Get National Recognition! Achieve

the USDA HealthierUS School

Challenge Smarter Lunchroom

Award!

Debbie Kains, Principal Consultant

Illinois State Board of Education

• Voluntary four-year certification initiative recognizing

excellence in school nutrition and physical activity

• Consistent with school meal pattern requirements

• 4 Award Levels

• Bronze

• Silver

• Gold

• Gold Award of Distinction

USDA Healthier US School Challenge:

Smarter Lunchrooms Award

• Large colorful display banner

• Certificate signed by a USDA official and

mounted on a plaque

• Recognition on the Team Nutrition website

• Monetary incentives

HUSSC: SL Awardees Receive

Benefits for Applying to HUSSC: SL

• Build school spirit and

create positive publicity

through awardees

incentives

• Increase support and

momentum around school

wellness initiatives

• Support the Learning

Connection

• Be a leader in the efforts to

end childhood obesity

Do You Qualify?

Let’s Find Out!

• Schools must:

• Be enrolled as a Team Nutrition School

• Participate in SBP and NSLP

• Serve reimbursable meals that meet USDA nutrition

standards

• Corrective actions completed

• SFA must be certified for additional six cents per meal

reimbursement

General Criteria

Team Nutrition

Provides free

curricula, resource

guides, posters,

parent handouts,

and other resources

Initiative of the

USDA’s Food and

Nutrition Service to

support the Federal

Child Nutrition

Programs

Aims to improve children’s lifelong

eating and physical activity habits

http://teamnutrition.usda.gov @TeamNutrition

• Smarter Lunchrooms Scorecard and Documentation

• Smart Snacks training and advertising criteria are required

• Nutrition Education must include Team Nutrition resources, and

be consistent with the Dietary Guidelines and MyPlate

messages

• Other Criteria of Excellence options added

General Criteria

Smarter Lunchroom (SL) Techniques

Smarter Lunchroom Self-Assessment Scorecard

Smarter Lunchroom (SL) Techniques

Smarter Lunchroom Self-Assessment Scorecard

Criteria for Smart Snacks

All Award Levels

(Bronze, Silver, Gold, Gold Award of Distinction)

• Must meet Smart Snacks in School Nutrition Standards.

• All foods and beverages sold to students during the school

day* meet or exceed the USDA's nutrition standards for all

foods and beverages sold to students

• A la carte, vending, school stores, snack or food carts and any

food-based fundraising

• School follows fundraising exemptions and guidance set by

Illinois State Board of Education (grades K-8= 0, 9-12= 9 per year)

Criteria for Smart Snacks

Bronze/Silver

• Meets Smart Snacks criteria as defined in 7 CFR Parts 210

and 220

• The school offers training on Smart Snacks criteria annually to

all individuals who are involved in the sale of foods to students

on the school campus during the school day.

• The school does not advertise or market foods and beverages

that do not meet Smart Snacks criteria to students.

Criteria for Smart Snacks

Gold

• Meets criteria for Bronze and Silver and

• The school only permits food-related fundraisers that meet

USDA’s Smart Snacks standards, and

• If foods and beverages are sold to students on the school

campus at events outside of the school day, then water,

fruits, and/or vegetables are also offered and promoted as

options.

Criteria for Smart SnacksGold Award of Distinction

• Meets Gold Criteria and

• The majority (greater than 50%) of

school-sponsored fundraising events

conducted outside of the school day

includes only non-food items or only

foods and beverages that meet or exceed

the USDA’s Smart Snacks in School

nutrition standards.

• http://www.fns.usda.gov/best-practices-

healthy-school-fundraisers

Additional Criteria

• Criteria to impact students at

school, home, and in the

community

• Nutrition Education

• Physical Education

• Physical Activity

• Local School Wellness

Policy

• Other Criteria for

Excellence

Nutrition Education – Elementary School

• Elementary School (All Award Levels)

• Provided to all full-day students

• Must incorporate Team Nutrition curricula/materials

• Utilizes multiple channels of communication

• Parents/home

• Classroom

• Cafeteria

Nutrition Education – Middle School

• Middle School

• Bronze/Silver: Offered in at least one grade

• Gold/Gold Award of Distinction: Offered in at least two

grades

• All Award Levels

• Must incorporate latest MyPlate messages

• Must incorporate Team Nutrition curricula/materials

• Utilizes multiple channels of communication

• Parents/home

• Classroom

• Cafeteria

Nutrition Education – High School

• High School (All Award Levels)

• Offered in two courses required for graduation

• Part of structured/systematic unit of instruction within the two

courses

• Must be consistent with DGAs and MyPlate

• Utilizes multiple channels of communication

• Parents/home

• Classroom

• Cafeteria

Physical Education – Elementary School

• Elementary School• Bronze/Silver: Minimum average of 45* min/wk

• Gold: Minimum average of 90* min/wk

• Gold Award of Distinction: Minimum average of 150* min/wk

*Structured physical activity can substitute

for part of PE time requirement

Physical Education – Middle/High School

• Middle School

• For all award levels, structured PE offered to

at least two grades.

• High School

• For all award levels, structured PE offered in

at least two courses.

Physical Activity

• Elementary School (All Award Levels)

• Physical activity opportunities are provided each day for

all full-day students.

• Middle and High School (All Award Levels)

• School provides students in all grades opportunities to

participate in physical activity and promotes

participation.

• For all grades and award levels

• School neither denies nor requires physical activity

as a means of punishment

Wellness Policy Implementation

Local School Wellness Policy

• Submit copy of school’s local wellness policy with

application.

• List three ways school is working to meet local wellness

policy goals.

• Describe how parents, students, school

administration/staff, and community is involved.

• Demonstrate a commitment to prohibit use of food as

a reward.

Criteria for Excellence

• Program Outreach Excellence

• Excellence in School and Community Involvement in Wellness Efforts

• School Food Service Excellence

Criteria Can Be Met from any of the

3 Categories

Criteria for Excellence

14 Options

• Bronze: 2 must be met

• Silver: 4 must be met

• Gold: 6 must be met

• Gold of Distinction: 8 must be met

Criteria for Excellence

Program Outreach Excellence

• Implements innovative practices to increase School Breakfast

Program participation.

• Operates an afterschool program that offers an afterschool

snack or an at-risk afterschool meals component.

• If percentage of free or reduced students is 50% or more,

Summer Food Service Program is available.

• Implements the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP).

Criteria for Excellence

Excellence in School and Community Involvement in

Wellness Efforts

• Provides annual training to before and after school

program staff on physical activity and nutrition.

• All school staff receive annual training on wellness

policies and ways to promote nutrition and physical

activity.

• Partners with one or more community groups or SNAP

Education providers to promote wellness.

Criteria for Excellence

Excellence in School and Community Involvement in

Wellness Efforts, continued

• Students engaged in wellness efforts, have opportunity to

provide input on school food, marketing of school meals,

and physical activity options; Input from students put into

action.

• Informs public on amount of time allotted for eating lunch

and solicits input from students/community on amount of

time adequate for eating lunch.

• Offers an afterschool class, workshop or club for students

or families focused on healthy cooking techniques.

Criteria for Excellence

School Food Service Excellence

• School Food Service Manager is a certified food handler (local

or national certification).

• School Nutrition Program Director meets or exceeds the

minimum education standards required by the Professional

Standards final rule requirements.

• All school nutrition program directors, managers, and staff

meet or exceed the annual continuing education/training hours

required by the Professional Standards final rule requirements.

Criteria for ExcellenceSchool Food Service Excellence, continued

• School is implementing at least one aspect of the Farm to

School initiative (schools may choose one or more):

• Local and/or regional products are incorporated into the

school meal program

• Messages about agriculture and nutrition are reinforced

throughout the learning environment

• School hosts a school garden

• School hosts field trips to local farms

• School utilizes promotions or special events, such as tastings,

that highlight the local/regional products

Criteria for Excellence

School Food Service Excellence, continued

• School has joined the U.S. Food Waste Challenge

Where can I find the application?

http://healthymeals.nal.usda.gov/hsmrs/HUSSC/

Application• One award is given to each school building

• May submit one district-wide application for multiple

schools when:

• Schools offer the same nutrition education practices and/or

• Schools offer the same PE/Physical activity practices and/or

• Schools implement the same wellness policies and practices

• Each school within the district must submit:

• Smarter Lunchroom Self-Assessment Score Card with 2-3 photos

• Other Criteria for Excellence Checklist

Ready to submit? :Submit the application and supporting documentation

electronically (via email to dkains@isbe.net)

WHAT ARE SMARTER LUNCHROOMS?

Eating Choices

• Most food decisions

are influenced by our

environment.

• We eat for:

• Taste

• Convenience

• Appearance

Student Food Choices

• How do we get

adolescents interested in

healthy foods?

–Make healthy foods cool

–Make the healthy choice

the easy choice

–Not through restriction

School Lunch Challenge

• Improve nutritional

content of meals

• Maintain low cost

• Maintain participation

• Encourage long-term

healthy decisions

School Lunch Challenge

• Schools face budget pressure

• Cafeteria sales concerns

• Less healthy items often yield highest profit

• Healthier items are often lowest grossing

• Healthy items often have higher costs

• Kids may simply stop participating if unhealthy options

are eliminated

The Smarter Lunchrooms Movement

• Create environment to nudge individuals to make

a specific choice

• Inexpensive, easy, effective ways to change how

kids eat in school

• You design the lunch room to gently encourage

the decisions you want

Six Principles of Smarter

Lunchrooms

Improve Visibility

Enhance Taste Expectations

Utilize Suggestive

Selling

Manage Portion Sizes

Set Smart Pricing

Strategies

Increase Convenience

Manage Portion Sizes

• Students respond to

dishes and utensils

• Manage condiment

usage

• Squeeze bottles with

smaller openings

• Pre-portioned containers

Set Smart Pricing Strategies

• Using a prepaid system vs. cash

• Use bundle pricing for

healthy items only

• Fruit and yogurt

• Sandwich, veggie sticks,

and chips

Increase Convenience

• Place healthy foods in easy to reach locations

• Place unhealthy foods out of reach

• At the very top or bottom shelves

• Behind healthy items

• Behind the service counters

Increase Convenience

• Combo Meal- rename reimbursable meals

• Grab and Go- create healthy convenience lines

• “Healthy Item” sales increased 35%

Increase Convenience

• White milk sales

increased by 50%

when stacked higher

and more convenient

to reach.

Improve Visibility

• Place at eye level

• Place first in line

• Place in high traffic

areas

• Place in multiple

locations

Enhance Taste Expectations

• Naming

• Use appealing labels to describe food

• Use age-appropriate names

Enhance Taste Expectations

• Packaging/Display

• Use contrasting colors

• Use appealing containers for pre-packaged foods

Enhance Taste Expectations

Utilize Suggestive Selling

• Signs

• Verbal prompts

• Friendly staff increases

sales by 15%.

• Train staff to ask if a

student would like a food.

Smarter Lunchroom Scorecard

Smarter Lunchroom Scorecard

Scorecard – Focus on Fruit

Smarter Lunchroom Principles

Improve Visibility

Increase Convenience

Enhance Taste Expectations

Enhance Taste Expectations

Improve Visibility

Increase Convenience

Improve Visibility

Increase Convenience

Improve Visibility

Increase Convenience

Improve Visibility

Enhance Taste Expectations

Smarter Lunchroom Scorecard

• Smarter Lunchrooms Self-Assessment Scorecard

• Clarification regarding Scoring Brackets

Bronze Silver Gold GAOD

HUSSC: SL >30 50 50 70

Smarter

Lunchrooms (B.E.N.

Center)

30-50 50-70 70-100 N/A

Scoring Brackets

Smarter Lunchroom Moves…..

Making a Smarter Lunchroom

• Complete the Smarter Lunchroom Scorecard

• Pick your area(s) of improvement

• Identify 3-5 techniques to implement

• Identify materials/supplies needed to carryout plan

• Identify data that will be used to measure

Additional Resources

• Wisconsin Team Nutrition

http://ne.dpi.wi.gov/ne_smarterlunchroom

• BEN Center at Cornell University

http://smarterlunchrooms.org/

• Michigan Team Nutrition Smarter Lunchroom Moves

videos

http://www.michigan.gov/teamnutrition

• In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil

rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and

institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from

discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, or reprisal or

retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity conducted or funded by

USDA.

• Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program

information (e.g. Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.), should

contact the Agency (State or local) where they applied for benefits. Individuals who are deaf,

hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay

Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in

languages other than English.

• To file a program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination

Complaint Form.(AD-3027) found online at https://www.ascr.usda.gov/how-file-program-

discrimination-complaint, and at any USDA office, or write a letter addressed to USDA and

provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the

complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by:

1. Mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights

1400 Independence Avenue, SW

2. Fax: (202) 690-7442; or

3. Email:program.intake@usda.gov

• This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

Time for your questions!

Visit teamnutrition.usda.gov