K-12 food courts that students are enjoying.The perception that the aesthetics of a K-12 food court is not as important as the food itself is changing. Continuing to stay ahead of the curve is important in the eyes of students who want to spend time in an environment they enjoy. Modern K-12 food courts are and will continue to play a big part in school nutrition for many years to come! The importance of creating unique experiences for students.
FOOD COURT of the Month! Brought to you by
Introducing the Culinary Institute of Child Nutrition
The USDA and ICN have collaborated to create the Culinary Institute of Child Nutrition (CICN), a division of the ICN, with a principal mission to increase the culinary skills of school nutrition programs by providing culinary training programs and resources to support Child Nutrition Operators to prepare and serve healthy, culinary-inspired school meals from scratch and elevate the cafeteria atmosphere. The purpose of the CICN’s training curriculum is to provide an in-depth, hands-on culinary training for school nutrition (SN) professionals to equip them to transition their programs from a “heat and serve” model to a scratch-based (or quick scratch) production model. The program will provide participants with the competencies, knowledge, and skills to successfully begin the implementation of scratch- based cooking in their program and to prepare and market school meals that are healthy, flavorful, and student-approved. CICN’s website is an online information center providing Child Nutrition Programs (CNPs) with a means for accessing effective resources related to culinary aspects of program operation. The CICN website will serve as a centralized place to store, organize, manage, and share culinary knowledge and tools with CNPs. The CICN website provides users with an overview of the CICN training program.
School Nutrition has come such a long way since we were all in school as young kids. For a long time, the perception inside the food court space has been utilizing the long brown tables for students to enjoy their lunch. That was the industry standard inside student food courts. But those times are changing. The same way breakfast and lunch programs have adapted and improved drastically, there is a shift in making the environment for students more inviting, as a result many students enjoy the delicious food that school nutrition professionals provide for them every day. The emphasis on creating modern, popular, and fun K-12 Dining Commons and K-12 Food Courts are continuing to build momentum and as the years progress the importance will be even greater and here’s why. . . Creating unique experiences for students is important for them as they feel valued. When students go into a K-12 food court environment and see different seating options and wall designs, it makes them want to spend time there. The high-quality food that is being cooked throughout kitchens across America should be greeted with a modern food court. One of my favorite quotes a nutrition director said about adding new tables and designs is: “students eat with their eyes first and then their mouth.” That is such a fascinating quote because for the longest time the focus has not been on the aesthetics of the food court. School nutrition is constantly evolving and changing for the better. Students are now treated with fantastic meal options that are constantly being shared and celebrated across social media. Now more and more, we see stunning
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Resource Categories Baking Basic Kitchen Equipment Scratch Cooking Blanching & Shocking Cold Kitchen Techniques Cooking Grains
Cooking Methods & Recipes Egg Cookery Flavor Enhancement Knife Skills Menu Planning Tools Mise En Place
Portioning Preparing Beans & Legumes Preparing Fruits & Vegetables Salad Bar Weights & Measures
“We went from old, dated wood grain patterns, to a much more modern look that the students appreciate.”
https://vimeo.com/352807843
The CICN monthly webinar series will offer information and training CEUs to child nutrition professionals. Each webinar will be scheduled on the first Thursday of the month at 2 pm CST and feature culinary topics and expert panelists in school food service operations. Following the live webinar, the recordings will be available on ICN’s eLearning Portal: theicn.org/eLearning
Conor Doyle is a digital marketing specialist with AmTab Manufacturing. He is actively involved in the school nutrition company who helps provide valuable insight on café modernization projects across the country. Conor’s favorite part about working with schools is knowing that students and staff will love their modernized spaces. Being able to transform ordinary environments to extraordinary ones that students love being a part of is amazing! Conor graduated from DePaul University with a bachelor’s degree in Marketing.
Spice up Your Lunch is a video available in the i-Bites Recipe Videos. Just one example of the resources provided by CICN, State Agencies, and allied organizations.
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
Conor Doyle AmTab
Find Conor on LinkedIn Here!
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