1 in 13 Students Have Food Allergies

What can we do to help these students experience school meals like everyone else does?

Issue No. 16 May-June 2022

Prioritizing Safety, Inclusion, and Equity for the Students we Serve.

The 3 ‘P’ Areas to Consider for Managing Special Diets PLANNING, PREPARATION & PRESENTATION

Type 1 Diabetes What Parents of Kids with Special Dietary Needs Wish You Knew.

Putting a Positive Spin on Special Diets!

Contents

for the Students we Serve. Prioritizing Safety, Inclusion, and Equity

PODCAST SPOTLIGHT

URBAN SCHOOL FOOD ALLIANCE INSTITUTE OF CHILD NUTRITION NEXT UP LINQ’D UP

This is a four-part series that was inspired by a LINQ’D UP podcast featuring Shannon Solomon from Aurora Public Schools. In this series, Shannon will be the guest host and will be joined by Jessica Shelly, Katie Cossette, and Roy Pistone where they speak about what it takes to successfully run your child nutrition program as the business it is.

Facts for Food Allergy

16 What Parents of Kids with Special Dietary Needs Wish You Knew. DIABETES 18

MANAGEMENT

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Episode One: Collaboration

Episode Two: Culture

on Special Diets! Positive Spin Putting a 10

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include a live in person audience or a live virtual audience to engage with in real time. The concept of the show revolves around “breaking bread” while building relationships, building each other up, and solving problems through collaboration to create a better tomorrow.

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Contents

02 06

What’s on your Summer Plate? However you are feeding this summer, have a plan! by Valerie Weivoda, MS, RD, LD, SNS Facts for Food Allergy Management by Sherry Coleman Collins, MS, RDN, LD Served Edition Recap Edible Education The 3 ‘P’ Areas to Consider for Managing Special Diets: PLANNING, PREPARATION & PRESENTATION with Pisanick Partners The Mustard Seed Challenge by Donette Worthy USFA: From the Blog Families Drowning in the Waves of Waivers with USFA by Dr. Katie Wilson, SNS The MOMologue by Stacy Cardinale

Next Up: Episodes #1 & #2 The 4c’s behind the business of child nutrition Letter from the Editors & Served Highlights: NRA Interviews Ready-to-Use Tips The 9 th Allergen with Ready Foods by Annelise McAuliffe Soares Putting a Positive Spin on Special Diets Prioritizing Safety, Inclusion, and Equity for the Students we Serve with Lunch Assist by Angela Gomez, RDN, SNS Type 1 Diabetes: What Parents of Kids with Special Dietary Needs Wish You Knew. by Lindsey Hill, RD, SNS Podcast Spotlight with Next Up, Linq’d Up, USFA, & ICN by Jenna Kaczmarski, MSPH, RD, SNS ICN Resource of the Month

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What’s on Your Summer Plate? However you are feeding this summer, have a plan!

Food Allergy and Summer Meals F R E E RESOURCES

The 3 ‘P’ Areas to Consider for Managing Special Diets PLANNING, PREPARATION & PRESENTATION Edible Education: Slicing up Inspiration for Your Menu and More! 30

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Maximize Summer School Build a relationship with the district personnel responsible for coordinating summer school in your district so you can be involved in the selection of school locations and have access to the information as early as possible. This allows you to plan early and maximize school buildings that are already operating in the summer. • At elementary sites it is usually a given that you will be feeding the students attending summer school; maximize these locations by promoting that they are open to all children in the neighborhood. If you are able to serve hot meals, that is a great way to increase community participation and we always found hot meals to be less labor intensive, cost effective and more appealing to students! In my former district we liked serving hot meals so much that we started opening schools just for community feeding sites in key neighborhoods with high needs that were walkable to the school. • Secondary schools are less likely to have students on campus all day for classes.. As a result, they may not think they need to offer meals. Older students that struggle with food insecurity are less likely to participate at summer meal locations, so please consider providing meals at these schools whenever possible! To make it efficient consider using these kitchens as preparation hubs for other community meal locations or mobile feeding sites. It makes sense anyway because they are probably your larger kitchens with ample storage space! These two ideas are just the beginning, who can you collaborate with to serve more kids?!

Jenna Kaczmarski, MSPH, RD, SNS Consultant, Kazmarski LLC Co-Founder/President, Locally Grown Inc.

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Did you catch the first episode of the Next UP four- part series, The 4C’s behind the Business of Child Nutrition? Episode 1 focused on Collaboration and I can’t think of a better time to collaborate than summer! Short on Labor? Many districts built relationships with other district departments like transportation, custodial and others during pandemic shut downs. Sustain those relationships throughout the summer and put them to work! • Use buses for mobile feeding sites or have bus drivers drive your vehicles to free up your staff to focus on food preparation. • Summer school locations as preparation hubs: load meals into the bus after morning drop off and send them out to community locations that have known transportation issues; making several stops before returning for afternoon pickup. • Shannon Solomon shared on Next UP how they are hiring high school students to work afternoon shifts in kitchens. Why didn’t I think of that for summer meals! Students can do prep work, load meals for distribution and would be perfect for mobile sites; they can engage younger children with activities to increase participation and make it so much fun!

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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 Ready-to-Use Tips!

THE 9 th ALLERGEN

According to the Journal of American Medical Association, more than 1.1 million people in the US are allergic to sesame. Sesame is the 9th major allergen among children and the laws have changed to better protect eaters. As of April 2021, sesame joined the list of top allergens, already including: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts,

reps about providing options from manufacturers with more transparent labeling, if that is needed. Not sure if you have someone with a sesame allergen in your dining program?

Err on the side of caution. Send a survey to parents or share

fish, crustacean shellfish, wheat and soy. The catch? We have to wait a bit longer to truly have protection for our eaters with a sesame allergen, as labeling of such ingredients isn’t required until January 2023. While many companies are adding sesame allergen info to their products right away, others are not there yet. Do you have a child in your dining program that has a sesame allergen?

this link with them, asking them to be aware of this potential allergen. Post information around

the lunchroom about top allergens, now including sesame. By simply starting the conversation, you are bringing awareness to a topic that could save someone’s life.

Common Foods with Sesame Allergens:

(Note: As with everything, this is not a complete list and there are options on the market that are

Learn More

sesame-free.) • many Asian sauces • hummus • chips or sweets fried in sesame oil • crackers • dressings • falafel • granola/granola bars • vegetarian meat substitutes • and more.

Take caution and look for the following ingredients on labels: Sesame, Sesame Seeds, Tahini/Tahina, Sesame Paste, Sesame Oil, Gomasio (a Japanese sesame salt), Halva, Sesame Flour, Until we reach the January 2023 labeling deadline, be wary of food items that list general “Spices” or “Flavors” in the ingredient list. Double check that these nondescript food items do not contain the sesame allergen or talk to your food

Empower your Managers

a student allergic to soy for example. At home they can safely enjoy ground beef tacos, burgers and spaghetti, but wait, at school these are not available, but why? This was one of the first changes I made early in my career; we switched from pre-cooked beef crumbles that contained soy to a product without. We also minimized how many products we served that contained peanuts or were processed in a facility with peanuts. The goal was for it to be easy for the students allergic to peanuts to identify what to avoid; two items: peanut sandwiches and peanut butter cups. We took this approach with our entire lineup of foods and made changes wherever it made sense to simplify those ingredient lists! For all you Spider Man fans, “with great power comes great responsibility.” I always felt that being a menu planner and deciding what 60,000 students were going to eat every school day came with great responsibility and let that guide my menu choices. Systemize and Simplify your Approach In the beginning I was doing a lot of things that were inefficient. I would have lists and documents and menus that had to be re-created each time the cycle menu changed. Use technology to your advantage. Take the time to get allergens entered into your nutrition management software so you

on Special Diets! Positive Spin Putting a

Depending on the size of your district,you are going to need to delegate certain aspects of this process. I worked in a large district and had just one person responsible for special diets. It was unrealistic that one person could give an individualized approach to each and every special diet request. So that meant we had to empower our kitchen managers and give them the blueprint to meet our expectations. They received the information they needed for each student and the expectation that this student should receive a meal that was as similar to what everyone else was getting as possible or an alternative that was acceptable to the student. So guess what, this requires a conversation with the student and depending on their age, the parent, to determine their likes/ dislikes to come up with a menu that works for everyone. The managers have relationships with these students, so it makes sense to empower them to work one on one with the students. If you are lucky enough to plan school menus and special diets, I hope this inspires you to treat each student with a special diet needs as if they are your own child so they can love school meals MORE than everyone else .

Consultant, Kazmarski LLC | Co-Founder/President, Locally Grown Inc. Jenna Kaczmarski, MSPH, RD, SNS

Confession time…. Sometimes special diets made me crazy! Flashback to 2005. I had just been hired as the first registered dietitian in a large school district and obviously one of my responsibilities was special diets. We had no nutrient management software, no database to track which foods contained which allergens or carb counts and no formal way of accepting special diet requests (think handwritten vague notes from a doctor on a prescription pad!). So naturally, I got to work! As someone who built a process for managing special diets literally from the ground up, over the course of about ten years, I found a few things along the way that made it all work. And by the way, when we created a formal process and form to submit requests, we went from about 15 requests each year to 800! So yeah, the only way to keep my sanity was to imagine what it must be like for little Johnny who was allergic to soy, corn, wheat and peanuts to experience school lunch and do my best to make him feel taken care of and valued enough to provide him a meal he could still get excited about. Which brings me to my first point. Let empathy guide your actions

certainly didn’t ask for them and as someone who is fortunate to not personally know what it is like, I can only imagine and proceed with great empathy. That means that it is going to require extra effort, but that extra effort means the world to the student (and their parents) who can enjoy their meals at school with the peace of mind that they are safe. When approaching special diets, if you are asking the question “what is the least accommodation I am required to make,” what would happen if instead you ask “what can I do to help this student experience school meals like everyone else does.”

Evaluate your products

can take advantage of reports. If your software does not allow for this, you can use Microsoft Access to create a database, and it will get the job done. Just make sure you set aside time each summer to update your product records to ensure reports accurately reflect allergens and carb counts. For your students with life threatening allergies, their life depends on the accuracy of those lists!

Jenna Kaczmarski, MSPH, RD, SNS Consultant, Kazmarski

There are a lot of considerations to take into account when selecting which products end up on your menu. I encourage you to make clean label products a top priority; your allergy students and their parents will thank you. When you look at the list of foods you serve and then examine what allergens they contain it can be eye opening. Imagine being

LLC | Co-Founder/ President, Locally Grown Inc.

Jenna Kaczmarski is a mom, consultant and co-founder of Locally Grown Inc. with 16 years of experience in school nutrition operations and a former School Nutrition Director. As a consultant, Jenna works behind the scenes to make you look good and make sure you achieve your goals through strategic planning, meeting/ workshop facilitation, administrative review prep, leadership training and project implementation management. She co- founded the non-profit, Locally Grown Inc to engage in the work of building resilient and equitable local food systems and sustainable Farm to School Programs.

“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” Dr. Wayne Dyer

You know the saying “walk a mile in their shoes,” well I would say “eat a school lunch in their shoes.” Which, by the way, is a great way to approach inclusive menu design in general, but maybe that is for another day. Students with special dietary needs

providers in 2021, and we will launch our fourth kit for child care centers in 2023. Although we do not currently offer either of the summer meals kits for distribution, you can find the English and Spanish educational pieces for download from TheICN.org/FoodSafety at no cost. • Summer Meals Food Safety Training Guide/ Guía de entrenamiento sobre alimentaria seguridad de las comidas en verano • Food Safety Tips Poster/ Sugerencias de seguridad alimentaria cartel • How to Properly Use Disposable Gloves Poster/ Utilice correctamente los guantes desechables • How to Properly Wash Your Hands Poster/ Como lavarse las manos correctamente We also adapted the Summer Meals Food Safety Training Guide into three short, self-paced online courses. These courses are available on ICN’s free online course system, iLearn.

ICN is continually developing new resources for our audience, so keep an eye on our social media to see what we have coming next. Go to TheICN.org/FoodSafety where you will find the materials Liz mentioned and other food safety resources available for download at NO COST!

Food Allergy Fact Sheets

Liz is an Education and Training Specialist III who joined the Institute of Child Nutrition in 2013. Primarily, she designs food safety resources for schools, CACFP, and SFSP. Liz is passionate about providing food safety awareness and resources for adult and child nutrition professionals, with 17 years of experience in the food and health industry. She has a master’s in Food, Nutrition, and Culinary Sciences from Clemson University and a bachelor’s in Nutrition and Food Science from Auburn University. She also has certificates in Designing Learning, Micro-learning, and Writing for Instructional Design and Training from ATD Education. Liz is an ACE-certified Health Coach and Personal Trainer, AFAA-Certified Group Fitness Instructor, and certified Zumba Instructor. In her spare time, Liz enjoys teaching fitness classes, fostering dogs for animal rescues, and hiking with her two dogs. Education and Training Specialist III Liz Dixon, MS

Best Practices in SFSP • Cleaning and Sanitizing • Personal Hygiene • Time and Temperature Control

Food Allergy and Summer Meals F R E E RESOURCES

Summer Feeding Food Safety Training Guide

One of my favorite things I tell people about the Institute of Child Nutrition (ICN) is that I love that I don’t have to try to sell them anything because all our resources are free, with no fine print or asterisks. It’s a benefit of being federally funded by USDA that we can provide truly free education and training resources for all the U.S. states and territories. It’s been over nine years since I joined ICN as an Education and Training Specialist. I have had my hands on almost all the food safety resources currently on our website, about 300 resources. I both groan and do a happy dance when the Food Code is updated, new research is released, or a law is changed that will affect food safety. Although it means I have to update a lot of resources, it also means I have an opportunity to apply new instructional styles that I have learned. I recently took a certification course on micro-learning. In May 2022, ICN is releasing a series of micro-trainings on food allergies called Food Safety Spotlight: Food Allergies. School nutrition directors and managers can use any of the short, 15-minute training sessions to train their staff on different food allergy topics.

The addition of sesame as a major allergen due to the 2021 Food Allergy Safety, Treatment, Education and Research (FASTER) Act allowed me to expand our current food allergy resources. Previously our food allergy fact sheets were written mainly for schools. With this last update, ICN created individual fact sheet sets for both schools and Child and Adult Care Food Programs (CACFP).

Watch this short video to see what’s included in our FREE Summer Meals Mini-Kit resource!

• Adult Day Care Food Allergy Fact Sheets • Child Care Center Food Allergy Fact Sheets • Family Child Care Food Allergy Fact Sheets • Food Allergy Fact Sheets (for schools)

https://vimeo.com/manage/ videos/706585754

One of my favorite projects I have worked on is ICN’s food safety kits , for which the research started back in 2015. I worked with one of our partners, the Center for Food Safety Research in Child Nutrition Programs at Kansas State University, to create the Summer Meals Food Safety Kit . These kits were for nontraditional summer meal sites (those that only operate during the summer) and launched in 2017. I then conducted surveys to help develop kits for three additional audiences we serve. We sent out kits for traditional Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) sites during 2018–2019, launched the kit for family child care

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 About ICN Subscribe to ICN Newsletters and Resource Update Emails Here!

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and start accommodating students as soon as you find out there is a potential food allergy or intolerance. It is a common misconception that a Special Diet Form must be completed in order to start accommodating a student. Although you must provide a Special Diet Form to families and encourage them to complete it, they don’t have to do this in order for you to start serving the student safe foods. (Friendly reminder to document your attempts to have the family complete the Special Diet Form.) As someone who has worked with Special Diets for over 4 years now, I understand that managing Special Diets can be challenging. Especially when school meal programs continue to face long lasting effects from a global pandemic, supply chain issues, staffing shortages, and staff turnover. In addition to Special Diets being a (safe) inclusive and equitable practice, I see there being other perks to Special Diets. (Yes, I said perks.) Here are my top three: Menu inspiration! Families often do not have access to a Registered Dietitian to help them make sense of a new food allergy or food intolerance. The menus created by your department may provide some inspiration and guidance to these families at a time when they need it the most. Saving families money! Special foods are often expensive and eating these foods may be a rare treat for some students. On top of the cost of these foods, these foods may only be available at specialty

for the Students we Serve. Prioritizing Safety, Inclusion, and Equity

stores that some families may not have access to. By serving these foods at school you are not only offering a safe and healthy meal, but are also saving families money in the process! Saving families time! Families may have to visit multiple stores to get special foods and may attempt to stock up to save some time in the future. However, in order to do this, families must have access to reliable transportation, money to shop in bulk, time to go to multiple stores, and access to the foods in the first place. If a caregiver works multiple jobs, then time is just something they don’t have. Which means it is less likely that that student will get to experience these special foods. When we offer these special foods at school, it is a win for the students and their families. There are more perks that could be and should be added to this list. I encourage you to get together with your nutrition team and brainstorm more. What perks would you add that would help re-frame how we view Special Diets in schools?

allergies in school cafeterias than a lot of us are aware of. Matter of fact, the families and students themselves may be unaware that a food allergy exists. Of the severe reactions experienced at school, 20-25% of them involve children who haven’t been diagnosed with a food allergy. Now there may be a few reasons for that. One of the more obvious reasons is that students may be trying new foods in the cafeteria that they don’t typically eat. (Whether they are coming through the lunch line or their friend is sharing food that they brought from home.) Families may also be facing barriers that limit their access to specialty care which would affect whether or not they were able to get a diagnosis for their child in the first place. Barriers such as a lack of health insurance, caregivers receiving unlivable wages, and/or holding a BIPOC identity. According to FARE, “rates of official diagnosis of a food allergy is 87% lower among the Medicaid population vs. the general population.” On top of that, “Black and Latino/Latinx/Latine people are twice as likely to be covered by Medicaid”. What does this mean to us as School Nutrition Professionals? It means that accommodating Special Diets is an issue of inclusion and equity. It reinforces the critical role we play in students’ access to safe foods and safe care in our cafeterias.This also means that it is a (safe) equitable best practice to believe families when they tell us their child needs to avoid certain food(s). AKA: Prioritize student safety

School Nutrition Coordinator, LunchAssist Angela Gomez, RDN, SNS

Imagine this: you want to go out for a nice dinner where you don’t have to worry about planning what you’re going to eat, prepping the food, or cleaning the dishes. (This scenario is not hard for me to imagine because this is basically me every night.) This relaxing and enjoyable experience instead turns into an anxiety-ridden night of self-advocacy and the strong hope that the restaurant has had cross- contact training. This is what it feels like for many people who live with food allergies and food intolerances. How would I know? I am one of those people who has to avoid certain foods, due to medical reasons, and I also really enjoy eating at restaurants. Luckily for me, I don’t have to worry about going into anaphylaxis if cross-contact occurs. However, that is not that case for 32 million people in the U.S. living with potentially life-threatening food allergies. Since we work with students, I think it’s important to note that of those 32 million people, 5.6 million are children. If we zoom in even more, that is 1 in 13 children living with a food allergy. Which is about 2 students in every classroom.

Angela is a second-career Registered Dietitian and recently transitioned out of her role as a Nutritionist at an Arizona school district to the School Lunch Coordinator position with LunchAssist. She started her career as a Dietitian over 4 years ago after unexpectedly falling in love with School Nutrition during her dietetic internship. Angela sees School Nutrition as the ideal place to bridge her passion for tasty food, nutrition education, health equity, and food justice. She loves any opportunity to be creative and feels that the world of School Nutrition continues to be a great place to flex those creative muscles. Angela Gomez, RDN, SNS LunchAssist; School Nutrition Coordinator

This means there are more students with food

throughout the body. To put a long story very short: the body cannot function without insulin and people living with T1D cannot produce any insulin. This is because in their body, an autoimmune response has occurred (and continually occurs) in which the body attacks and kills the cells in the pancreas (beta cells) that produce insulin.

an impact) will affect how the carbohydrate makes the body respond. Insulin is dosed either via a long-acting shot and short-acting meal bolus, or utilizing an insulin pump to administer background insulin and meal-time bolus. Insulin makes blood sugar go down, but it comes with its own set of variables that makes what works one day not work the same the next (or even hour by hour). This is 24/7/365 to ensure that: • Blood glucose does not drop to dangerously low levels that could result in seizure and possibly death. • Blood glucose

T1D cannot be prevented and there is no cure.

In a person with Type 2 Diabetes, the body produces insulin. It might not have enough insulin for the workload

placed upon it or the body is resistant and not effectively utilizing the insulin it has. This is why in patients with Type 2, oral medications that can increase the person’s ability to utilize the insulin it already has can be effective treatment. T1D can be diagnosed at any age, even into adulthood. It is not uncommon for a misdiagnosis to occur. If you have been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes as an adult and are being treated with insulin and still having poor results, consider seeking an endocrinologist’s opinion and being properly tested for Type 1.

What Parents of Kids with Special Dietary Needs Wish You Knew. DIABETES

spends as much time in optimal range so that long-term organ damage is prevented and the person feels physically well. • Person with T1D and family can sustain the mental burden and balance the workload with quality of life. There is no magic pill or way of eating that will make this go away and an insulin pump is only as good as the person manually driving it. The person driving it is the person with diabetes or their caretaker: no doctor, nurse, pharmacist or any other medical professional makes these decisions.

ketoacidosis). He was immediately treated with insulin and in the course of 36 hours our lives (his life, our other childrens’ lives, our extended family’s lives) changed forever. Type 1 Diabetes has to be one of the most common, yet misunderstood diseases. In order to understand how to interact with or care for a child, student, or loved one with T1D, you have to understand the science of the disease, the methods and technology in which they manage the disease, and the context surrounding the impact that it can have on their life. What is T1D? According to Beyond Type 1 (advocacy group for T1D): Type 1 diabetes, which was formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is a chronic autoimmune condition that makes the body unable to produce insulin, which is the hormone that regulates blood sugar. Without insulin, our bodies cannot use the sugar in our bloodstream as energy, causing people to experience Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). People living with T1D must utilize artificial insulin (either injected via needle or pump) to provide the mechanism for which carbohydrates can be released from the bloodstream out to the organs. Without insulin, organs cannot get the energy they need to function properly and the body will not survive. As a long term complication, high blood glucose concentration in a person’s bloodstream means blood will not flow properly

As a Registered Dietitian and School Nutrition Director with 16 years experience, I have worked with my fair share of families of students with special dietary/medical needs. I approached those situations differently over the years, similar to other topics that I gained experience or expertise in. I write this article not from what I learned in school or even through that work experience, but from what I’ve learned as a Mom from my family’s personal experience with this disease. A topic I never knew I would gain such experience and expertise in is the management of a condition as complex as Type 1 Diabetes. My son Graham (age 6) was diagnosed at age 2 in February 2018. Let’s get the diagnosis story out of the way first - that’s always the first question that anyone has for me! Graham’s symptoms were classic Type 1 Diabetes (T1D): frequent and excessive urination, extreme thirst, weight loss. After multiple google searches, I used an over-the- counter glucometer (finger stick that measures blood glucose) at home and his blood glucose level was so high it would not record. His blood glucose was 809 when measured at the hospital (normal is 80-140) and we are so very thankful that he was not in DKA (diabetic School Nutrition Director, Founder of MenuLogic K12, and Mom to 3 Kids, 1 with Type 1 Diabetes Lindsey Hill, RD, SNS

Lindsey & Graham on a field trip

How is T1D treated? A person without T1D not only has insulin produced naturally by the pancreas, but their body also knows precisely when to release insulin and how much to ensure blood glucose levels stay in a stable and optimal range (80-110 mg/dl). A person with T1D must utilize artificial insulin and human decision-making to simulate this automatic response. Let me interject: this is really, really hard. Every carbohydrate eaten makes blood glucose rise, at varying rates depending upon whether the carbohydrate itself was eaten with protein, fat or fiber. Activity, hormones, time of day, the weather (literally, the weather - heat has

How can we help? While T1D is most certainly the greatest challenge I have ever faced in my life, I’m a pretty positive person and generally like to focus on the good that can come from a challenge. My “good” that has come from this are too many to count, but I will list a few: I can help others. Whether it’s sharing our story to share the warning signs and saving someone from a missed or mis-diagnosis that could cost them their life, I’m here for it. That’s an easy one.

Read On

You know in the movies when they say “this person has diabetes! Quick, give them some insulin!.” They DON’T need insulin. A diabetes reaction (incoherent, passing out, tired, seizure) means they have had too much insulin and blood glucose is too low. They need carbohydrates - and fast! Think juice, candy, applesauce, etc. If you see someone with T1D having this reaction, give them sugar quickly. I can be a better school nutrition Director and serve these students better. Carbohydrate counts are important, especially to a newly diagnosed family. Understanding how the school cafeteria works and keeping an open line of communication is probably even more important. The families of students with T1D are likely utilizing the school nurse as their school contact because they might not know how or who to contact in the school nutrition office. School nurses can be absolutely wonderful (we’re so very lucky to have ours) or they can be a source of misinformation and frustration. Be a part of the solution for these families by offering yourself to be on the care team. These families do not have time to find you - but would be so incredibly grateful if you found them. Added sugars are not only the problem of students with T1D. They are unhealthy in excess for all students, but especially challenging for those with T1D. It is not uncommon in the T1D networks for parents to share school nutrition menus or interactions in a very negative light, which really hurts me to the core! We can do better by communicating proactively with families and nursing staff and taking a deep look at the nutrition standards and content of the foods we serve.

Can you imagine if even one of these blessings was not available to us?

The amount of success in this disease correlates so closely to the time and money invested. How incredibly sad is it that those without the blessings of time and money cannot have access to the same level of care? It’s truly shameful that we can’t see that all people deserve basic human right to life - and that includes the medication they need to survive and prosper at an affordable price. If people living with this condition, especially children, can endure the amount of work, sacrifice, pain, and stress that this disease can place upon them, my problems seem very small. These people, including my son, are truly heroes.

Have you heard about the latest high-quality training for school nutrition professionals from School Nutrition Foundation? LEAD to Succeed™ was developed in partnership with the Georgetown McDonough School of Business specifically for school nutrition professionals like you.

If I can leave everyone with one takeaway, it’s this: Have some empathy.

Not every student or every family started in this world in the same place nor do they have the resources that you may think they have or can get to be OK. No amount of preparation or hard work could ever prepare a family or a child for a diagnosis that they did not want or deserve. Take a pause to understand and respond with kindness to families who you may encounter, many of whom might be newly diagnosed. Believe them and trust them when they tell you what they need from you, that they know how to advocate for their child because they must do just that all the time. If we all took a little bit of time and patience to understand that every person’s life experience(s) are unique, we might see the world in a little different (and hopefully kinder) way.

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I can be a better human. I AM a better human because of it.

The challenges that a family with a student with any special needs, including T1D, face are immense. Those challenges include the workload, mental toll, and in so many cases the insurmountable financial difficulty it places upon a family. We are blessed with literally everything going for us: great insurance, family support, a job that gives so much flexibility, and more and it STILL at times feels like a nearly impossible challenge.

If I can leave everyone with one takeaway, it’s this: Have some empathy. “

SNF *LEAD to Succeed™ is available to all SNPs regardless of SNA membership. Non-members create a guest account. Funded by a $2m grant from the Department of Agriculture, LEAD to Succeed™ was designed for individual use as well as a group setting. You can also request a trainer-led LEAD to Succeed™ session at your next state agency or state association meeting. Learn more on the SNF website: schoolnutritionfoundation.org/LEADTraining

Lindsey Hill, RD, SNS MenuLogic K12, Founder, Chief Product Officer Director of Nutrition Services, South Madison Community Schools

F oundation Education, Research and Scholarship

Dana Clerkin Director

700 S. Washington St. | Suite 300 Alexandria, VA 22314-4287 phone: 703.739.3900 800.8877.8822 fax: 703.739.3915 email: dclerkin@schoolnutrition.org

Passionate school nutrition director / leader with over 16 years of experience in the industry. Lindsey created MenuLogic K12 to fill a gap in her own operation and those of her colleagues’ operations. Lindsey wanted a tool that would give her the confidence (through objective data analysis) to build better menus (higher participation, higher food quality, more financially successful). Lindsey works fast – and doesn’t want any tool to slow her down so she works diligently to ensure every aspect of MenuLogic K12 is a smarter, faster way to accomplish the goals we all share (happy, healthy students and bottom line).

www.schoolnutrition.org

GET STARTED AT www.SchoolNutrition.org/Lead

PODCAST SPOTLIGHT Each edition we’ll bring you the freshest podcast content to boost your programs,

33 min

Episode 16

Chef Rachel Gooding

21 min

In this episode, Chef Patrick mixes it up with Chef Rachel Gooding, Senior Research Chef, CCS ® McCormick & Co., Inc. Join them as they chat about the good works of the McCormick Science Institute and how to develop flavorful foods with less sodium. This is an episode you truly can’t miss.

Getting to know Leah

your knowledge, and hopefully your mood. Grab a coffee, wine, or even your walking shoes and listen in.

Leah began her career in university food service at Morehead State University. After spending the next six years in healthcare nutrition/food service, she decided to make the change to school nutrition.

About this podcast -

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 to help promote the continuous improvement of child nutrition programs.

During her employment at Mayfield Independent Schools, she has co-coached a winning Kentucky Junior Chef team and held numerous positions within Kentucky School Nutrition Association and is currently KSNA President-Elect. Most recently, Leah has been on the front lines providing meals in the community after a devastating tornado destroyed Mayfield.

The National Restaurant Association Show with Dr. Katie Wilson 20 min

31 min

True Servant Leadership 33 min Episode 7

The Balancing Act of Leadership

On today’s episode, we have Stefanie Giannini, Director of Food & Nutrition Services at Marquardt School District 15 in the Chicago land area and owner of IVATI where her mission is to inspire

The Urban School Food Alliance is considered by many to be the most innovative organization in the United States when it comes to feeding children. Because they are made up of the largest districts in the country, which also happen to be the largest restaurant chains in their communities, they face a different set of challenges that require out of the box, forward thinking to overcome. In this episode you’ll learn why Dr. Wilson is at the National Restaurant Association show,

Reginold Ross is one of those rare natural leaders who confidently leads by example. As the former President of SNA and Operations Consultant at North

and cultivate every individual’s identity & development as a leader through public speaking, consulting, and content creation. Along with Stefanie is Sandy Voss, the Director of Food & Nutrition Services at Arlington Heights School District 25. Also, in the Chicagoland area. Stefanie and Sandy have a special relationship in that Sandy used to be Stefanie’s director before her move to Arlington Heights which opened the door for Stefanie’s promotion at Marquardt 15. In this episode, we’ll talk about their relationship, what it takes to lead successfully in today’s society, and how to hire and develop future leaders. The Next Up Podcast series is the landing place for those interested in thought leadership. Here you’ll find the podcast versions of our Live talk show, Premier talk show, and stand alone podcasts. We focus on having real, and open conversations with the most inspiration, intellectual, innovative, individuals from across the globe that share a common desire to help others be the best version of themselves. About this podcast -

Carolina Department of Public Instruction, he has the innate capacity to effectively manage and lead groups of people to achieve collective goals. Marlon and Nisha met up with Reggie at the National Leadership Conference in West Palm Beach, FL to discuss his tenure during a pandemic as President of School Nutrition Association, serving with purpose, and tips for future leaders. Brought to you by LINQ and NxtGen Network, LINQ’D UP is a podcast where the unsung everyday heroes of school districts share their stories and tips for success. Each episode features a candid, unscripted conversation about the life-defining moments and challenges we face at schools. Together, we connect IT Directors, Food Nutrition Professionals, and Administrators within districts to build a better tomorrow for students across the nation. About this podcast -

Want to be featured in a podcast? Do you know a podcast that we should feature in our upcoming

and why the Urban School Food Alliance believes in and pushes innovation to ensure no kid goes unfed.” Better food, better health, kids are our business.

Urban School Food Alliance

Served editions? Reach out to the NxtGen Team Here!

About this podcast -

The Urban Update Podcast is brought to you by the Urban School Food Alliance. The USFA was created in 2012 to address the unique needs of the nation’s largest school districts. As a 501c3 nonprofit, we share best practices, develop procurement strategies, and advocate for the health and wellness of students.

What’s on Your Summer Plate? However you are feeding this summer, have a plan!

team, and employees only had to work 2-3 hours per day instead of 6-8 hours. Another wonderful perk was that there was little to no clean up! So I’m glad I did it, because now I know my district’s personal pros and cons of cooking versus

If you’ve already got the food and labor ready to take charge in the kitchen and cook up a storm, that’s awesome, and you should definitely take advantage of that! Get to cooking and use summer feeding as a time to try new recipes with the students

For the new directors out there, don’t be afraid to try something new, and even if you are a little afraid, don’t let self-doubt make you think you can’t do something. “

there. This is the perfect time to get feedback from a smaller pool of children than when school’s in session. So however you are feeding this summer, have a plan! If summer feeding starts in three weeks and

Self-Proclaimed Recipe Concoctor Valerie Weivoda, MS, RD, LD, SNS

ordering meal kits. I was very afraid to jump into the meal kit world at first, only because I had never done them before now. I believe there is a time and place for shelf stable meal kits and for my district, it was the

Summer feeding can look quite different for all of us. Whether you’re preparing for the largest summer feeding program of your life or just something small, we’re all pretty spent on the COVID- drama of supply chain issues. I’m a firm believer in working together and sharing ideas. So that’s what I’m bringing to you today - ideas! No matter if you’re a small school of 4 sites or a really large school of 100 sites, everyone’s ideas can be helpful to one another. So don’t be afraid to call the neighboring district and pick that Director’s brain about what they have up their sleeve. Last summer, my district was struggling with getting labor on top of the food issues. So we resorted to meal kits for the first time in our summer feeding history. It was different, a lot less labor and overall, very convenient!

What wasn’t convenient was purchasing direct from the manufacturer and having to accept 20 plus pallets of food to a warehouse that I rented because we had nowhere on campus to accept that many pallets. Then carefully organize maintenance personnel from each of my eleven schools to drive to the warehouse, load their vehicles and deliver it to their cafeterias. I had to work with the warehouse personnel and their regular shipment schedule to figure out when my food could be picked up so we wouldn’t cause a cluster of drama at the loading dock. Not to mention, I had to sort all of the pallets of food by school before it got picked up to be sent out. How does that Rihanna song go? “Work, Work, Work, Work, Work..” Did you sing that with me? It was a lot of work! By doing this though, I only needed 1-2 employees at each site passing out breakfast and lunch kits instead of an entire

exact time. In the future, I’ll feel more comfortable making that call again. For the new directors out there, don’t be afraid to try something new, and even if you are a little afraid, don’t let self-doubt make you think you can’t do something. I was afraid, but I didn’t let self- doubt take control. I jumped into it and got the students fed, and the summer was great!

your plan is only halfway done, you better get to “work, work, work, work, work..” Rihanna said it. Not me. But what I did say is don’t let that self-doubt tamper with your cool ideas!

xoxo Gal Pal Val

Growing up in a family of 6 children with parents and older siblings that cooked, I have always been curious in the kitchen. My love for food and fitness led me to pursue a Master’s degree in Dietetics and Nutrition from the University of Mississippi. During my internship I had a spark of interest in school nutrition. Now, as a director, I try to create and menu at least one new recipe each month, whether it be a taste test at one school or something menued across the district. In my spare time, I love to create my own recipes at home, prepare and review other’s recipes, and talk about all things wellness on my Instagram page: @val.weivoda_rd. Valerie Weivoda, MS, RD, LD, SNS Child Nutrition Department Director, Lee County School District (MS)

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