HOW TO MAKE YOUR SCHOOL CAFETERIA THE FRESHEST INTRODUCTION Are you fed up with your school lunch? Your district’s school nutrition department want to hear from you about what you think about your school meals - so let’s give them a mouthful! This action guide will give you the steps you need to fight for your food, without a food fight. Specifically, it will tell you how to: Conduct research Build a team for cafeteria change Hold a brainstorm Create an action plan Measure youre success NATIONAL SCHOOL NUTRITION GUIDELINES These guidelines are used by your district’s decision makers when it comes to figuring out what to put on your plate USDA’S NEW MEAL PATTERN (NUTRITION STANDARDS) FOR SCHOOL MEALS: Requires schools to serve larger portions of fruits and vegetables. Students must take at least one fruit or vegetable serving per meal. Schools must offer dark green vegetables, orange/red vegetables and legumes at least once a week. Transition to whole grains (your tortilla may be brown now instead of white!) At least half of all grains served at lunch must be whole grain rich. By the start of school year 2014-2015, all grains must be whole grain rich. Requires milk to be 1% or nonfat, flavored milk must be nonfat. No more than 10% of calories can come from saturated fat and schools must eliminate added trans-fat. 2 LEARN THE FACTS Make sure you have the necessary info about the school nutrition guidelines and what they mean for you and your fellow students. CALORIES SHMALORIES: Students in grades 6-8 should have 600-700 calories a meal and less than 710 milligrams of sodium. Students in grades 9-12 should have 750-850 calories and less than 740 milligrams of sodium A Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese has 750 calories and 1280 milligrams of sodium! HOW MUCH CAN I EAT?: The school lunch guidelines have no daily maximum quantities on grains or meats, fruit, vegetables or milk you can eat (but they must meet the calorie limits listed above) There is a 2-5 cups of food requirement, and schools are required to offer every student, every day, a choice of milk, fruit, vegetable, grain and meat/meat alternate. Within these food groups, schools determine what items to menu – so long as those items meet stan dards for fat, calories, sodium, etc. That means a plate of mystery meat may pass guidelines even if it may not be the best lunch to eat on test day WHAT’S ON THE MENU? Figuring out where to start in your fight for school lunch can be hard. Here are 4 changes that you can consider: LOCAL FLAVOR: School buys local produce, not stuff that shipped from miles away. We want our food delivered, not FedEx’d! APPLE OF YOUR EYE: Every cafeteria has to offer fruits and vegetables with every school meal, every day of the week, and students now have to take a fruit or a veg etable before they leave the cafeteria. Is your school serving fresh produce or the stuff out of a can? YOUR CLASSMATES ARE HAPPIER WITH FOOD OPTIONS. They’re actually eating their meals instead of tossing them. GET BAKED: school stops frying foods and starts baking it instead. How do you decide which issue to address? Research! 3 STEP 1: RESEARCH The first step to making change is understanding the perspectives of the key players. You can’t make change if you don’t know who you’re asking. CAFETERIA STAFF AND DISTRICT NUTRITION DIRECTOR: Where does the food that is served to us come from? What is the nutritional content in the food being served to us? How often is fresh food delivered to our cafeteria? Is the temperature in the kitchen satisfactory? How do you cook the main meal? What foods are fried? Can these foods be baked instead? How much variety is there in the fruits, vegetables and main meals served? Where does the food that is served to us come from? YOUR PRINCIPAL: Who makes the decisions in our district? How can we work together to bring about the best change for the students? YOUR FELLOW STUDENTS: What do you like/dislike about school lunch? What would you like to see changed? What are some food options you would like to see? FOR BOARD OF ED/SUPERINTENDENT: How can we make a change for the better of our school and district? 4 STEP 2: BUILD A TEAM You’re probably not the only one who isn’t feeling the week straight of bean burritos. Team up with friends to tell the school what needs to change. HERE ARE SOME GROUPS YOU CAN CONSIDER APPROACHING: Look to different school groups who may want to join your (food) fight: Student council National Honors Society Athletics Community Service Club Debate Team Unicycle Hockey Club (if your school actually has one of these, please contact us immediately) Who else is upset about your school meals? Wait by the trash can at lunch to see who’s tossing theirs GETTING PEOPLE’S ATTENTION CAN BE TRICKY, BUT USING THESE TACTICS WILL HELP: Make an announcement at the start of lunch, when students are fully immersed in the issue Explain how this will affect your friends- what’s in it for them? Make it fun! Encourage a lunchtime photo shoot following the guidelines of our campaign! 5 STEP 3: HOLD A BRAINSTORM SESSION Once you have an action group formed, have a meeting where you come up with an action plan. HERE’S WHAT TO PUT ON YOUR AGENDA: Present your research Give your suggestion for what issues to address Determine who can help you make your change. Here’s a rundown of the power players in your district: The Food Service Director Manages the cafeteria workers and the food choice School Principal Should care directly about the students s/he is serving and can help raise your voice to the board of ed/superintendent 6 STEP 4: CREATE AN ACTION PLAN Here are three actions you can use to create change: 1 FLYER THE SCHOOL - use the posters provided to raise awareness about the changes you’d like to see in your lunch line 2 START A PETITION - we’ve given you guidelines on how to create your own petition. Get your fellow students to sign and rally behind you and the action team for the change they want to see 3 SET UP A MEETING - have a meeting with the decision maker you decided could be your ally in creating positive change in your lunch line. Use these steps as a meeting outline: Who are you targeting? Your audience will determine your messaging. What are you asking for? We feel there is not enough variety in the food we are served for lunch. We have reviewed the national standards and believe that we can make some changes that will appeal to the student body, while staying within our budget. When do we want to see change? By next semester? Next school year? Next budget meeting? Why do you want the change? Is it all about enjoying your food more? Reducing food waste? Improving performance in school? Its up to you! 7 CHECK UP ON IT EVALUATE YOUR PROJECT: Did you accomplish what you wanted to? What did you do well? What would you change if you were to do it again? FOLLOW UP WITH THOSE WHO WERE INVOLVED Thank them for participating Include any next steps in your thank you - what do you want them to do following the meeting? What should you be doing after the meeting ONCE YOU FINISH THESE STEPS, decide if there is still change that should be made and work with your action group to conquer school lunch! JUST DO IT (RIGHT) Here are some best practices to keep in mind while you advocate for change in your cafeteria: BE POSITIVE: Start your project with a determined attitude, ready to offer suggestions and make compromises. RESPECT WHOMEVER YOU ARE SPEAKING WITH. Remember everyone works hard to make sure every student has access to lunch. THAT YOUR SCHOOL IS LIMITED TO A CERTAIN BUDGET-they have the $ KNOW ability to make changes, but they may come step by step KEEP A LIST OF SUGGESTIONS ON HAND instead of a list of complaints i HAVE YOUR RESEARCH ANDT FACTS AVAILABLE. REMEMBER: The cafeteria staff are on your side 8 FOR DESSERT: RESOURCES Final Rule Nutrition Standards in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs Choose My Plate School Meal Fact Sheet Chef Ann's Website Healthy School Foods Now Jamie Oliver Foundation 9