Pub. 2 2012-2013 Issue 1

18 T en years ago, I was excited to bring four of my six children to a new charter school that taught curriculum we liked. While volunteering in the lunchroom one day, I was horrified to see some of the lunches brought from home. The majority of lunches were lacking in at least two food groups. Soda pop, candy, and other sugary drinks were everywhere. The only drops of milk were dripping from the chins of my children! Children were eating leftovers and meat sandwiches from lunch bags sitting at room temperature for more than four hours. I imagined a school with high absenteeism due to what parents thought was the flu, but was actually food poisoning. Sadly, some children had no lunch at all! I saw children having difficulty learning, and struggling to pay attention at school because basic nutritional needs were not being met. We teach by example. Our behavior and food offerings need to be consistent with what we teach in the classroom. I knew I had to do something. This article provides a brief summary of things I learned as we created a great child nutrition program at Freedom Preparatory Academy. These general recommendations will help you navigate the challenge of creating a model program. More specific information is provided in the resources cited as well as online at http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/ lunch/. If you learn nothing else from this article, learn to seek the advice of experts. Asking questions will help you avoid costly mistakes. One of your most important allies is the health inspector from your local health department. They really want you to know what you are doing, so they don’t mind you asking questions. Their office usually has printed material which will answer most of your questions about food establishment requirements in your county and in the state. The first thing you should do is contact the State Office of Education Child Nutrition Programs (in Utah, go to http://www. schools.utah.gov/cnp/ for contact information). Tell them what you intend to do. They will provide an application and informa- tion on what is required. They also provide several trainings throughout the year to assist you along the way. The ones offered at the beginning of the year in August are especially valuable. It is very important to follow the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) guidelines as they help assure a high quality program. It is worth the work because it provides reasonably priced or free nutritious meals to students, especially to those from low-income families that would not have a good meal otherwise. The financial help in meal reimbursements and commodity foods is critical to your success. An efficient way to take advantage of the NSLP is to contract with another nearby school that already operates a successful program. They may be able to provide your lunches while you ramp up your program. You can learn by watching them. If that is not possible, my advice is to start small with regard to the menu. Plan a 4 week cycle menu that you repeat every month until you get your feet on the ground. If that is too much to tackle at first, then do a 2 week cycle for awhile. Don’t try to get fancy at first. Focus on providing nutritious meals that taste good and are visually appealing. Be sure you offer fresh BY APRIL DEAN, PH.D., R.D. How to Create a GREAT CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAM at Your School Our behavior and food offerings need to be consistent with what we teach in the classroom.