be offered the majority of the time (3 of 5 days for Gold, 2 of 3 for Bronze/Silver)

22. 2 Types of Whole Grains for HUSSC • Group A: Whole grain listed first in the ingredient list. Good to go. • Group B: Need to prove that the product contains more whole grains (by weight) than the rest of the grain ingredients. ≥51% of the grains in the product need to be whole grain. Use Attachment B

23. Evaluating Whole Grain Product Ingredient Statements • The next blue sheet • Work with your partner to complete this sheet. • Compare bread recipes • Whole grain product labels

24. Make it Simple • Purchase products which have a whole grain listed first in the ingredient list. OR • Prepare whole grain recipes so that whole grains comprise at least 51% of the total grains in the recipe.

25. Offer a different vegetable each day of the week Of these five vegetables, three must be dark green or orange Menu Criteria -- Vegetables Minimum serving = ¼ cup

26. Review and Practice Dark Green and Orange Veggies • Review the green veggie sheet. • Matching vegetable subgroups activity sheet.

27. Menu Criteria – MEAT/PROTEIN Minimum serving = ¼ cup A serving of cooked dry beans or peas must be offered each week Using dry peas and beans (LEGUMES)

28. Menu Criteria - FRUIT Juice can only be counted once per week • Offer a different fruit each day of the week • Fresh Fruit must be offered weekly 1/week – Bronze/Silver 2/week – Gold Level Minimum serving = ¼ cup

29. Your Favorite Menus Can Meet the Criteria with… Simple Modifications • Add beans (1/4 cup/serving) to the taco meat recipe • Substitute a whole grain or corn tortilla for a white tortilla

30. Menu Practices • Every child should have the opportunity to select a reimbursable meal that meet the Challenge criteria.

31. Menus with Multiple Choices Entrée (select 1) Chili (beef/bean) with Whole Grain Cinnamon Roll Chef Salad (spinach/iceberg lettuce) with Whole Grain Bread Stick Sides (select 1 or more) Fresh Orange Smiles Romaine Lettuce Salad Apple Sauce (or offer the grains/breads as a side and have them pick one item. At least one of the choices to be a whole grain.) Milk (select 1) 1% White and Chocolate Milk Fat-free White Milk

32. Sample HUSSC Cycle Menu Yellow Highlighted Items = Whole Grain Servings Green Font =Vegetables, Green Font =Vegetables Red Font = Fruit Choices Circle the legumes

33. Menu Planning Tips • Offer a variety of whole grains (not the same one each day) • Offset cost of whole grains and F/V with effective use of USDA foods • Recommend 2 from scratch entrees/week • Use resources like Healthier Kansas Menus, USDA recipes, sample menus from Montana’s award-winning schools. http://www.kn-eat.org/SNP/SNP_Menus/SNP_Resources_Healthier_Kansas_Menus.htm

34. Menu Planning Tips • Salad bar several times/week or daily can help meet the dark green/orange veggies. • Look closely at whole grain product labels and work with vendors to find products that qualify.

35. Let’s look at your menus 1. Choose an application (located in back pocket of folder.) Bronze/Silver OR Gold/Gold Distinction 2. Turn to the Lunch menu worksheets. 3. Pencil in the worksheets 4. It may be helpful to color-code your menus first.

36. Menu Criteria for Competitive Foods Foods offered in Ala carte Offerings in Cafeteria, Vending Machines, Snack Bars, and Student Stores

37. When Must Meet Competitive Foods CriteriaA la carte, vending, snack bar, school store Second or extra servings of NSLP entrée or main dish are exempt! • Bronze/Silver • during meal periods in all foodservice areas • Gold/Gold Award of Distinction • throughout the school day, throughout the school campus

38. Competitive Foods Criteria A la carte, vending, snack bar, school store Foods and beverages must meet specific levels for the following nutrients: • Total Fat, Saturated Fat and Trans Fat • Sugar, and • Sodium • Calories (portion size)

39. Competitive Foods Criteria A la carte, vending, snack bar, school store Second or extra servings of NSLP entrée or main dish are exempt! • Total fat • At or below 35% calories from total fat (nuts, seeds, nut butters and reduced-fat cheese is exempt) • Saturated fat • Less than 10% calories (reduced-fat cheese is exempt) • Trans fat • Less than .5 grams per serving • Sugar • Under or equal to 35% sugar by weight (fruits and vegetables are exempt)

40. Competitive Foods Criteria A la carte, vending, snack bar, school store Second or extra servings of NSLP entrée or main dish are exempt! *Elementary schools that offer more PE (150 minutes) can follow the sodium levels for the other awards and still receive the Gold Award of Distinction. Middle and high schools must meet the lower sodium levels in order to receive the Gold Award of Distinction. Sodium • Bronze/Silver/Gold • ≤ 480 mg per non-entrée, ≤ 600 per entrée • Gold Award of Distinction* • ≤ 200 mg per non-entrée, ≤ 480 per entrée • Portion size/Calories • Not to exceed NSLP portion or 200 calories

41. Competitive Beverages CriteriaA la carte, vending, snack bar, school store • Milk • Only low-fat and fat-free • Limit to maximum serving size of 8 fluid ounces • Juice • 100% full strength with no sweeteners • Limit to maximum serving size of 6 fluid ounces for elementary and middle schools and 8 fluid ounces for high schools • Water • Unflavored, non-carbonated, caffeine-free, no sweeteners

42. Let’s Practice Evaluating Competitive Foods http://www.teamnutrition.usda.gov/HealthierUS/index.html

43. Resources • Great Falls Public School District’s Approved Food Program • Healthier Montana Menu Challenge suggested list of a la carte foods http://www.gfps.k12.mt.us/DistrictInformation/Wellness/Approvedfood.htm http://www.opi.mt.gov/pdf/schoolfood/healthyMT/Alacartefoodslist.pdf

44. Nutrition Education Criteria Free materials available fromwww.teamnutrition.usda.gov Nutrition Education for elementary school must: • Be offered to at least half of the grade levels in the school • Be integrated into classroom instruction • Use multiple channels of communication such as in the classroom, cafeteria, and at home

45. Nutrition Education Criteria Nutrition Education for middle and high schools must: Be offered to middle school students in at least one grade level as part of required year round instruction. Be offered to high school students in 2 courses required for graduation. Involve multiple channels of communication.

46. Nutrition Education Activities • Health Enhancement, or Family and Consumer Science, or Agricultural Education Curriculums • School Garden Projects • After school Programming • Cafeteria Connections 47

47. Cafeteria Connections Teaching through Menus, Bulletin Boards, Murals and Tasting Activities 48

48. School Wellness Champion HUSSC Silver Level Award Winner Barbara Dykema Parent and School Wellness Committee Member Luther School

49. HUSSC Silver Level Award Winner Explore Tibetan Culture

50. Start filling in your Nutrition Education Worksheet • Continuing in the application, pencil in the nutrition education worksheet. • School Food Service staff jot down your avenues of nutrition education • Bulletin Boards, newsletters, on menus, special meals, etc. • Health Enhancement/School Wellness- jot down which grades and curriculums used