Will you lead, or will you follow?
Issue No. 17 July-August 2022
Powered By
The Strategy of Innovation Why you need a strategic plan as you innovate New Tool for Schools Check out this free resource to help serve healthier meals A New Way To Keynote Changing the way conferences are seen , forever
More Than Just a Party View the Ignite 2022 event recap, watch the final Next UP episode of The 4C’s Behind the Business of Child Nutrition , and hear from the event sponsors inside.
Cover Photo by Thai-son Nguyen, taken at Ignite on July 10, 2022
Episode Four: Courage
Next Up Episode
2
Filmed Live At
This four-part series was inspired by a podcast featuring Shannon Solomon from Aurora Public Schools. In this series, Shannon is the guest host and will be joined by Jessica Shelly, Katie Cossette, and Roy Pistone where they speak about what it takes to run your child nutrition program as the BUSINESS that it is.
https://youtu.be/N64BtdPy34w
https://youtu.be/-g-6hCNW1g0
https://youtu.be/3vRsJum1Gr4
Episode One: Collaboration
Episode Two: Culture
Episode Three: Communication
Contents
Creating a culture of INNOVATION Ready-to-Use Tips
8
The Strategy of INNOVATION
31
28
New Tool for Schools
Slow to happen, but we jump by leaps and bounds when it does. COOKING TECH
Life Time Foundation’s New Software Helps School Food Pros Serve Healthier Meals
22
3
Changing the way conferences are seen , forever. A New Way To Keynote. 12
PODCAST SPOTLIGHT
URBAN SCHOOL FOOD ALLIANCE INSTITUTE OF CHILD NUTRITION NEXT UP NATION’S RESTAURANT NEWS 26
From our Partners
2 | Next Up Episode Four Sponsored by LINQ 10 | J.T.M.
21 | NxtGen Pro Powered by
39 | AmTab Special Event 41 | Take your
Solomon Wisdom & Lunch Assist 25 | Deeply Rooted Farms 30 | LunchAssist
State Publication Digital with NxtGen Network
K-12 Crave Collection Winner Announced!
16 | NutriSlice
There’s More
Contents
Reading & experiencing content with Served Digizine is a unique experience! For a quick tutorial on how to get the most out of each Served Digizine edition watch this quick video with Breanna. New to Served? Start Here.
Digizine How-to
18
FROM THE BLOG
with Dr. Katie Wilson, SNS
36
INNOVATION 14
4
A SEASON TO FLOURISH with Recipe Ideation and Creation! Edible Education: Slicing up Inspiration for Your Menu and More! 32
Don’t forget to look for this symbol!
Served Token Video
In partnership with Norris Products, find the symbol, click on it, and sign up for a chance to win a monthly Served prize package. Each month we will hide our symbol, or one of our partners symbols, somewhere in the Digizine. Find it and you’ll have a chance to win a prize pack from Served Digizine!™
Does your company want to sponsor a monthly prize pack? Contact our Sales Team Here!
Page by Page
02 06 08
Next Up: Episode #4: Courage The 4c’s behind the business of child nutrition Letter from the Editors & Served Highlights: Live from Wisconsin SNA The Strategy of Innovation by Jenna Kaczmarski, MSPH, RD, SNS CREATE: The Future of Foodservice Learning from Restaurants with Nation’s Restaurant News A New Way To Keynote. Changing the way conferences are seen , forever. with NxtGen Network by Melissa Mayer Innovation Required ICN Resource of the Month IGNITE Event Recap Check out the “Party Of The Year” Digizine Innovations in Cooking Tech USFA Member Article Chef Juan Zamorano Podcast Spotlight with Next UP, USFA, NRN, & ICN
28
New Tool for Schools with Life Time Foundation
Megan Flynn, MPH, RD Ready-to-Use Tips Creating a Culture of Innovation with Ready Foods by Annelise McAuliffe Soares Edible Education A SEASON TO FLOURISH with Recipe Ideation and Creation! with Pisanick Partners USFA: From the Blog Convictions and Courage in School Meals with USFA by Dr. Katie Wilson, SNS Creating Spaces
31
11
32
12
36
14
38 40 42
18 22 26
Innovation at the Core with AmTab by Conor Doyle The MOMologue by Stacy Cardinale
5
Served Edition Recap
Teamwork
| Sarah@NxtGenNetwork.com | Digital Editor Sarah Kolcheck
| Amanda@NxtGenNetwork.com | Co-Creator Co-Editor Amanda Venezia
| Marlon@NxtGenNetwork.com | Co-Creator Co-Editor Marlon Gordon
| Melissa@NxtGenNetwork.com | Co-Creator Chief Creative Officer Melissa Mayer
| Breanna@NxtGenNetwork.com | Assistant Editor Breanna Gustafson
Executive Assistant: Jennifer Savasta
CONTACT US: Articles & News: info@ServedDigizine.com; Ads: sales@ServedDigizine.com; Parent Company: info@NxtGenNetwork.com
@NxtGenNetwork365
@nxtgen_network
@NxtGen_Network
NxtGen Network
Nxtgen-Network
Served Digizine™ is a publication of NxtGen Network. Served Digizine™ releases eight issues annually. This publication is free of charge to our subscribers and can be opted-out at anytime.
& ServedDigizine.com NxtGenNetwork.com
Copyright 2022 Served Digizine™ and NxtGen Network. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part of any text, photograph, or illustration without written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Opinions and advertisements in the magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent management views. The digizine is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts and photographs, or any errors or omissions that might occur.
Welcome to the age of the Digizine! Here are your July and August Highlights.
Co-Creators & Co-Editors Amanda & Marlon Say
INNOVATE or die.
Innovation... I love innovation so much that Amanda and Melissa didn’t have to twist my arm to write this editorial.
organization, better for EVERYONE, including the people you serve. Imagine if food manufacturers refused to innovate their recipes. Our children would be eating cardboard. Imagine if our tech vendors didn’t develop new hardware and software to meet the ever-changing needs of our industry. We’d be using pen and paper instead of point of sales. Imagine if organizations didn’t embrace new ways of partnership and ideas. We’d be communicating in the same boring ways and not engaging with the masses in terms and on platforms where they live, work, and play. One thing to keep in mind is that with innovation comes disruption, and with disruption comes haters. Yes… There are actually people out there afraid of change. And sometimes these people will view you as a threat (sometimes unrightfully so) and will try and shackle you to the past which is their present. But do what I do. Use their fear as fuel. Every time you are patted on the head and told to sit down or cautioned against that which you know will propel your business forward, remember that they would not be exhausting their energy if you weren’t doing something special.
But before we dive in, let’s start by defining my favorite noun. Merrium Webster defines innovation as:
1: A new idea, method, or device: NOVELTY
2: The introduction of something new
As a culture, we are always moving. I wish I could say we’re always moving forward, but sometimes it seems as if we are moving backward. But that’s a subject for another editorial I will probably pawn off on Amanda. Regardless of which direction we are moving, we need new ideas, new solutions, and new methods. Why? You may not die as the title of this article indicates, but you will most certainly be forgotten, fade away, lose, and leave a lot of people unhappy, desiring something better. So, unless you like leaving voids in whatever spaces you operate in, you must embrace innovation and strive to be better. But not just better for yourself or better for your
Welcome to the future. Now Innovate and live a little!
Don’t forget to subscribe! Just Click Here!
SNA of Wisconsin at
Want us to be a part of your association tradeshow? Contact NxtGen Network Here!
From The Show Floor Live is the trade show experience delivered live through video to viewers all over the nation. We visit with the most interesting and innovative exhibitors, talking to them about what makes their company special and a viable solution to enhance your program. Watch more live From The Show Floor videos HERE.
Featured Partner: Institute of Child Nutrition theicn.org
https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=Mdv5z- 6Bi-Sk&list=PLpJJP3_3Y- Jdvo2YFYxMXITgjz_p_ TOEmp&index=29
7
https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=o_rFCQ-Nxx- w&list=PLpJJP3_3YJdvo2Y- FYxMXITgjz_p_TOEmp&in- dex=30
https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=-vCHdX2fr- wE&list=PLpJJP3_3YJdvo2Y- FYxMXITgjz_p_TOEmp&in- dex=27
Brookwood Farms brookwoodfarms.com
Dick & Jane Educational Snacks educationalsnacks.us
https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=3i8YGtuh- kic&list=PLpJJP3_3YJdvo2Y- FYxMXITgjz_p_TOEmp&in- dex=42
https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=elTlVS- gIv-I&list=PLpJJP3_3YJdvo2Y- FYxMXITgjz_p_TOEmp&in- dex=28
https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=u0BE7OI- 69fA&list=PLpJJP3_3YJdvo2Y- FYxMXITgjz_p_TOEmp&in- dex=33
ZeeZees zeezees.com
J.T.M. jtmfoodgroup.com
Super Bakery superdonut.com
https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=AgiGH- ll3-As&list=PLpJJP3_3Y- Jdvo2YFYxMXITgjz_p_ TOEmp&index=32
https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=pjti- Yg6-HbI&list=PLpJJP3_3Y- Jdvo2YFYxMXITgjz_p_ TOEmp&index=41
https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=ZIQHrriwCY- Q&list=PLpJJP3_3YJdvo2Y- FYxMXITgjz_p_TOEmp&in- dex=38
General Mills generalmillscf.com
Bernatello’s bernatellos.com
TITAN titank12.com
Consultant, Kazmarski LLC | Co-Founder/President, Locally Grown Inc. Jenna Kaczmarski, MSPH, RD, SNS The Strategy of INNOVATION
What comes to mind when you think of innovation?
I bet you didn’t think of strategy did you? The truth is innovation without strategy may not get you the results you were hoping for. In fact, the same is true for strategy without innovation. Focusing on innovation with no planned strategy is like driving a race car without a map, fun and exciting at first until you realize you don’t know where you are going or why you are going there. Strategy without innovation is like driving a Volvo with GPS and a printed map, reliable and safe, but pretty boring. So, here’s the secret…. Innovation + Strategy = MAGIC! Innovation can mean big, bold, new ideas , but here’s thething,itcanalsomeanincrementalimprovements over time to an existing product, system or service. The magic happens when the innovation is aligned strategically with your values, your mission and your goals, keeping you laser focused on your mission. If you want to be innovative, you need a strategic plan Every successful business has a solid strategic plan and every school nutrition program should operate like a successful business. If you don’t have a strategic plan in place, what are you waiting for? Even better, when you bake innovation into your strategic plan you ensure that you will always be moving forward centered on serving your customers better and creating a culture that your employees will get excited about, can you say retention…… that’s right a culture of innovation supported by strategy can help you retain quality talent!
Don’t worry, it’s not as scary as you think
Strategic planning might sound overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Get someone outside your department and organization to guide and engageyour team through the process and make sure everyone is involved! Leaders often fall into the trap of feeling like they need to have all the answers.Truth is, the best leaders know how to ask good questions, not provide good answers.To encourage participation from all, consistently ask all members of your team “what do you think.” The best ideas often emerge from unexpected places. A well organized strategic planning process can strengthen your team and leave everyone feeling energized and full of passion. Leadership is not about being the hero, it is about facilitating others to achieve greatness together. Recipe for a great strategic plan:
The Steps: Phases of Strategic Innovation Define and Discover
definition, dream and design process, with emphasis on DEFINE.
In other words, innovation just for the sake of innovation isn’t what we are looking for. We want to think creatively and consider new ideas that are aligned with our values and help us achieve what we have defined as success. Not every good idea will be a good fit for your operation. Along the way, you have to decide which innovations are right for you. This is why innovation and strategy go hand and hand. Define Your Filter Define the project, using your guiding principles, mission, vision and goals as a filter. Before committing to a new idea or project, ask these questions; • Does this align with our guiding principles? • Does it help us achieve our mission and propel vision? • Will this get us closer to our objectives or distract us away from them? If any of these answers are in the negative, the project is not a good fit or may need to be adjusted. If the idea is a good fit; time to get excited and start dreaming and designing! Now that I told you the secret….go make some magic.
In this phase you will align “what we do, why we do it, and how we accomplish it” with your guiding principles and mission statement. Remember to infuse innovation into these guiding principles. This lets your employees know that it’s okay to challenge the status quo and consider new ways of doing things. Next you will discover the best of what is. Explore the strengths of your team and the resources you have available. When you laser focus on the strengths you have at your disposal and the possibilities you can achieve – you move towards a future that everyone feels a part of. This is how you build your mission statement and create a culture where innovation and creativity can thrive. Dream The dream phase is the most exciting and inspiring phase. You invest time creating a shared vision for the future, engaged in strategic innovation. Imagine how things will change and ask the question, “What will it look like when we are a world class school nutrition program?” Design Once your vision for the future is clear and you know what success will look like, you can design how to get there. Create your goals and objectives by asking: • What are the individual goals that are needed to reach our vision? • What steps are needed to reach those goals? • What are the tangible outputs we can measure along the way? • Who will be responsible for each goal and objective? • What timeline is realistic for each goal and objective? Deploy Now that you have THE PLAN, implement what you designed and turn your vision into reality. Not all innovation is strategic innovation So, how do you make sure this innovated strategy you have created doesn’t get you off track? If the innovative idea is big enough to be considered a project, I recommend going through a simplified
9
Jenna Kaczmarski, MSPH, RD, SNS Consultant, Kazmarski
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.
And the winner is
https://youtu.be/oaV2P- PC99Xs
10
Congratulations to Chef Phyllis Platt and her team from Troup County School District in Georgia for winning our very first K-12 Crave Competition with her Buffalo Chicken Melt recipe that utilizes our Queso Blanco Sauce! For submitting the most crave-able recipe, Chef Phyllis has won a scholarship to attend SNA ANC 2023 in Denver, CO! Thank you to everyone who participated and created great dishes with us!
Scan the code to download the 2022 Crave Collection Cookbook and learn more about the competition. www.jtmcravecompetition.com
LET’S CREATE GREAT DISHES TOGETHER ®
J.T.M. Food Group | 800.626.2308 | jtmfoodgroup.com/k-12
LEARNING FROM RESTAURANTS with
Click Here to Open!
11
Articles, Interiews, Videos, Podcasts, and More!
Changing the way conferences are seen , forever. A New Way To Keynote.
Melissa Mayer
Chief Creative Officer, NxtGen Network
“So… Melissa… We have this idea.”…. If you know Marlon Gordon at all, you know he starts a lot of sentences like this. Personally, I love the challenge to help him achieve his dream-like ideas. However, as his Chief Creative Officer (CCO), I also know how much blood, sweat, and yes… maybe some tears come with pulling these dreams together. But man, when we all work together, add in some amazing industry collaborators, and bring talent to the project from all our connections – we pull off some amazing things. The final keynote at the School Nutrition Association of Wisconsin annual show in June was no exception. It set a new bar – and it set it high. You know the scene… you’re planning the end of the conference and your board is scratching their heads asking themselves, “Who can we get to do the final keynote that is SO GOOD that all our attendees won’t want to miss it?” Enter Wisconsin SNA (WSNA) , Fork Farms , and NxtGen Network . These power brains came together to not only plan an educational session that knocked all others out of the park – but we filmed a freaking cooking show in front of a live state association audience. Who.Does.That?
I know this might be starting to sound a little prideful considering that I work for NxtGen Network – and maybe as their CCO I shouldn’t be admitting this – but NONE OF THIS WAS MY IDEA! The heads that dreamed this all up just came to all our respective teams and said… “Now, can we pull it off?” To which we said, “hold my adult beverage.” I won’t bore you with the five months of planning that followed – but let me just tell you, Sue Malesa, from Fork Farms is legitimately one of the hardest and most dedicated workers I have
ever met (she even rivals my 85-year- old grandma who spends more time on her feet everyday than I do). Sue rocked the industry side of this show.
12
Conference week arrived.
We all pulled up our big girl (and boy!) pants and got to work. It was a 12-hour set-up day for all our different teams (we’re talking like 20+ people – no small feat). Marlon and Amanda showed up, looking glam (they did have From the Show Floor to film that day after all), and ready to do the show run through. As Amanda recalls, “Melissa
just handed me a 36-page script.” Yep, you heard it right. Two hours of filming takes about 36 pages of scripts, stage directions, and actors notes. If you have ever wondered what a Chief Creative Officer does, now you know. Stage & equipment set-up, two food deliveries, a 40-person run-through, and several sore feet later, we were ready for filming in the morning.
WSNA friends entered the room and filled the seats. This.Was.Happening. In the audience were some of the happiest and most excited faces I had ever seen on a film day. They were here for a show, and we were going to deliver. Did I forget to mention that we also had ZeeZees and Titan in our show… oh, and a chef from Lambeau Field (that’s the home of the Greenbay Packers if you didn’t know)! WHAT?!?! If you aren’t excited by now, I don’t know what else I can say that will give you the butterflies in your stomach that I had that day. Dream big ideas, guys – and then find a few people crazy enough to help you achieve them. This was a first – but because a few people dared to pioneer A New Way To Keynote – there will be more. What you are about to watch was a labor of love that was one of the most well-attended keynotes in WSNA history. I hope you enjoy the show. Action!
6 a.m.
Alarms go off and we don our very fancy matching NxtGen Network Nike’s (thanks, Marlon!). It’s eerily quiet in a large conference room when you stand alone on a stage that is maxed out with prep tables, stage lights, pantry items, and eight cameras. The only noise behind me was the soft trickle of the water in the beautiful Flex Farm that was on stage. Breathe deep Melissa, it’s showtime.
The quiet didn’t last for long as our on-stage talent, their teams, chefs, and 150 of our closest
Chef Nohl & Susan Deon
Lois Ludwig & Christopher Schmitz
VIDEO COMING SOON! Releasing Thursday, Aug 4th
Chef Anthony & Stephanie Sheley
Melissa Mayer Chief Creative Officer, NxtGen Network
Melissa has been working with school nutrition professionals for over 14 years. Beginning her career as a graphic designer for a design company that specializes in branding and signage for school food service programs, she now focuses her talent on helping other companies that support her school nutrition passion build their brands and market their services. Melissa attended Indiana Wesleyan University where she received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Graphic Design.
INNOVATION Services in the San Luis Coastal Unified School District in California. Erin buys food from local growers and producers whenever possible to add regional interest to her menus and keep funds in the community. Find this and many more The MixUp podcast episodes on our website .
For over 30 years, the Institute of Child Nutrition (ICN) has worked to help Child Nutrition Program operators remain up to date on best practices in preparing and serving meals to children. In 2019, ICN launched the Culinary Institute of Child Nutrition (CICN), an education branch focused on culinary skills development. CICN’s mission is to provide training and technical assistance to help child nutrition professionals develop goals and implement best practices to improve the culinary aspect of program operations. At CICN, we promote child nutrition innovation through various channels and media. Our podcast, The MixUp , features inspiring stories from leaders in school nutrition innovating their programs.
CICN also hosts monthly webinars covering timely topics with guest speakers sharing their success stories. Our monthly webinars help program operators gather new ideas on best practices by offering themes such as flavor development strategies, batch cooking for optimal quality, engaging student influencers in menu planning, and Grab-and- Go menu options for busy students on the go. Our monthly webinars reach about 1,000 or more participants from every U.S. state and territory. Archived webinars are available for viewing through iLearn, ICN’s free, self-paced online course platform.
For example, in a recent podcast we learned about local purchasing from Erin Primer, Director of Food and Nutrition
Garrett Berdan is a registered dietitian nutritionist and chef with a passion for advancing school meal programs. In April 2021, Garrett joined the ICN as an Education and Training Specialist for the CICN. Garrett’s 12 years in school nutrition includes consulting, culinary training, quantity recipe development, food communications and marketing services. He has also worked as a child nutrition specialist with the Oregon Department of Education Child Nutrition Programs, and most recently as the menu planner and area supervisor for Spokane Public Schools. Garrett is a graduate of Washington State University and The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone. In 2011 The White House honored Garrett as a Champion of Change for his work with school nutrition programs and Chefs Move to Schools. Garrett’s experience with Chefs Move to Schools is featured in First Lady Michelle Obama’s book American Grown. Education and Training Specialist Chef Garrett Berdan, RDN
CHOOSE FROM 20 NEW RECIPES! Using USDA Direct Foods!
RESOURCE INNOVATION
RECIPES
Our latest resource to encourage innovation is a collection of 20 Grab-and-Go recipes designed
to help school nutrition professionals offer portable and appealing menu items that are simple to prepare and use a variety of USDA Direct Foods. The recipe collection includes tasty, on-trend menu items like Overnight Oats with Berries, Minty Melon Salad, Cowboy Caviar, Sesame Ginger Slaw, Turkey Wrap with Cranberry Spread, Backyard BBQ Chicken Salad, Vegetarian Greek Salad, and many more. Visit TheICN.org/CICN/Grab-and-Go-Recipes to find the new recipes.
Watch the webinar to learn more!
https://vimeo. com/697144161/954c313654
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! There are many exciting resources in development from CICN. Connect with us to be the first to know about new resource releases, webinar registration, and new podcast episodes.
https://youtu.be/ BvE6UiAATFk
16
Powered by Solomon Wisdom and LunchAssist
“Developing those capable of being the light in a word of food insecurities.”
NxtGen Pro is a national professional development, networking, and mentorship program that will provide a unique level and quality of continued education to those in foodservice. When we say foodservice, we mean ALL of foodservice. We don’t care if you are a chef, a restaurant owner, if you work in colleges and universities, if you’re a Child Nutrition Professional or in any food industry. There is something to gain from collaborating and learning from/with those in other verticals, and tons of innovation to follow. Everybody will have the ability to apply to the program as a mentee or a mentor and pairings will be made based on personalities and goals. NxtGen Pro will be the place where the best and brightest future leaders (and new leaders!) come together and will include in person and virtual meetups. For more information on NxtGen Pro as it becomes available, register below.
Below are some of our first mentors:
Shannon Solomon, MS, SNS Director of Child Nutrition, Aurora Public Schools
Donnette Worthy, SNS Director of Child Nutrition, Alexander City Schools
Beverly Girard, PHD, MBA, RD, SNS Owner, Leading Edge Training and Consulting
Stefanie Giannini, MA, SNS Director of Food & Nutrition Services, Founder of IVATI, Public Speaker & Educator
Kayla Beyer, Esq. Chief Executive Officer & Founder, Deeply Rooted Farms
Alyssa Bradbury-Hills VP of Sales Retail/Foodservice, Deeply Rooted Farms
Jessica Shelley, MBA, SNS, REHS Director of Student Dining Services, Cincinnati Public Schools
Ervin Watson, MBA Business & Marketing Strategy, Leadership Development, Coach & Trainer, Organizational Consultant, Professional Public Speaker
Dr. Katie Wilson, SNS Executive Director, Urban School Food Alliance
Sign Up Here for NxtGen Pro Updates
MARQUEE
When we came up with the concept for Ignite a year ago, there were two main challenges to solve. We wanted to combine REAL content that fostered open communication AND a networking event that celebrated the hard work you’ve endured all year long. Sunday night at the Hard Rock Live was a grand success because of your support and willingness to try something fresh, innovative, and disruptive. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts! This would not have been possible without contributions from our key partners and Next Up Guests. As mentioned, we’re launching a program called NxtGen Pros - a mentoring initiative to help facilitate peer to peer collaboration and bridge gaps between Foodservice as a whole. Look for more information coming soon!
Sign Up for Early
Information Updates for 2023 Here!
Until next time (there will be a next time!), Marlon & Nisha
360 CAMS
360 CAMS
360 CAMS
360 CAMS
Click Here to Open!
Click the recap digizine above to see more photos and footage from one great party!
SPONSORED BY
Make sure to check out the Ignite Event Recap Digizine to hear from each of our co-sponsors. These sponsors united together to create the best event and resources for you, our school nutrition heroes!
https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=zsEbp9oU- V00&list=PLpJJP3_3YJd- teqPlMUz7bFn1AEzHkN- LFf&index=1
Tyson K-12 tysonfoodservice.com
https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=ycoDMFD- MO1k&list=PLpJJP3_3YJ- dteqPlMUz7bFn1AEzHkN- LFf&index=2
Vulcan vulcanequipment.com
Introducing
Thank You to all our Ignite 2022 Co-Sponsors! We got to take a moment to sit down and get to know some of them a little better. Watch their interviews below!
https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=bha3Lvqa- JRY&list=PLpJJP3_3YJd- teqPlMUz7bFn1AEzHkN- LFf&index=3
https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=1qny8LmT- m0M&list=PLpJJP3_3YJd- teqPlMUz7bFn1AEzHkN- LFf&index=4
Norris Products norriscorp.com
AmTab amtab.com
21
https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=ABbSnpy- 0Wac&list=PLpJJP3_3YJ- dteqPlMUz7bFn1AEzHkN- LFf&index=6
https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=_0udWrr- b5YQ&list=PLpJJP3_3YJ- dteqPlMUz7bFn1AEzHkN- LFf&index=5
JTM Food Group jtmfoodgroup.com
Cargill cargill.com
https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=fbCgXbYy- W7M&list=PLpJJP3_3YJ- dteqPlMUz7bFn1AEzHkN- LFf&index=7
https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=WsXNDTrQrn- Q&list=PLpJJP3_3YJdte- qPlMUz7bFn1AEzHkN- LFf&index=8
Buena Vista bvfoods.com
Tasty Brands tastybrandsk12.com
Slow to happen, but we jump by leaps and bounds when it does. COOKING TECH
Food Services Program Specialist at San Diego Unified School District Chef Juan Zamorano
I’ve been in the foodservice industry for over 30 years and have become well aware of the “slow as molasses” pace innovation crawls at within the realm of kitchen equipment. Could this lack of innovation be justified since the laws of physics and thermodynamics are not flexible and do not allow at least one real breakthrough per decade? Or could it be that our industry is not “sexy enough” for research and development resources to be at the disposal of bright and enthusiastic engineers and scientists? Imagine if they let their creative minds go to create the next combo oven that can cook with different temperature zones within the same cabinet. Or maybe develop a mystical apparatus that can cook crispy, oil free french fries that would erase from our memories how good deep fat fries really taste.
I know I’m full of questions and not answers. Let’s put my wishful thinking aside for a minute and scoot over and make room for discussion about what I see happening in our industry regarding kitchen equipment and training innovation, and its implementation in our production kitchens. We are still making more powerful work horses with little technological innovation. The words of Henry Ford ring true now as they did in 1936 when he said, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” Maybe we have been asking for faster horses and not better equipment. Equipment that can give us more control over the whole cooking process and information in real time. Equipment that can give us control over fire and energy is what we desired to harness all
Member Article
for ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs .’ I know this because I’ve seen it firsthand. I don’t mean to get preachy here, but
When it comes to cooking innovations... Maybe we have been asking for “faster horses” and not better equipment. “
the introduction and implementation of innovative kitchen equipment must be in lockstep with training, culinary culture development, and the democratization of culinary knowledge and skills via digital formats. As much as I love to do face-to- face training (and I have made a career of providing it for decades), I feel that it may not be sustainable in the long run, or that it may be useful only in certain areas, but not in scale. Now I’m getting nostalgic, NOT! I’m very excited to see how new platforms that provide training digitally are sprouting more often than ever with beautiful formats and very energetic bright people. LunchAssist and Fig are both great examples of these programs and run by good friends of mine. While I’m all over the place in this article (and hopefully you have stuck with me this far) let’s circle back to kitchen equipment innovation. There are a few exceptions to the slow pace of kitchen equipment innovation. For me, one of the most interesting examples is German combi oven technology. I’m not suggesting that anyone buy these types of ovens, just want to point out what I like about the technology that is being developed in this line of ovens. In some cases, it may not even make sense to own one, but in the situation Read On
23
along. Cooking has evolved since it started over an open flame in the hunter-gatherer period to the open hearths of medieval times. With wood fire stoves, gas stoves, electric stoves, and now with combi ovens we are always looking to control cooking heat so that we can optimally serve our guests. But technology alone has never been the answer to better food. We have a pressing need to democratize culinary knowledge and skills, so that the implementation of innovative equipment can really be transformational. I’m using the term“innovative equipment”loosely since for some child nutrition operations a tilt skillet and an impinger oven can be perceived as huge innovations. In some cases even the introduction of a sectionizer is cause
that it does, it can open a lot of possibilities for culinary innovation. Within the last 10 years I have noticed three
guide you through using your combi oven - regardless of which generation you own. Whether you are using an older model or the latest version, there are a ton of tutorials in the app. These ovens come with more technology than you will probably ever use, but if you need it, it is there. This level of commitment to innovation is
technology upgrades in their ovens, including additional periodic software updates. I like that these ovens can detect the load size, the product size, read the core temperature, and make the necessary adjustments to deliver the results the operator programs it to perform. It has the potential to be connected to the internet and be manipulated remotely, which, in our situation, is a godsend. San Diegot owns 38 of these types of ovens spread throughout our 220 school sites. The Delta-T cooking option in the combi oven manual mode, and the overnight roasting in the Intelligent Cooking Center are just two of many cool features. Not to mention the training app with all sorts of videos that
what I look forward to seeing companies invest in in the future. I hope that as more tech companies turn their attention to our industry, they will realize the value of investing in cooking technology. Innovation in the foodservice industry plays a big role in the health of our students and the preservation of the environment. The more we explore this field, the more we leap forward with equipment that will enable us to feed our future.
Member Article
Chef Juan Zamorano Food Services Program Specialist at San Diego Unified School District
Chef Juan has worked in the food services industry for over 30 years. He started running his first professional kitchen at the age of 19 and ever since he has worked leading teams of professional cooks in many different styles of service. He owned his own catering business for over 11 years and has worked at San Diego Unified for over 9 years. He is an active member of the Healthy Kids Collaborative and has participated with the Chef Ann Foundation in a project for school chefs to develop kid approved plant based recipes. At San Diego Unified he is responsible for the training of a larger culinary staff, recipe development, contributes to menu development, product vetting, special projects, programming and troubleshooting of equipment. He enjoys cooking, posting school food related content on social media, hiking, boogie boarding and spending time with his 3 kids.
Our kids deserve
A SIMPLE label
How do I use crumbles? JUST REPLACE YOUR GROUND BEEF WITH OUR PLANT-BASED, ALLERGEN-FREE CRUMBLES! Made with a few simple ingredients. No fillers; just pea and spices – that’s it!
AVAILABLE IN THREE FLAVORS
25
italian
MEXICAN
PLAIN
Delicious made from plants!
Easy prep
REPLACES GROUND BEEF GLUTEN & TOP 8 ALLERGEN-FREE CLEAN INGREDIENTS, KOSHER SHELF STABLE FOR 18 MONTHS
per serving 2 M/MA
MORE INFO: EATDEEPLYROOTED.COM
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.
26
Meeting of the Great Minds Bret Thorn from Nation’s Restaurant News & Dr. Katie Wilson from the Urban School Food Alliance 26 min
This episode is a special throwback edition from May 2022 at the National Restaurant Association Show
in Chicago, Illinois. As most of you know, Marlon loves surrounding himself with people smarter than him. And even more so, he loves introducing the people he surrounds himself with to each other. In this episode, he had the opportunity to introduce two respective juggernauts to each other. That is Dr. Katie Wilson, Executive Director from the Urban School Food Alliance, and Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor at Nation’s Restaurant News.
Want to be featured in a podcast? Do you know a podcast that we should feature in our upcoming
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.
Next Up: The 4C’s behind the business of child nutrition - Courage 55 min
64 min
This week on the Extra Serving podcast, a product of Nation’s Restaurant News, NRN editors Holly Petre, Sam Oches, Leigh Anne Zinsmeister and Bret Thorn discussed Subway’s biggest menu overhaul in the chain’s history. The editors decided to discuss the news on everyone’s minds: Subway’s menu overhaul, our most-read story of the week. The largest menu overhaul in 60 years of Subway’s existence changed up the way customers can order from Subway. The update focuses on predesigned sandwiches and moves away from the unlimited customization that Subway became known for. The editors discussed what it means for the customization movement that Subway first started, and that Chipotle took the reins on in recent years. Next, the team discussed Amazon’s minority stake in Grubhub. The tech giant took over a 2% stake in delivery company Grubhub this week. With the possibility of a sale in the future, what does this mean for the two companies? The team discussed. This week’s interview is with Roberto DeAngelis, chief experience officer for Friendly’s, who spoke about the family-dining chain’s new menu offerings, including fig jam and frico. NRN editors discuss Amazon’s stake in Grubhub, Subway’s biggest menu overhaul ever
Thanks for tuning into the Next Up Podcast. This episode is the podcast conversion of our first ever live studio audience filming of Next Up at NxtGen Network’s event called Ignite. This episode is sponsored by LINQ and is the finale episode of the 4C’s behind the business of Child Nutrition… and the topic is “Courage.”
About this podcast -
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.
42 min
7 min
Episode 17
Bettina Applewhite
Welcome to First Bite, a Nation’s Restaurant News production. This daily news show, hosted by Holly Petre, offers you a daily dose of news along with a deeper dive into one of the trending stories of the day. On today’s episode, you’ll learn about why Chipotle is a “value leader,” plus hear the Top 5 stories of the day. What Makes Chipotle Mexican Grill a ‘value leader’ among Mexican fast-casual restaurants
Join Chef Patrick as he Mixes It Up with Bettina Applewhite, Sr. Operations Supervisor, Southwest Area, Baltimore County Public Schools. In this episode, they chat about serving diverse communities, school nutrition as a career path, Bettina’s experience on Bravo’s Top Chef Amateurs, and more!
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.
Life Time Foundation’s New Software Helps School Food Pros Serve Healthier Meals New Tool for Schools
Life Time Foundation Nutrition Project Manager
Megan Flynn, MPH, RD
As school nutrition professionals know , when children are well-nourished, their minds and bodies can flourish. But for many, there is limited time in the day to read ingredient lists and compare the nutritional quality of products. With the help of Life Time Foundation, school nutrition pros around the country now have access to a game-changing tool: Green Onion. In our pursuit to build this tool, we found Becki and Dusty Swan of Swan Solutions, an amazing, experienced partner. Green Onion is a free online tool for school nutrition professionals and purchasing cooperatives that automatically analyzes their products for ingredients of concern. By easily and efficiently identifying these ingredients,Green Onion helps school districts serve the most nourishing, delicious food possible to the students in their care. Green Onion started from a dream: to start all kids on their healthy way of life journey (our mission at Life Time Foundation).
From the beginning, nutrition has been our primary target for achieving this goal. We knew that, if we could partner with school food professionals in their efforts to keep highly processed foods out of school meals, we could start empowering kids to lead happier, healthier lives. Today, Life Time Foundation provides grants to school districts nationwide for capital equipment, staff training, education and marketing, and operational support. For each of the grants, we work directly with school food pros to create customized plans that help them serve whole, minimally processed meals — and always encourage scratch cooking practices. To date, we’ve partnered with 35 school districts, impacting more than 1.7 million children. Partnerships typically last three-to-five years and, on top of financial grants, provide schools with the support of our nutrition project manager to help identify and eliminate unhealthy ingredients. That’s where Green Onion enters the story.
https://youtu.be/TqI73WTcFzM]
LIFE TIME FOUNDATION PARTNERS
Minneapolis Public Schools, MN March 2014
Austin Independent School District, TX October 2016 Made to order salad bar expansion, breakfast in the classroom expansion & scratch cooking
New York City Department of Education, NY July 2020 Strategic planning support, public relations consultation, and equipment
Cincinnati Public Schools, OH February 2020 Serving line equipment
Fayetteville Public Schools, AR December 2020 School food operational expert training, education & marketing materials, software, equipment
Osborn Elementary School District, AZ August 2019 Equipment and culinary training
Central kitchen equipment
Green Onion analyzes products for the “Unwanted” and “Watch” Ingredients in the Ingredient Guide for Better School Food Purchasing (a science-based tool created by school nutrition pros, for school nutrition pros, in partnership with Center for Science in the Public Interest). While the Ingredient Guide effectively empowers school nutrition professionals to choose better products based on their unique needs, the process of cross-referencing labels with the Ingredient Guide takes time, energy, and money. Green Onion, though, provides an innovative solution, not only for our 35 school district partners, but for any school district or purchasing cooperative in the country. Green Onion has made searching for clean label products so much easier. Personally, I’m excited for how this will help all districts have continuity in sourcing clean label products. Lauren Marlow, Manager of Nutrition, Cincinnati Public Schools “ From our online, individualized dashboard, Green Onion empowers school nutrition professionals to: 1. Automatically identify “Unwanted” and “Watch” ingredients in the products they serve, as well as any allergens or food sensitivities.
2. Find better alternatives from thousands of K-12 products in our 6,500+ item database. 3. Connect with other school nutrition professionals around the country via a community forum. 4. Export custom reports. 5. Track their progress toward eliminating “Unwanted” and limiting “Watch” ingredients in all the meals they serve. We can’t thank school nutrition professionals enough for their tireless work as they continue to face a variety of growing challenges every day. We hope you find Green Onion to be a helpful time- saver as you work to serve the most nutritious food possible. To get started, visit www.ltfoundation.org/ greenonion and email Megan Flynn, MPH, RD at mflynn@ltfoundation.org to create your free account for your district or purchasing cooperative. To learn more about a partnership with Life Time Foundation and qualifications, visit www.ltfoundation.org/nutrition .
29
Since Life Time, Inc. covers all our administrative and operating costs, 100 percent of every dollar donated to Life Time Foundation directly supports our mission. For more information on Life Time Foundation, visit www.ltfoundation.org.
Megan Flynn, MPH, RD Life Time Foundation Nutrition Project Manager
Megan’s passion for children’s health and wellbeing brought her to the school nutrition field. She has worked with Life Time Foundation since 2015, partnering with school districts across the country to identify ingredients of concern, find alternative products, and increase scratch cooking capacity to help school districts serve the healthiest meals possible. Megan is a Chef Ann Foundation Advisory Board member & proud Mom to two young kiddos who love beets!
Resource Center
District-wide Training
Topics
30
Over 50+ training topics: (released throughout SY 22-23)
Training
High-quality videos Culinary lessons by Brigaid Chefs Five- to fifteen-minute “bite-sized” lessons Professional Standards Tracking Tool USDA-approved SNA CEU-certified
Add-on features:
Civil rights Culinary skills
Training videos in Spanish Group training Administrative Review Boot Camp Onboarding Tech support Food safety certifications (coming soon!)
Customer service Equity & inclusion Farm to school Food safety Food waste reduction Kitchen equipment Lunchroom environment
Meal counting Menu planning
Resources
Checklists Policy & procedure templates Printable signage
Menu production records New employee orientation Offer vs. serve Plant-based meals Recipe standardization Scratch cooking Special diets
Support
Q&As with Chefs and RDs Live webinars Newsletters
Schedule a Demo! accounts@lunchassist.org
@LunchAssist
@Brigaid
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!
Creating a culture of INNOVATION
Does it feel like “innovation” is the new buzzword, hailed as an ideology, almost religion-like in today’s most agile companies and organizations? Let’s not over-complicate it! But we can still revere the possibility innovation holds. Nurturing a culture of innovation is a powerful tool, no matter the size of a team, how large the budget is or the years of experience you have actively working to think outside of the box. Since our inception 50 years ago, we at Ready Foods have always had a culture of innovation, but we never called it that. We were curious, scrappy, creative, but this “i” word wasn’t in our vocabulary yet. This past year, various teams have spent time creating an Innovation Department, along with roles and a vision statement to support its purpose. It’s exciting, but it’s just the beginning for us. Here are a few things we have learned that have helped us start on our Innovation journey. We hope they inspire you to build a culture of innovation amongst your team too: Create a vision for your team, with innovation at the center. If you’re not sure what direction innovation will take in your food service program, try writing a vision statement to help guide the process. Our vision statement is: “We encourage imagination and celebrate curiosity to nurture our culture of innovation.” It’s OK to be a champion of innovation in your school, but for it to really work, the gospel needs to be shared with all departments. Cross-functional teams are critical for innovation to succeed. In our world, for example, it means R&D, Marketing and QA must all work in unison. One way to get all teams on board? Foster a culture of creativity and kindness. If people feel like they are a part of a welcoming team where they can make a difference and safely share new ideas, they will innovate to solve problems. Innovation must be a part of all teams in an organization.
Communication is key. If you are innovating with multiple teams to boldly solve a problem, create a quick format or brief to share important project details to get everyone up to date and on the same page. Understand Who You are Innovating For Before teams can brainstorm to solve a problem, they must first understand who their customer is. Perhaps you’re solving for students, parents or even another team. Remember who you are innovating for and why. Falling or Failing is a Normal Part of Innovation Did you try an idea and it didn’t work? That’s great! You learned something. Plan on failing and encourage falling. If teams never fail, they are not innovating to their highest potential. Focus on Focus Time is finite and we never want innovation to lead to burnout. Encourage your teams to focus 100% of their time on the top 30% of problems you want to solve. Recognize that rest is an important part of innovation. Non-work time has been proven to lead to better focus and quality of work when back at work. We Have to Retrain Our Brains Innovation is thinking outside of the box, it can be uncomfortable and our brains don’t like it. It requires retraining. Try to detach from predetermined outcomes when you are innovating and remember that such a culture and thinking shift can take a few years before it becomes a solid habit. If you feel like you don’t have it all figured out yet, that’s OK! We don’t either. That’s the beauty of innovation, being willing to think outside of the box, daring to brainstorm radical ideas and having the sense to create a culture that welcomes others to push the boundaries and share ideas.
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44Powered by FlippingBook