Essential Building Blocks for Success! What do YOUR K12 Food & Nutrition programs need to know to build a strong foundation, grow your teams, and continue to feed children healthy, balanced meals? Learn more now in our most recent edition of Served Digizine!
10 questions to lead you and your program to success The building blocks of CHANGE Innovation is in the eye of the beholder
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Building anything requires at least two things.. Whether you are building a business, a house, a career, or a new menu item - it all starts with two things: an idea and a plan! Great ideas without a plan rarely take off and a plan without a big-picture goal is... well, just a glorified checklist. What’s more interesting about this, is that these two personalities rarely coexist in the same person. This means that the real building blocks of any project is a great team . You need a leader (one of these is enough), a dreamer (or a team of dreamers) and a doer (usually lots of doers!) to meet the goals in front of you. Don’t underestimate the power of taking time to develop a great team - and the role that you play in it: You may be the leader - to quote Uncle Ben, “with great power comes great responsibility,” so develop your leadership foundation with strength and adaptability. There’s great advice in the articles by Pisanick Partners , Katie Cossette , and Stephanie Giannini on this! You may be the dreamer - ie: the innovator in the group. To you: WE NEED YOU (even if we often reject some of your craziest ideas!). Learn more about innovating with a purpose in the article by Scott Reitano , get new ideas from one of our podcasts , or dream up a new dining space with Conor Doyle . If you are the doers , keep up the good work. You are the backbone of all of our teams and we sincerely can’t do this without you. You may find some inspiration on executing the leader’s plans and dreamer’s ideas in articles by Chef Patrick Garmong , Annelise McAuliffe Soares , and Michele Clark . Your team is the heart of your work. Take care of each other and you will go further in your goals than you could ever go alone. It’s a basic principle, but it’s easy to get lost in the day-to- day and forget about the big picture.
The building blocks of CHANGE
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St. Vrain Valley School District (CO) Katie L Cossette, MDA, RDN, SNS Building... BOWLS Annelise McAuliffe Soares, Ready Foods Podcast Spotlight Check-in with your favorite featured podcasts
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Scratch cooking: YOU CAN DO IT!
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Institute of Child Nutrition Chef Patrick Garmong
Learning from others: @NAFEM with Jason Wange, Panasonic, Polar King, and Nation’s Restaurant News Meal components: the original building blocks Michele Clark, RDN, SNS, National Food Group
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Take time today to reflect on your team and send one of them a note thanking them for the role they play - it could be the most important work you do today. Happy [TEAM] Building! ~ Melissa
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Scott Reitano
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Strength is in the foundation Pisanick Partners Building program success: outside the kitchen Conor Doyle, AmTab Summit by NxtGen Network The networking
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The building blocks of CHANGE
The world is changing around us, and at a much faster rate post pandemic whereas the way we encounter business is evolving towards a new generation of consumers.
There is no other phrase in the English language that can drive me more crazy than “the way we’ve always done it”. Change is scary for the majority of the population, but it is necessary to survive. As leaders, we should embrace change and make it comfortable for our teams to navigate within. How do we make change a safe space if we ourselves are terrified of it? The building blocks of change have been described in many different ways, however what has always worked well within my foodservice operations are these four key concepts: Yet, many businesses stick to what they know, not looking to evolve.
Effective Leadership Clear Mission & Vision Disciplined Agile Sustainability
[ 1 ]
[ 2 ]
[ 3 ]
[ 4 ]
These are the foundation to any successful organizational change that brings about stability and a known variable while undergoing any intensity of change.
Effective Leadership
[ 1 ]
Reilly, Minnick and Baack (2012) in their book, The Five Functions of Management, state that “Leading in a business context, consists of all activities undertaken to help people achieve the highest level of
performance. Effective leaders influence behaviors in positive ways. Ineffective leaders influence behavior but do not achieve desirable results.” What does this quote look like in real life, when the words come off the page and into motion? Effective leadership is: Creating a safe environment for failure: be comfortable sharing your failures in front of your team. Be approachable for them to come to you with their failures to work through them as a team. What does this look like? • Have quick weekly meetings to touch on progress, successes and failures. • Create a discussion board that the team can communicate through and help each other. • Focus on the issues with the processes and not people. Being a role model: be “boots on the ground” with your team. Be in touch with what is happening in the day-to-day. What does this look like? • Collaborate on projects with team members. • Use communication models such as A3s. • Deliver the quality of work you expect from your team. • Maintain a calm, “can-do” attitude, even when you are frustrated. The right person for the right job: know the strengths and weaknesses of your team members to effectively assign tasks. What does this look like? • Reorganize your positions or organizational chart structure.
• Divide the project into pieces that can be supported by teams with different strengths. • Avoid having too many people work on the same task. • Cross train employees to be able to help each other if needed.
Clear Mission & Vision
[ 2 ]
When was the last time your department mission and vision was evaluated? Do you even have one? Mission and vision statements remind staff why they come to work everyday and give them a pathway for where the department is headed. I always tell staff that they have autonomy to make decisions and have failures, as long as the mission and vision in mind. When I started at St Vrain Valley School District, the department was very siloed and there was no connection through mission and vision. Our leadership team did a self-driven workshop to develop our vision statement. We then took that vision to the kitchen managers who did a similar activity to develop the mission statement. We created a poster with the mission and vision on it and sent them to each kitchen to post as a reminder. Mission and vision contribute to and communicate the culture and goals of the organization. If there is buy-in to the Keep Reading
culture and goals of the organization, it provides a safety net while undergoing change because staff has a solid belief in where the organization is going. The unknown is what makes change scary. Keep your mission and vision alive and thriving by constantly bringing it up through words and actions that demonstrate those core values. Disciplined Agile (DA) This is a fancy way of saying that you are a learning organization that continuously improves through experimentation and learning. Referring back to making a safe space to fail, DA exhibits this principle by making experimentation and learning a core value. Businesses that practice DA can sense and respond quickly to changes in the marketplace. The culture and structure of the organization is designed to facilitate change to the challenge it faces. That all sounds complicated. You can take a course on DA or look at the resources available online to fully understand and execute the principles. However, you do not need to get belted in Lean/Six-Sigma or DA to understand the core concepts of these methodologies. Simply put, these are the key take-aways that will help your team be more agile during change: [ 3 ]
• Let teams establish a Way of
Working (WoW) that works best for the task at hand. • Focus on the processes and do not point fingers at people. • Allow the team to experiment with ideas and learn through failures.
“As leaders, we should embrace change and make it comfortable for our teams to navigate within.”
Sustainability Whenever we are looking to add a program, process or feature, I ask my team “how will we sustain this”. Having a school garden is outstanding, but who is going to keep that garden alive and thriving in the years to come? We do not have budgets that are elastic enough to have more and more positions to manage the expansion of programs that may or may not take off. What has made St Vrain successful is by partnering with teachers and existing education programs throughout the district. Each year there is a new group of students to maintain, expand and sustain our goals. For instance, our Future Farmers of America students raise Duroc hogs and lambs that we send to processing and gardens that provide a variety of produce to use in our menus. Our ProStart students work for us in our production kitchen to help us scratch make select local items to go to schools. Finally, our advanced technology students are working with us on some innovative projects. The key to convincing these programs and teachers to work with you is to put the focus back on the students: [ 4 ]
• Gives them real world experience • Always room for growth to add to their curriculum • Provide a career pathway Final thoughts Change is hard yet inevitable. Providing a process in which you undergo change instills trust and faith in your team, which in turn keeps them engaged and motivated. Be an effective leader by investing in these building blocks to provide a healthy environment for your staff to evolve, grow, and thrive.
Katie is passionate about serving delicious and nutritious meals to all children while “breaking the mold” of the typical lunch tray. As the Director of Nutrition Services and Warehouse at St. Vrain Valley School District in Longmont, Colorado, she’s dishing up innovative food systems, a professional atmosphere and career path for staff, and new age technology for nutrition education. Katie was a chef in the private sector for a decade before coming to school nutrition. She holds an AS of Culinary Arts and BS of Culinary Nutrition from Johnson & Wales University, and during the pandemic obtained a Masters of Dietetic Administration from Utah State University. St. Vrain Valley School District (CO) Katie L Cossette, MDA, RDN, SNS
Building... BOWLS! Protein bowls, smoothie bowls, burrito bowls… easy to serve and customize, bowls are on trend and growing. Check out the building blocks of putting a craveable bowl on your menu.
Start with a Base or Theme All good bowls start with a base of greens or a starch, think grains or roasted sweet potatoes. The base can fit the theme or be a neutral flavor that goes with anything. We love a falafel bowl, burrito bowl, curry or buddha bowl. Another way to pick a theme is to take a classic dish or cuisine and simply serve it in a bowl! For example, think of all the ingredients you might find in a pita wrap or BLT sandwich, but instead serve them over greens or grains. Protein The next building block of a great bowl is protein. If you have a bowl bar, but no theme, just be sure to offer a vegetarian (think beans, falafel, crispy chickpeas, seasoned edamame, lentil patties or baked tofu) and meat option. The meat option can be as simple as chicken tenders, pulled roast chicken, or leftover meatballs from spaghetti day. Hard boiled eggs and diced lunch meats can also be an easy option that you can hold cold. Make it Colorful! Part of the appeal of a bowl is giving diners the autonomy to customize it and make it look
beautiful to their taste buds. If you’re offering taco or burrito bowls, add intrigue and color with tomatoes, charred corn, scallions and a great salsa. Pickled onions, dried cherries, olives, radishes or a carrot slaw can pack the vitamins and also add great color. Top if Off Finally, offer dressings, sauces, salsa, crumbles of cheeses or scoops of hummus to finish a bowl. Give it a Second Life Bowl bars are the perfect way to use up sauces, veggies or grains from a previous day. If taco bowls are on the menu, offer the usual salsa for a sauce, but don’t be afraid to throw a leftover BBQ sauce on there too. Eaters will create delicious combos like BBQ pork taco bowls. (Yum!) So what do you think? What combos make for a great bowl offering on your foodservice menu? We’ve been really into pizza salads lately! Start with a bowl of greens, top it with diced tomatoes, slices of pepperoni, shredded mozzarella cheese and a drizzle of balsamic with a slice of garlic bread on the size, in lieu of a crust.
Graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Annelise has spent her career making sure food sounds appetizing on paper, looks good in pictures and tastes amazing when you order it. Her day-to-day consists of working as Marketing Manager at Ready Foods to connect food service operators with ready-to-use kitchen solutions that are easy to incorporate into a kitchen flow and bring great flavor to menu items. Her favorite hot lunch in elementary school was always nacho day. Ready Foods Annelise McAuliffe Soares
Podcast Spotlight Each edition we’ll bring you the freshest podcast content to boost your programs,
your knowledge, and hopefully your mood. Grab a coffee, wine, or even your walking shoes and listen in.
About
The School Food Rocks Podcast
52 min
is a platform hosted by Joe
THE SCHOOL FOOD ROCKS PODCAST
Urban to discuss important topics with stakeholders from across the country regarding school food, the challenges facing districts, upcoming legislation, and sharing best
Episode #19: Rachael Petraglia GA Department of Education
In this episode Joe & Lauren chat with Rachael Petraglia, a culinary specialist for the Georgia Department of Education. Together they discuss Rachael’s journey into child nutrition, the role of chefs in schools, the value of best practice sharing with districts, and improving the quality and perception of school meals.
practices for a positive impact nationwide.
About
The Institute of Child Nutrition is proud to present the podcast, iBites, where you will learn about all aspects of child nutrition programs. From research to resources, from oral histories to best practices, each iBites will feature a wealth of information
THE MIXUP: AN I-BITES PODCAST
31 min
On this episode, we welcome Chef Samantha Cowens-Gasbarro, Executive Chef of Healthy School Recipes and a Child Nutrition Consultant. Learn about her fantastic work bringing culturally important recipes to the schools in her home state of Maine. Episode #19 Samantha Cowens-Gasbarro Healthy School Recipes
to help promote the continuous improvement of child nutrition programs.
20 min
Episode #20 Chef Jason Hull Marin Country Day School
Chef Patrick sits down with Chef Jason Hull Director of Culinary Services/Founder of Culinary Farm at Marin Country Day School. Join them as they chat about Chef Jason’s work to develop a culinary culture in his program. Listen to his mission to inspire healthful eating for the children in his program.
Innovation eye IS IN THE beholder OF THE
Watch me first!
also covered automated salad dispensers, induction burners, speed ovens, and combi ovens. Additional unattended food sales opportunities, expanded ventless technology, and new shelving units were also touted as innovative. In an industry that still cooks over fire, I began to question what really counts as innovative. Certainly, it cannot not just be that if it is new it is innovative. Or, because the manufacturer says it is innovative, it must be - right? For my own sanity, I decided to put some parameters around what I consider to be innovative. Here are some of my thoughts: Does more with less. Does the innovative product or practice allow the operator to do more with less? More “In an industry that still cooks over fire, I began to question what really counts as innovative.”
I was in Orlando for the NAFEM Show earlier this year. This is the foodservice equipment industry’s marque, bi-annual event. After a four-year absence, everyone was truly excited to be together and to see what the manufacturers were ready to show-off. The foodservice equipment manufacturers were equally as excited to have a live audience to share the “features, advantages, and benefits” of their latest and greatest products. The term “innovative” was thrown around quite a bit throughout the three-day show. It was applied to anything from robotic arms to pizza ovens to hot fridges. The term What does innovation mean to our operations? Check out this pre-article interview with Scott & Marlon now!
food production with less labor? How about display more menu items in less space? Does it lead to more capacity for less dollars in a particular piece of equipment or area of the kitchen operation? Increases accessibility to food. Does the innovative product or practice allow the operator to expand their reach? That could be through ease-of-payment allowing for better throughput in a serving space or ease- of-placement that provides more food options in the same footprint by using vertical space more effectively. It might be distributed dining that brings the food closer to the students throughout the building and throughout the day. Perhaps it is a new way to increase accessibility for those in need financially or who suffer through food insecurity. It could be an avenue to receive safe food. (Think: food waste reduction and the repurposing of food safely and efficiently.) Provides an opportunity to entice people to eat healthier. We all talk a healthier game than we eat. In other words, no one eats completely healthy Keep Reading
https://youtu.be/brXirges8e4
“Successful, progressive, and life-changing school organizations have a people-centric approach to innovation.”
all the time and every day. We do not need to scream, “EAT HEALTHIER” at every turn. However, we do have the opportunity to impact the health of children by how we prepare, cook, and serve food. Gen Z, and Gen Alpha behind them, is asking for more transparency and authenticity in what they eat. Innovative teams are highlighting fresh, healthy food options. They are doing this in how they display the food and where they place the food in the serving sequence. Innovators are using more on- site preparation and they are “finishing” menu items in front of the customer. Maximizes operational flexibility. Innovation shows through in foodservice equipment and accessories that do more than one thing well. A cooler that can also be a freezer. Shelving that easily converts, morphs, and adjusts as needed. Cooking equipment that does not require an advanced degree to program or change modes. Serving equipment that allows for hot, cold, or frozen food presentation. Can it go vertical? Can we hide it in a cabinet or credenza? The operator wants
to preserve food, transport food, and store food in one vessel, too. Impacts the human experience. I would argue that it is the most important point and place to be innovative. Successful, progressive, and life-changing school organizations have a people-centric approach to innovation. Within our firm, we speak about taking care of each other and together taking care of our clients and their customers. That has led to high levels of innovation on our team. That has, in turn, brought unique solutions created with our clients and design partners. Let’s all look for innovative ways to promote healthy engagement within our organizations, within our own sphere of influence, and within the school foodservice community, as a whole. If we provide space for our teams and our colleagues to thrive, high levels of innovation, collaboration, and creativity will surely follow. The products we produce, the services we provide, and the solutions we offer will be better and more innovative every time.
Through his 36 years in the foodservice industry, Scott has become highly regarded for his change leadership, creativity, and his passion for serving others. He brings high-energy and an infectious enthusiasm to all the opportunities and challenges he is afforded in life. Scott is truly passionate about the role of food in our schools. He has developed a national voice for speaking on behalf of our children to change the way we feed our children in schools. He seeks to provide a connection between higher academic achievement, more consistent attendance, and less behavioral issues with the way we serve our children food in the educational environment. He states, “This is not just about serving healthier food. This is about enticing our children to eat healthier.” Reitano Design Group Scott Reitano
What are the building blocks for any great recipe? Is it Mirepoix (meer-PWAH) - the aromatic flavor base made by lightly cooking onions, celery, and carrots? Is it Mise en place (MEEZ ahn plahs) - the French term for having everything in its place? You have your ingredients measured, cut, peeled, sliced, grated, etc. before you start cooking; pans are prepared; mixing bowls, tools and equipment are set out. In school we learn that macronutrients are the primary building blocks of nutrition consisting of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Being a child nutrition professional with a strong foundation to your program is vital to the work that we do on any given day! In our experience, stacking the important structural building blocks of a collaborative team, a well thought out menu and stakeholder engagement provides the foundation for a successful program. Without attention to the foundational blocks the structure is often fragile and not going to function to its full potential. THE TEAM The kitchen team drives the menu and a successful program. Ever wonder what is the best foundation for a successful team? The best teams are built on shared goals, collaboration, and interpersonal relationships. They work together to accomplish a shared mission. When you look at a sports team, all the team members must work together to have a successful season. The same is true for kitchen teams. While a baseball team has those that shine at pitching, fielding, and batting; each person on the kitchen team possesses their unique talents too. Perhaps, while one person is efficient another is more creative; one might be detail oriented while the other is a bigger picture thinker. How do you maximize the unique abilities of each member on your team to inspire them to be the best they can be? Engage in regular and open communication with your team. Listen to this podcast on coaching and communicating with staff in a way that will make the team most effective. Variety is the Spice of Life is a presentation we love to host on professional development days - SNEAK PEAK take this personality quiz and call us to lead discussions as to the strengths of each member on the team. Every member of the kitchen plays a vital role in the flow of the day. Strength is in the foundation Without attention to foundational blocks a structure is often fragile.
Who wants some new menu ideas? Thinking about engaging not only your students but the families you serve? Welcome to our column featuring bites of nutrition knowledge and insight for your team’s menu creation needs. We love a good theme at Pisanick Partners and have curated and crafted some of our favorite “Harvest of the Month”, “Simply Fresh”, “Global Trends’’, and “Comfort Classic’’ recipes to ignite your team’s idea engines. Our free digital cookbook resource is full of these recipes. Coming soon we are launching a first edition print cookbook that is packed with easy to prepare recipes which are scaled for both your school
kitchens and for the homes of the families we serve! Many of these recipes are inspired by trends in copycat recipes, nostalgic foods and upcycling ingredients. These are recipes that can spark joy in your creation and elevate participation. Sign-up to be the first to know when this book is available for purchase.
THE ENGAGEMENT
We like to provide opportunities for teams to collaborate and utilize each team member’s talents. We recently challenged schools to put their teams’ creative minds together and literally think out-of-the-box. Teams were given the opportunity to create recipes from a mystery box of ingredients. They’ve seen it done on cooking shows and now it was their chance to give it a try. This process encouraged teams to work together on recipe creation and submit recipe videos to be judged. This was fun not only for the team creating the recipe, but also for the students and staff who got to be involved as the first taste testers! THE MENU Build it and they will come….that is a well thought out menu! What foundational steps can you focus on to ensure success? Read the room….and your customer. Easy surveys can be a great tool in engaging students as collaborators and supporters of menu innovation. It takes a village. Share the responsibility of making the menu with your staff. Give everyone the opportunity to speak up and add suggestions. Teamwork makes the dream work when everyone is involved…even the quiet staff members when asked often have wonderful contributions to share! Win as a team (and sometimes lose as a team) - but you’ll never win unless you play the game!! Getting involved and taking ownership of foods served sparks a passion and enhances pride in every member of your team, along with appreciating the important role they have in menu success. Be brave enough to try, and humble enough to step up to bat even if you strike out a few times! Variety and choice are key to building a quality menu. Seasonal menu changes can keep a menu from getting routine and mundane. Incorporate fun names for the entrees or other menu items. The fun names may spark some interest to get the students into your cafeteria serving line. Think about conducting regular theme days and try days to get both students and staff excited. Taste testing is a great way to find out if an item might be successful on the menu or not. Don’t just limit taste testing to one building or specific grade levels - what might not work in one building may be a hit in another. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ] [ 7 ]
Service with a smile! Check 1-2-3
When a student is welcomed with a smile and a “good morning” or “enjoy your meal” they may feel more inclined to come back, not just for the food, but for the friendliness they feel. If you’re happy to be there, they will be too! Have some fun with your coworkers! Dress up your cafeteria and your team on school spirit days and holidays, it shows the students that you are interested in what’s going on in the building. Smiles and some laughs (and even some fun theme music) make your menu and team come to life. March is not only National Nutrition Month - it also gives us a chance to spark joy with some St. Patty’s Day shenanigans - did someone say “Lucky Tray” day?
Don’t be your own best kept secret!! Share your team’s “dream” loud and proud. You never know who you might inspire or when you might spark the next staff member to eagerly join the winning team!
Meet the Pisanick Partners leadership team
(From left to right) Marge Robison, MPH, RDN-LDN; Sarah Carlson, MS, RD-LD; David Pisanick, Co-Founder, CFO; Maureen Pisanick, RDN- LDN Founder,
CEO; Tina Hastings, Operations Specialist; Gina Nash, Operations Specialist (not pictured)
Pisanick Partners is a nutrition and operations based consulting firm with decades of experience in Child Nutrition. We have refined our approach through creation of cycle menus, training and development of staff, and implementing strategies that take on the task of not only attaining nutritional excellence, but also financial success in the K-12 environment. Our experience not only supports a school district in meeting all state and federal mandates for implementing the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs, but also the menu creation with an eye for detail and meticulous organization. The objective is to quickly and accurately evaluate, analyze and organize a district’s nutritional program to insure compliance and easy on-going maintenance.
Building program success outside the kitchen
Can your food court environment be an essential building block for the success of your programs?
School nutrition programs are demonstrating success across the country with the variety of food being served to students.With that being said, no two school districts are the same and each district has that special “it” factor that makes them unique. One of the amazing things within school nutrition is the community of amazing school nutrition professionals who are always willing to help one another. Whether that comes in the form of answering questions on social media, networking with others at conferences or just picking up the phone and calling one another; there are endless ways to continue to improve your program. One essential building block for your program doesn’t even consist of what you can do in the kitchen. A building block for all school programs, at some point or another, will be your K-12 food court environment. Allow me to explain. The work you do in the kitchen is deservedly the highlight of your program. Everything after that is an added bonus. But making sure your K-12 Food Court is a warm,
inviting, and modern place for your students can’t be overlooked. Your students are spending many hours per week, per month, per year in that space. You can have the most amazing menu options in the world, but if your K-12 Food Court is drab, boring, and dull space your students will not want to be a part of it. The addition of school colors, logos, different table options, as well as some wall designs really add to your space. The first thing students do when they enter the food court is observe their surroundings. Imagine creating a K-12 Food Court that generates that “wow” response as soon as they step into that space. A space that students feel comfortable, a space that gets students excited each day, a space that students can be proud of. It’s an underrated and often overlooked building block, but should be at least one block in your school nutrition program’s success. Look into the possibilities of what your food court can look like in order to highlight your amazing school nutrition options for your students!
Conor Doyle
AmTab Manufacturing
Conor is actively involved in this school nutrition company who helps provide valuable insight on café modernization projects across the country. His favorite part about working with schools is knowing that students and staff will love their modernized spaces. Being able to transform ordinary environments to extraordinary ones that students love being a part of is amazing! Conor graduated from DePaul University with a bachelor’s degree in Marketing.
AmTab.com
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Scratch Cooking: YOU CAN DO IT!
It’s important to get buy-in from all stakeholders , including school nutrition managers and staff, school administrators, teachers, students, and parents, before making any changes. Host a stakeholder meeting to discuss the benefits of scratch cooking and how it will improve the health and well-being of students. Explain the financial benefits of scratch cooking and how it can help save money long-term. Getting everyone on board is key to making this transition successful. Next, you’ll need to equip your kitchen for scratch cooking. This step may require investing in new equipment, such as food processors or immersion blenders, and stocking up on high-quality ingredients. Be sure to budget accordingly and work with your purchasing department to source the best possible ingredients at a reasonable cost. Additionally, kitchen staff need training in scratch cooking techniques. Training may involve bringing in outside culinary experts or sending staff to training programs. Encourage your staff to experiment with new recipes and ingredients and think creatively about incorporating scratch cooking in their daily routines. Provide ongoing support and feedback to help your staff feel confident and competent in their new roles.
getting buy-in from your students and their families . Host taste tests and menu planning sessions to get feedback on new recipes and involve your community in the process. Tell families about your scratch cooking efforts by sharing recipes and success stories through social media and other district-wide communication channels. Make sure your new menu is also allergy- friendly and meets the needs of students with dietary restrictions. As you make the transition to scratch cooking, track your progress and measure your success. Collect feedback from students, staff, and families, and use this feedback to refine your menu and make improvements. Monitor your food waste, ingredients and labor costs to ensure your new approach is sustainable and cost-effective. Here are some additional tips to help you succeed as you build your scratch-based and speed-scratch- based food production: START SMALL Begin by incorporating scratch cooking a few recipes at a time, and gradually evolve to a full menu. This process will help you and your staff adjust to the new approach without becoming overwhelmed. PLAN AHEAD Make sure you have a solid meal plan for each meal, including recipes, ingredient lists, and prep schedules.
If you’re in charge of a school nutrition program, you understand how important it is to provide healthy, nourishing meals for your students. One way to ensure your students get the best possible food is to transition your program to scratch-based and speed- scratch-based food production. Here are the building blocks for a successful transition. First, let’s define what we mean by scratch-based and speed-scratch- based food production. Both approaches can help you provide healthier, fresher, and more flavorful meals for your students. Scratch-based food production means preparing meals from whole, unprocessed ingredients. Adjust the new menu model incrementally, making small changes one at a time. To begin, assess your current program . Look at your menu and identify which dishes you can make from scratch or speed-scratch. You may find that some of your current menu items already fit these criteria, but for others, you may need to develop new recipes or adapt existing ones. Focus on dishes that are popular with students and are nutritious and budget friendly. Speed-scratch food production means using pre-made (or value- added) components in combination with whole ingredients to create a finished dish.
Another important aspect of transitioning to scratch cooking is
Improved nutrition: Scratch cooking allows you to use fresh, whole ingredients, which are often more nutrient-dense than processed foods. Improved nutrition results in improved health outcomes for students. Better taste: Scratch-cooked food often tastes better because it is freshly prepared, which can lead to increased satisfaction and enjoyment of meals. Cost savings: While there may be an initial investment in equipment and supplies, scratch cooking can ultimately save money in the long run by reducing the need for processed foods. Staff retention: Implementing scratch cooking can significantly improve employee retention by providing valuable training opportunities. Scratch cooking requires knowledge and skills training for the staff.
As employees learn and gain experience in scratch cooking, they become more invested in their work and feel valued for their contributions. When employees feel valued and supported, they are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs and less likely to leave for another opportunity. Building a scratch-based and speed- scratch-based food production model is a process that requires patience and persistence, but the results are rewarding for students, staff, and the school community. These building blocks will allow you to continue providing healthy, fresh, and flavorful meals at your schools, improve staff retention, and reduce overall costs. Your stakeholders will provide feedback and remain engaged. Lastly, your menus will increase meal satisfaction and enjoyment.
Planning will help you stay organized and on track. INVOLVE YOUR STAFF Encourage your kitchen staff to share recipes and ideas and take ownership of the new approach. Valuing their contributions will help them feel invested in the program and motivated to make it a success. BE FLEXIBLE Be prepared to adjust your approach based on student, staff, and family feedback. Stay open to new ideas and be willing to change your menus or procedures to improve the program. CELEBRATE YOUR SUCCESS Take time to acknowledge and celebrate your and your staff’s hard work and progress. Recognition will help you stay motivated and committed to your new approach. Transitioning to scratch-based food production has numerous benefits for students and the school. Here are just a few:
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CICN Resources:
Culinary Quick Bites: Knife Skills
Culinary Institute of Child Nutrition: Flavor Enhancement
Grab & Go Recipe Download: Overnight Oats with Berries
Chef Patrick Garmong
The Institute of Child Nutrition (ICN), part of the School of Applied Sciences at The University of Mississippi, is the only federally funded national center dedicated to applied research, education and training, and technical assistance for child nutrition programs. The Institute’s mission is to provide information and services that promote the continuous improvement of child nutrition programs. ICN Website Subscribe to ICN Newsletters and Resource Update Emails Here!
Patrick has been in the Food Service Industry for over 18 years. He is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education (Manhattan, NY). Previously Patrick was the Child Nutrition Director for the Ellensburg Associate Director of Culinary Education and Training
School District. Patrick has been the Executive Chef in various fields of the hospitality industry, including Higher Education, Restaurants, and Catering. Outside of work, he enjoys time with his family, waterfowling, golfing, and woodworking. Patrick is a strong advocate for the Autism Community and serves as a Board Member for the Kittitas County Court Advocates for Children (CASA) program.
NORTH AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF FOOD EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS @ NAFEM Learning from others:
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The NxtGen Network team caught up with Jason Wange to close out the NAFEM show conversations - make sure to connect with Jason on LinkedIn!
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Meal components: The original building blocks As a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, I am passionate about people eating well and love what they eat simultaneously. That is why I am proud that Zee Zees® better- for-you snacks have been specifically designed to meet K12 meal component requirements and are approved for most school meal programs. They are made to be the building blocks of a great menu that students will want to participate in.
What blocks do we need to make a perfect meal at school? The blocks that we all work with collectively consist of protein in the form of meat or a meat alternate, fruit, grains, dairy, and vegetables. We know students who eat balanced will learn better and have more energy for fun activities like recess. How do we feed our kids when food and labor costs keep increasing? We have to make sure students eat more delicious and nutritious food while making the service of that food easy on staff. The first building block for any good menu is finding the right source of protein. More children and families are looking to plant-based protein options as their main protein source. To answer that call, my team has various on-trend shelf-stable plant protein options for meal planning with nut-free facilities, grab-and-go choices like savory hummus cups and bean dip, sunflower kernels, and Cruncherz roasted chickpeas. One of our newest options is Zee Zees Kettle Corn Roasted Chickpeas – which has a touch of sweetness that most children enjoy. The best part is that the roasted chickpeas are individually wrapped to easily add to grab-and-go boxes or on the line at school. There are also the additions of two trail mixes which consist of sunflower kernels and a dried fruit. Speaking of the fruit building block . Applesauce, diced fruit cups, and dried fruit are the quickest options to make meal planning easy when adding fruit to your menus. Zee Zees reduced-sugar applesauce comes in fun flavors like Rock’N Blue Raspberry and Wild Watermelon. We also have unsweetened applesauce with delicious
flavors like mango-peach and strawberry-banana. Zee Zees diced peaches, diced pears, harvest mixed fruit, and mandarin oranges are packed with 100% fruit juice, not syrup. And Zee Zees Mixzees dried fruit, regular raisins, fun sour raisins, and soon dried pineapple are a tasty and portable way for students to get their fruit servings in the classroom or on the go. Adding whole grains to school meals is such an important foundation for students to have sustainable energy throughout the day. My team has soft-baked bars, wheat crackers, and graham crackers to help with this. Our popular line of wholesome and delicious soft baked bars with fun flavors like Campfire S’mores, Birthday Cake, Cocoa Cherry, and Blueberry Lemon, to name a few. The whole-grain graham crackers are r ready for dipping or a quick snack on the go. I have seen many schools pair them with yogurt. The graham crackers also come in four flavors – Original, Strawberry, Birthday Cake, and French Toast. Zee Zees wheat crackers are great for dipping into our Zee Zees hummus and original Bean Dipz. Here are some ideas for reimbursable meal kits: • Dried fruit or a fruit cup,yogurt,and graham crackers • Hummus/bean dip, wheat crackers, and a salad • Trail mix, string cheese, and a soft-baked bar I am excited to see more innovative solutions coming out soon to make your life in food service as easy and enjoyable as possible – and keep making the students excited for breakfast and lunch at the same time.
Michele is a registered dietitian with a B.S. in Dietetics from Michigan State University, where she was also Vice President of the MSU Food and Nutrition Association. She originally started her career as a Food Service Director for a couple of districts in the Midwest and now is an Account Manager for National Food Group. Michele also serves as a committee chair for IL-SNA. She is passionate about reshaping the idea of school lunches and works hard to help food service and nutrition directors find creative and healthy menu solutions that fit the budget, kitchen capability, and USDA nutrition standards they all face daily. National Food Group Michele Clark, RDN SN
How does one tackle creating a successful program? to success 10
questions to lead you and your program
Many new and seasoned school nutrition professionals feel that they are climbing an uphill battle while trying to create successful school nutrition programs. Between emotional and mental exhaustion, a rollercoaster economy, an ever- changing customer and staff base, and head-turning regulatory changes, we must ask ourselves: how does one tackle creating a successful program? Every program’s needs and goals are unique to itself, so I’m not here to give you a blueprint to creating a successful program; however, I am here to give you 10 foundational questions to ask yourself before you get into the nitty gritty of program building. 1. Where is your program currently at? You can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you are! I recommend doing a full SWOT analysis by identifying the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of your program. A SWOT analysis is a great way to truly understand where your program is currently thriving and where it can improve. 2. What is your program’s mission and values? I like to think of your program’s mission as to WHY you exist and your values as to HOW you exist.Your mission should clearly explain the purpose of your program while your values should reflect what principals will be guiding you and your team in achieving your mission. Think long and hard about these two and get others’ input, because the mission and values of your program will be guiding your ship and everyone who is on board. 3. What type of leader do you want to be? Now let’s take a look in the mirror; did you know you have a choice in what kind of leader you are? It
is in everyone’s best interest that you identify what type of leader you want to be so you can INTENTIONALLY lead those around you. Don’t think it’s that important? Wait until you’re cleaning up the mess later…
4. Do you know the “ins & outs” of your team? This one is a complex one, but you must seek to understand those that are on your team. What do they personally value? How are they best motivated? What are their strengths and weaknesses? How can you utilize, empower, and grow every individual so that your program as a whole thrives? Remember, you can have the finest foods and all the high-end equipment, but if you don’t have engaged and qualified team members, they will be the ones that drag your program down. 5. What are your customers’ values, wants, and needs? One of the hardest realities we face in school nutrition, is accepting that our customers may not necessarily value, want, or need the same things as us! How many times have you put an amazing item on the menu (or so you thought), just for the students to call it a flop? Ouch. However, we have to listen to our customers; yes, we are in the field of feeding children nutritious meals, but we are also running a business! Survey your customers and get out into the lunch room to talk with them! Children are some of the most honest customers you’ll find; don’t take their feedback personally, look at it as valuable data! 6. Who is your support system? None of us can do this alone and one of my favorite aspects of the school nutrition industry is how supportive everyone is of each other. Find your go-to people when you need to vent, ask questions, or have a
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