|
Save the Date! The September Breakfast is Scheduled
The RI Healthy Schools Coalition has scheduled its 2008 annual Breakfast
for School Leaders: Eat Healthy! Get Active! Score High! More and
more research supports that children who are served nutritious foods and
are more physically active in school are better, more productive learners.
Mark the date on your calendar, as all school leaders and Coalition members
will be invited to attend this event.
EVENT: RI Healthy Schools Coalition Annual Breakfast for School
Leaders
DATE: Tuesday, September 23, 2008
TIME: 7:15AM - 10:30AM
PLACE: Crowne Plaza, Warwick
RI Team
Nutrition Project: Upgraded Nutritional Requirements for School Meals
Will be Implemented Statewide by Fall 2009 or sooner!
When RIDE went out to bid for a statewide food
service contract this past year, it had included a new set of more stringent
nutritional criteria for School Meals, called RI Nutrition Requirements
2009 or RINR 2009 (click here for RINR 2009).
The RINR 2009 will result in healthier school breakfasts and lunches for
students that include more and a wider variety of fruits, vegetables and
whole grains and reduced sodium levels. Most RI school food service directors
are proactively reviewing the RINR 2009 with 10 districts already beginning
to pilot their implementation. The USDA-funded RI Team Nutrition project
components include upgrading the RIDE school meals accountability system
so that compliance with the RINR 2009 can be monitored, as well provide
school food service programs access to skilled chefs and dietitians who
will make available free training and technical assistance to every school
district to assist with implementation. Adrienne DiMeo of RIDE, Finance,
and Dorothy Brayley are serving as Project Co-Directors and are available
to answer your questions and keep you updated.
RI
Farm to School Continues to GROW and GROW!
Kids First staff members have made tremendous progress with building purchasing
relationships between RI school food service directors and RI farmers
this past school year. Read on for a snapshot of the RI Farm to School
project success:
Two years ago, Chartwells East Bay Director, Barbara Cohen, announced that Chartwells Corporation had accepted RI as one of four states to conduct a pilot Farm to School program. Five RI school districts, managed by Chartwells, were selected and began to purchase and serve RI grown apples from Steere Orchards and tomatoes, corn and cucumbers from Confreda Farms. Last Spring, Chartwells announced that it would expand the Farm to School pilot to all of its 12 RI school districts plus Davies Vocational School. This past Fall, with Kids First's assistance, Chartwells districts have purchased and served a wider variety of RI fresh produce, including fresh RI butternut squash and potatoes. The Chartwells program expanded to all of its districts and this has been fantastic; however quantities and varieties still hold lots of room for growth and Kids First is charged to work on it.
More great news is that Kids First managed to forge new distribution pathways for RI apples and potatoes so they can reach our children in the Sodexho-managed districts of Providence, Woonsocket, Pawtucket, Newport and Jamestown. Other Sodexho districts: Cumberland, East Greenwich, Exeter-West Greenwich, Foster, Glocester, Foster-Glocester, Scituate, West Warwick, and Johnston also promised to purchase these items from RI farmers. Since October, several hundred thousand apples have been served to children in Sodexho managed school districts and most Sodexho districts are began to experiment with RI grown freshly roasted potatoes as a substitute for French fries and potato puffs. We're finding that the kids LOVE the RI potatoes and not only are they healthier for the children (much lower fat and sodium), the potato sales soared to over 20,000 pounds for our RI farmers.
Aramark districts: Lincoln, North Providence, Central Falls, Chariho and Smithfield have been making some RI apple, corn, tomato and even strawberry purchases in the past couple years. This year, Aramark too committed to the RI Farm to School Program in a bigger way. Kids First is working with Aramark districts to help them establish the distribution channel for the tasty RI-grown treats to find their way to more students' lunch trays in these districts.
Last, but not least AT ALL, we have Cranston's Food Service Director, Michael Marrocco, to thank for blazing the RI Farm to School trail and for continuing to increase Cranston Schools' RI farm purchases to include a wider variety of fruits and veggies more frequently, in larger quantities and from a greater number of RI farms. Cranston beats all in that this year fresh RI peaches and broccoli were served in Cranston schools for the first time ever, in fact for the first time ever in any RI school! Cranston began purchasing local RI apples approximately 5 years ago and has expanded its RI product list to include regular purchases of tomatoes, cucumbers, butternut squash, potatoes, peaches, and now… BROCCOLI!
Kids First thanks Rafi Minkin, our former Farm to School Coordinator, and everyone who worked with Rafi. Currently other Kids First staff members, Kimberly Sporkmann and Aaron Lenart, are stepping up to the task of G-R-O-W-I-N-G RI Farm to School. By the way, anyone can help with Kids First's efforts; simply DEMAND that your school district's food service operation look to RI farmers first when making purchases of fruits and veggies for your children's school meals program. And one more thing… what about Rhody Fresh milk? It is now available in 8 ounce containers. Our RI dairy farmers are just waiting for the school to pick up the phone and begin to order some for your children.
