City Schools Food and Nutrition Department Initiatives for Healthier Students

1. 1 City Schools Food and Nutrition Department Initiatives for Healthier Students Power Point created by: Mellissa Mahoney, RD

2. Food and Nutrition Services Overview: An opportunity to economically and systematically produce healthy communities The Perception vs. Reality of School Food Service Overview of the National School Lunch & Breakfast Program Ongoing Bold Initiatives Call to Action

3. The Perception of School Food Service Unfriendly Service See Brenda Unhealthy Food Brown & Soggy Canned Fruit & Vegetables Contributing to Obesity High in Fat & Sugar 3

4. The Reality of School Food Service Stellar Service BCPS Food Service workers receive consistent accolade from MSDE for our rapport with students 4 • Serving up Health • Our wellness policy is more progressive than state regulations for sugar and fat content of snacks • Menu Makeover • Locally grown produce will be a constant menu feature • New Expansive 6 week cycle.

5. Food and Nutrition Services: Overview of the National School Lunch & Breakfast Program

6. Overview of the National School Lunch & Breakfast Program Participation Drives Funding Meal applications qualify students for Free or Reduced Meals based on Family Income. So far over 83% of applicants qualify for Free or Reduced Meals. Total MealsFY 2008FY 2009Meal IncreaseRate of Change Lunches 8,121,037 8,271,842 150,805 2% Breakfast 3,137,452 4,031,871 894,419 29% Breakfast and Lunch must respectively meet 25% & 33% of the dietary needs of students by age in relation to the 1995 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. 6

7. Food and Nutrition Services: Ongoing Bold Initiatives from our Department

8. Ongoing Bold Initiatives from our Department New 6 week Menu cycle Student Designed Menu Project Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Great Kids Café Great Kids Farm Channel 77 appearances Increasing Cooking Capabilities 8

9. New Six Week Menu Cycle Increased Variety With our 6 week cycle we offer at least 30 different menu items allowing us to introduce new foods while still featuring lunch room staples. Healthy Menu Themes This year each day of the week has its own theme on the menu, including: Meatless Monday, Sandwich Choice Tuesday, Chicken Choice Wednesday, Thursday Special, and Pizza Friday. Increased Fruit and Vegetable Choices We are making fruits and vegetables available more often as well as from local farms. Ongoing Bold Initiatives from our Department 9

10. Ongoing Bold Initiatives from our Department Student Designed Menu Project Students can submit recipes as a class, group, or afterschool program Excellent curriculum tie in with Art, History, Language, Cultural Studies, and Music Student recipes will be featured in the MENU! 10

11. Ongoing Bold Initiatives from our Department 11 • Great Kids Café • Central Office location with possible expansion • Provides entrepreneurial work based learning site for vocational students • Graduating interns will be prepared for employment

12. Ongoing Bold Initiatives from our Department 12 • Great Kids Farm • Emphasizes our Farm-to-Fork initiatives • Provides agricultural work based learning for students • Available for education field trip / volunteer opportunities

13. Ongoing Bold Initiatives from our Department • Increasing Cooking Capabilities • Currently assessing the cooking capability of all schools • Gradually Converting Pre-plate schools to Scoop & Serve • Working to improve pre-plate menu for the students during the transition 13

14. Food and Nutrition Services: Call To Action

15. Call to Action – Next Steps These are a few of our next steps that need additional support: Qualifying and functioning as a Provision 2 district (free breakfast and lunch) Implementing a free supper program Building a central kitchen facility 15

16. Call to Action –Next steps that you can support • Objective: Qualifying and functioning as a Provision 2 district (free breakfast and lunch) • Fact: • Students who are not hungry perform better in school • Call to Action: • Write a letter of support detailing how serving every Baltimore City Student a healthy meal free of charge through school will benefit your community.

17. Call to Action –Next steps that you can support • Objective: Implementing a free supper program • Facts: • Maryland is 1 of 13 states allowed to pilot this initiative • Food and Nutrition will be partnering with CTE so hospitality students can gain work experience preparing meals for the supper program. • Call to Action: • Endorse your local vocational school

18. Call to Action – Your Next Steps • Objective: Building a central kitchen facility • Facts: • A central kitchen facility could provide fresh cooked meals for schools and community programs with limited cooking infrastructure including: Head Start, Meals on Wheels, & Hospice. • This project will provide much needed jobs and training for residents. • BCPS already owns a building that could be retrofitted. • Call to Action: • Earmark funding for reconstruction, and encourage any potential beneficiaries of this project to do so as well.

19. Call to Action – Our Next Steps City Schools is applying for a CDC grant titled: Communities Putting Prevention to Work. This grant addresses tackling obesity through Nutrition and Physical Education intervention. For the grant we are currently partnering with several partners including: Baltimore City Health Department The Mayor’s Office The Family League Johns Hopkins University 19

20. Thank You Mellissa Mahoney, RD, Chef / Dietitian, Food and Nutrition Services (410) 361-9359 mmahoney@bcps.k12.md.us Tony Geraci, Executive Director of Food and Nutrition Services, (410) 396-8755 ageraci@bcps.k12.md.us 20