Culinary Boot Camps: Designed to Foster a Healthier Next Generation

From USDA:

Posted by Chris Kelly, USDA Food and Nutrition Service, Mid-Atlantic Region, on January 15, 2015 at 1:00 PM

USDA Team Nutrition grants support initiatives designed to improve children’s lifelong eating habits.

The following guest blog is part of our Cafeteria Stories series, highlighting the efforts of hard working school nutrition professionals dedicated to making the healthy choice the easy choice at schools across the country.  We thank them for sharing their stories! To learn more about FNS nutrition assistance efforts, follow us on Twitter attwitter.com/usdanutrition

By Stewart Eidel, School and Community Nutrition Programs, Maryland State Department of Education

USDA Team Nutrition Grants support initiatives designed to improve children’s lifelong eating habits. Thanks to this funding, and by incorporating the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and with recipes from the Food and Nutrition Service Team Nutrition website, Maryland’s State Department of Education School and Community Nutrition Programs, where I work, developed new training for our school food service professionals called “Culinary Boot Camps.”

We started the Culinary Boot Camps in the summer of 2013, training more than 130 school food service staff at six locations throughout Maryland. This past summer we hosted 140 more at five locations for the week-long course. With the help of two certified chefs, our staff have improved their basic culinary skills, learning ways to skillfully slice vegetables and creatively prepare recipes to lure otherwise finicky children into tasting and enjoying nutritious foods.

And the feedback has been outstanding. Our school food service staff enjoys the opportunity to learn from expert chefs, and our kids are seeing fresher looking foods, food that is bright in appearance, clear and crisp in flavor. I think the kids accept that food just as readily as they accept the chicken patty. Now we know the chicken patty is not going away, so what we’re saying is let’s incorporate these new foods required by the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act into our school menus. If we can incorporate those in addition to the items they’re used to, then over time children will learn to accept them and engage in the process of consuming a healthier diet.

Our job is all about nutrition, following standardized recipes and making sure food is safe. But these Culinary Boot Camps allow our food service professionals to think about the flavor and the color and the texture and the appearance of food. It gives them a great background to go to their bosses and say: “Well, I learned these skills…now there are recipes that you can allow us to put on the menu and enhance the quality of the foods for the kids.”

We saw a need to enhance a wide range of skills required to prepare and serve nutritious, high-quality meals that appeal to students. We want our school food service directors to plan menus utilizing more whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes…more creative menus that take advantage of the healthier cooking methods and presentation skills honed at our Culinary Boot Camps.

See our school food service staff in action, transforming healthy foods into favorite foods at one of the camps we hosted in Worcester County, Md.

USDA Continues Reaching Indian Country through the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR)

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Leslie Wheelock, USDA Director of Tribal Relations, on March 26, 2014 at 11:30 AM

These “My Plate” models show how FDPIR foods fit into recommended food groups.

Finding groceries can be difficult in many inner city neighborhoods, and in many rural areas the challenge can be even more daunting.  Americans living in remote areas might easily spend half a day just making a grocery run. And for many Native Americans living on Indian reservations, simply getting to a place to purchase nutritious foods becomes a constant struggle.

Food security is a top priority for the Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “Expanding access to nutritious food will not only empower American families to serve healthy meals to their children, but it will also help expand the demand for agricultural products.”

One program expanding access to nutritious foods is the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR). FDPIR was first authorized under the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to provide access to nutritious foods to low-income Native American households.  FDPIR is administered locally by either Indian tribal organizations (ITOs) or an agency of a state government.  Currently, there are about 276 tribes receiving benefits under FDPIR, with an average of 82,600 participants each month.

Because FDPIR is administered directly on Indian reservations, it can eliminate the need for recipients to travel great distances simply to acquire nutritious foods. Eligible participants are able to choose from over 70 food options that can be used to create meals that align with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPlate (choosemyplate.gov).  In Fiscal Year 2009, the Healthy Eating Index (HEI), which rates diet based on overall nutrition, rated the FDPIR food option package at 85.3 (A HEI score above an 80 is considered a healthy diet).

To assist in the preparation of healthy meals using FDPIR foods, FNS recently worked with tribal members to create a recipe book. “A Harvest of Recipes with USDA Foods: The Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR)” provides creative, regional recipes using FDPIR food options.  Each recipe features sensible levels of fat, sodium, and sugar without sacrificing taste. The recipes also list nutrition facts.

The FDPIR has made great strides in providing access to nutritious foods and reducing food insecurity on Indian Reservations. For more information on FDPIR, visit http://www.fns.usda.gov/programs-and-services.

Many FDPIR distribution sites are modeled after convenience stores, allowing families to hand-pick from a variety of options.