Welcome to Northfield Schools Child Nutrition Department 2011-12
It’s hard to believe that another school year is just a few weeks away, but we are excited to preview some new things this year, and we look forward to serving your children both breakfast and lunch throughout the year. Here is a summary of some of the things that we are working on this school year:
1) Farm to school initiative-we are excited to venture into new partnerships with local farmers to feature some fresh fruits, vegetables and meat during the first 3 months of this school year. We hope to be able to have a few guest appearances from these farmers to further educate children on the source of food.
2) Separate Secondary and Elementary menus-this year we have separated our school menus to try to better accommodate the food preferences of all the age groups, and also make our menus easier to understand.
3) New menu items-we look forward to trying some new menu items with the students including whole grain rotini, whole wheat crust pizza, marinated black bean salad, sweet potatoes in a variety of cuts, garden burgers, mini-cheeseburgers, flatbread sandwiches, hummus and pita, and a wide variety of ethnic menus.
4) Ala carte options-we will continue to seek out foods for ala carte that meet the Action for Healthy Kids Minnesota andAlliance for a Healthier Generation guidelines. This is an area that we will focus on continuous improvement, and purposeful change in the interest of providing some nutritional alternatives to supplement our main menu.
5) Facility improvements-we have purchased specific pieces of equipment for a few schools to enable them to serve the students more efficiently, and to increase food quality and freshness.
6) Scanning ID’s-the high school students and staff will pilot the use of name tags with bar codes imprinted on them to be used for school meals, and the media center resources. The name tags will be swiped much like a credit card vs. typing in their PIN number. This should provide students with a quicker check out of all their food items, and allow them more time to enjoy their meals.
I look forward to being out in the schools over the meal periods to be able to experience the meals that your children get served on a daily basis, and to be able to see first hand how the students are reacting to some of our new products. We invite you to join your children for lunch or breakfast at any time. If you have any comments or questions, please call me at (507) 645-3432 or email me at pam.haupt@nfld.k12.mn.us . Thanks again for giving us the opportunity to serve your family. We look forward to a great year.
Regards,
Pam Haupt, SNS
Child Nutrition Director