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Indiana Nutrition Newsletter Keeping Schools ‘IN’ the Know

If you know of a

nutrition-related or

Food Service success

story, please click

here.

Issue 2018-3 Fall 2018

In this issue:

School Food Service Employee of the Year

1

Continued Story 2

FFVP School of the Year

3

La Porte Celebrates NSLW

4

Future Chefs Challenge at Vincennes

5

Food Day 2018 6

Indiana Grown for Schools

6

NSBW 2019 7

Menu Planner 7

Director’s Corner 7

Continued on page 2

Marcia Miller is the IDOE

2018 School Food Service Employee of the Year!

By Suzette Hartmann, School Nutrition Specialist

Left to Right: Joshua Yoder, Principal of Orchard View Elementary School, Marcia Miller, Kitchen Manager, and Dr. Robby Goodman, Assistant Superintendent of Middlebury Community Schools

On Thursday, May 24, the Indiana Department of Education named Marcia Miller the

School Food Service Employee of the Year. Miller is the Kitchen Manager at Orchard

View Elementary School in Middlebury, Indiana. Miller received a plaque from the

Indiana Department of Education and a check for $200 from the Indiana Nutrition

Council during an award ceremony at her school.

Joshua Yoder, Principal of Orchard View Elementary School, submitted the

nomination for Marcia Miller. Mr. Yoder stated, “Marcia is fantastic and goes above

and beyond what is asked of her to make the cafeteria a great place for students.”

Miller has worked at Orchard View Elementary for 24 years as Kitchen Manager,

and she has worked a total of 27 years for the Middlebury Community Schools Food

Service Department.

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Continued from page 1

Mrs. Miller provides outstanding customer service, takes

advantage of educational training opportunities,

implements new ideas, promotes nutrition education, and

exhibits a high standard of teamwork with co-workers and

staff. Miller provides excellent service to the students,

staff, and community by:

Coordinating a popular and successful Grandparent’s

Day each November

Giving students opportunities to provide feedback

about new food items

Helping to secure donations for classroom herb

garden kits and bicycle smoothie machines for the

cafeteria (students use blender bikes to blend healthy

breakfast smoothies)

Attending conferences and workshops at the

national, state, and local level

Talking with students about the importance of making

healthy food choices

Celebrating the Indiana Farm to School Network’s

Food Day each October

Conducting mini-lessons for classrooms on recipes,

ingredients, measurements, and the joy of cooking

Making sure the cafeteria is decorated for special

events, seasons of the year, and holidays

Helping obtain funds for special projects, such as

raised garden beds for the school garden

Including everyone in ideas for improving the

success of the cafeteria

Maintaining a collaborative and fun work

environment

Advocating for her staff and school at local

administrative meetings

Mr. Yoder stated, “Marcia fully understands the power

of close relationships and the great progress that can

be made when those are diligently worked on. She is

always on the lookout for those students who need an

extra minute or two, a quick job in the cafeteria to help

instill confidence and encouragement, or an ever-present

smile to keep them going. She is a person who truly puts

kids first.”

Stacey Bell Spencer Elementary School Spencer-Owen Community Schools Laurie Boynak Thomas Jefferson Elementary School Valparaiso Community Schools Janice Brewer Maple Elementary School Greater Clark County Schools Kristi Combs Garrett-Keyser-Butler Community School District Chrissy Creech St. Benedict Cathedral Catholic School Evansville, IN Colleen Halter Pendleton Elementary School South Madison Community Schools Marci Latimer Edgewood Primary School Richland-Bean Blossom Community School Corp.

Penny Parmley Merrillville Senior High School Merrillville Community School Corporation Sharon Peak Lydia Middleton Elementary School Madison Consolidated Schools Carrie Stapleton Washington Woods Elementary School Westfield Washington Schools Porche Tatum Charles N. Scott Middle School School City of Hammond Cindy Thompson Maple Creek Middle School Northwest Allen County Schools Teresa White-McDonald Prince Chapman Academy East Allen County Schools

Congratulations to all of the following individuals

nominated for the IDOE

2018 School Food Service Employee of the Year!

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On Friday, May 11, the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) named O’Bannon Elementary School the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) School of the Year. The school received a framed certificate and a banner from IDOE and $250 from Piazza Produce for the purchase of nutrition education and promotional materials. Christine Clarahan, Director of Food and Nutrition for the School City of Hammond, nominated O’Bannon Elementary School for the award.

The food service staff operated an excellent FFVP by:

Serving healthy fruit and vegetable snacks two to three days each week.

Offering students the opportunity to try more than 40 different fruits and

veggies, including dragon fruit, pomelo, kumquats, jicama, and rutabaga.

Providing teachers with talking points about new fruits and vegetables.

Teachers helped make their FFVP a success by:

Helping to select fourth and fifth grade students to read fun facts about a

fruit or vegetable during morning announcements when a special fruit or vegetable was featured on the lunch menu.

Teaching students about nutrition, agriculture, and more during English, math, science, and health classes. For

instance, students learned that sweet potatoes are rich in fiber and a good source of vitamins A and C. They learned

how the vegetable is grown and that more sweet potatoes are grown in North Carolina than anywhere else in the

country.

Congratulations to the students, teachers, and food service staff at O’Bannon Elementary School!

The FFVP is a competitive grant funded by USDA. Schools can apply for the program if they are an elementary school, operate the National School Lunch Program, and have a high free and reduced rate. For more information, contact Allie Caito-Sipe at acaito@doe.in.gov.

O’Bannon Elementary School is the IDOE

2017-2018 Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program School of the Year

Left to right: Allison Lenzo, Principal of O’Bannon

Elementary School, and Suzette Hartmann,

IDOE School Nutrition Specialist

Photo of O’Bannon Elementary

School Food Service Staff

Left to right:

Marilyn Baum

Azucena ‘Suzy’ Mendoza

Amparo Romo

Carmen Sida

Carrie Guerrero

Angie Benavidez, Kitchen Manager

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La Porte Community School Corporation Celebrates National School Lunch Week!

Kim Johnson, Kingsford Heights Elementary School

Cafeteria Manager, serves radishes and other veggies to

celebrate National School Lunch Week and Indiana

Food Day 2018. Rah, Rah, Radishes!

La Porte High School Cafeteria Staff Celebrate NSLW!

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Last spring, elementary students at Vincennes Community School

Corporation used their creativity and culinary skills to make healthy

Asian-inspired recipes during Sodexo’s Future Chefs Challenge. This

national initiative was created to get students thinking about making

healthy food choices while also encouraging them to be active and

creative in the kitchen. Eight students from Vincennes joined over 2,600

other students representing more than 1,300 Sodexo-served school sites

across the country.

After preparing their recipes, the students presented their creations to the

judges. The dishes were judged on several criteria, including originality,

taste, ease of presentation, kid friendliness, and use of healthy

ingredients. Each of the students who participated in the challenge

received a medal. Gianna Irelan advanced to the regional

round with her recipe for Sticky Pineapple Chicken.

Congratulations to all the contestants!

Sodexo is a food services and facilities management

company. The Sodexo Future Chefs Challenge is just one

of the many ways that the company shares its health and

well-being expertise with the customers and the

communities it serves. In November of 2016, Partnership

for a Healthier America named Sodexo “Partner of the

Year” based in part on early success on elements of its

commitments for increasing healthier food options in the

K-12 schools it serves; providing healthier meal options for

children at zoo, museum and aquarium locations served by

Sodexo; and for its commitment to serve 17 million

additional free breakfasts to K-12 students by 2018.

To view a short video of the national winner of the 2018

Sodexo Future Chefs Challenge preparing her recipe for

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wrap & Tofu Caprese Skewers,

click here.

Vincennes Students Participate in Future Chefs Challenge

By Tara Lips, Administrative Assistant for Vincennes Community Schools

Photo of judges from left to right:

Jennifer Ress-Henry, SNS, IDOE School Nutrition

Field Specialist, Steve Combs, Principal at Lincoln

High School, and Andrew Hays, NEP Wellness

Coordinator at Purdue Education. Tara Lips,

Administrative Assistant for Vincennes Community

Schools Food Service Department, tabulated the scores.

Students pose with their medals.

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Food Day was RAD!

By Maggie Schabel, Child Nutrition Specialist

The 2018 Indiana Food Day theme was Rah,

Rah, Radishes! The Indiana Farm to School

Network celebrated its fifth year of Food Day.

In honor of its fifth year, Food Day focused on

five radish varieties: Black, Cherry Belle, Easter

Egg, German Giant, and Watermelon. Previous

Food Day vegetables have been kale, turnips,

squash, and Brussels sprouts. Schools across

Indiana celebrated Food Day by planting radish

seeds in school gardens and serving radishes

for lunch.

Lobenstein's Farm, near St. Leon, Indiana, delivered 250 radishes to Batesville Primary School and 250 radishes to Batesville Intermediate School!

Farm to School Activist talking with Batesville students about radishes.

Food Day at Batesville Primary School

The Indiana State Department of Health, in partnership with the

Indiana State Department of Agriculture, Indiana Department of

Education, and Purdue Extension, is the current recipient of a USDA

Farm to School Grant. Over the next two years, our agencies will be

working together to create a monthly planner for Indiana school

foodservice directors. The monthly planner will help directors facilitate

the process of procuring local foods and hopefully substantially

increasing the percentage of Indiana grown foods in our school

cafeterias. We will be working closely with our partners to promote

Indiana Grown for Schools.

Indiana Farm to School Network Becomes Indiana Grown

New Logo!

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Director’s Corner - By Julie Sutton

I hope you had the opportunity to experience

the Indiana School Nutrition Association’s

(ISNA) Annual Conference this November.

ISNA had great speakers and the vendors

were showcasing some exciting new

products. If you didn’t get there this year, be

sure to come down to French Lick in 2019.

We are excited to see that the number of schools participating in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) is continuing to grow. We have added 18 new districts this year for a total of 74, and our number of CEP schools is up to 366. Thank you to our field staff for identifying schools that are good candidates and spreading the word about

the benefits of the program!

Keep in mind that schools are approved for 4 successive school years. If this is your 4th year of participation, you will have to resubmit your identified student percentage as of April 1st by June 30th in order to participate in school year 2019-2020. Some

of the benefits of CEP include:

Allowing schools in low income areas to provide free breakfast and lunch to all

students

Eliminating the burden of collecting

household applications to determine

eligibility for school meal programs

Reducing stigma, decreasing time spent

in cashier lines, and increasing time to

eat nutritious meals

Eliminating unpaid meal charge issues

If you would like more information, click

here for our CEP webpage or contact Marcia

Yurczyk at myurczyk@doe.in.gov or Tina

Herzog at cherzog@doe.in.gov.

Celebrate National School Breakfast Week

(NSBW) in March! This year’s theme is “Start

Your Engines With School Breakfast.” The

School Nutrition Association has posted various

resources on their NSBW webpage. Resources

include social media tip sheets, engagement

activities and activity sheets for students, an

infographic, and a calendar countdown planner.

SNA members may request the artwork and

logos for NSBW by clicking here and completing

a short online form.

National School Breakfast Week

March 4-8, 2019

An Indiana School Corporation is in the Spotlight

Congratulations to Evansville Vanderburgh School

Corporation for being featured in the updated Menu

Planner for School Meals School Year 2018-2019!

Successful activities implemented by schools across

the country have been included in the Menu Planner.

Evansville Vanderburgh

School Corporation is

included in a School

Spotlight for their Try It

Tuesdays and Try It Again

Tuesdays! To read more

about their success, click

here and go to page 85 of

Chapter 2.

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This is a publication of the Indiana Department of Education

Office of School and Community Nutrition

http://www.doe.in.gov/nutrition

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: http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, 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 Washington, D.C. 20250-9410;

(2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov. This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

Indiana Department of Education Non-Discrimination Statement It is the policy of the Indiana Department of Education not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability, in its programs, activities, including access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups, or employment policies as required by the Indiana Civil Rights Laws (I.C. 22-9-1), Title VI and VII (Civil Rights Act of 1964), the Equal Pay Act of 1973, Title IX (Educational Amendments), Section 504 (Rehabilitation Act of 1973), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 USCS § 12101,et.seq.).

Inquiries regarding compliance by the Indiana Department of Education with Title IX and other civil rights laws may be directed to the Title IX Coordinator, Indiana Department of Education, 115 West Washington Street, Sixth Floor – Suite 600, Indianapolis, IN 46204, legal@doe.in.gov or by telephone to (317) 232-6676 or the Director of the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, 111 North Canal Street, Suite 1053, Chicago, IL, 60606-7204 (312) 886-8434. For further information on notice of non-discrimination, visit http://wdcrobcolp01.ed.gov/CFAPPS/OCR/contactus.cfm.