Local and state partners host regional school nutrition training
FARMINGTON - Healthy Community Coalition of Greater Franklin County, Franklin County Let’s Go!, the Maine Department of Education, SYSCO food vendor, Regional School Unit 9 and several food brokers partnered to host a training for 80 regional school nutrition staff on Aug. 15. The training met state requirements that included fine tuning cooking and meal planning skills for school nutrition professionals.
Andy Hutchins, RSU 9 school nutrition director and a member of the Franklin County Let’s Go! School Nutrition Workgroup, spearheaded event coordination. Funding was provided by Let’s Go! and the Full Plates Full Potential initiative.
School nutrition professionals are charged with the difficult task of providing a healthy meal that meets state and federal standards on a tight budget, while making it tasty and appealing to students. This free training allowed school nutrition professionals to complete many of their required yearly training hours before the school year began. Sessions included kitchen first aid safety, techniques to integrate spices and seasonings into meals, techniques for cooking in the school cafeteria setting, a game show-style session with food safety and reimbursable meal information, recipe crediting to meet state regulations, updates on state and federal regulations, and a civil rights presentation from the Maine Department of Education.
The training received great accolades from participants who commented that the training was presented in a meaningful and fun way. “It was amazing to see so many school districts and other entities coming together in unison, all for the good of our local child nutrition programs,” said Andy Hutchins, RSU 9 director of food services. “Ongoing training is such an essential part of any school nutrition program and this event was a huge win for foodservice staff and the children we serve.”
FARMINGTON - Healthy Community Coalition of Greater Franklin County, Franklin County Let’s Go!, the Maine Department of Education, SYSCO food vendor, Regional School Unit 9 and several food brokers partnered to host a training for 80 regional school nutrition staff on Aug. 15. The training met state requirements that included fine tuning cooking and meal planning skills for school nutrition professionals.
Andy Hutchins, RSU 9 school nutrition director and a member of the Franklin County Let’s Go! School Nutrition Workgroup, spearheaded event coordination. Funding was provided by Let’s Go! and the Full Plates Full Potential initiative.
School nutrition professionals are charged with the difficult task of providing a healthy meal that meets state and federal standards on a tight budget, while making it tasty and appealing to students. This free training allowed school nutrition professionals to complete many of their required yearly training hours before the school year began. Sessions included kitchen first aid safety, techniques to integrate spices and seasonings into meals, techniques for cooking in the school cafeteria setting, a game show-style session with food safety and reimbursable meal information, recipe crediting to meet state regulations, updates on state and federal regulations, and a civil rights presentation from the Maine Department of Education.
The training received great accolades from participants who commented that the training was presented in a meaningful and fun way. “It was amazing to see so many school districts and other entities coming together in unison, all for the good of our local child nutrition programs,” said Andy Hutchins, RSU 9 director of food services. “Ongoing training is such an essential part of any school nutrition program and this event was a huge win for foodservice staff and the children we serve.”
Local Pizza With Local Grains For Mt. Blue School District
DAILY BULLDOG - FARMINGTON - Between preparing healthy food, adhering to strict nutrition standards, navigating student food allergies, and offering service with a smile, school nutrition professionals have a lot on their plates.
School districts all over Maine, while operating within very tight budgets, are working hard to include as much locally grown foods as possible into their menus. RSU 9 School Nutrition Director Andy Hutchins, worked closely with local pizza dough manufacturer “It’ll Be Pizza” in Scarborough and foodservice specialist Lee Walker from Sysco, to create a pizza dough recipe that meets the expectations of today’s students while meeting the USDA’s nutritional requirements for school nutrition programs.
Not only did Hutchins work with It’ll Be Pizza to develop this dough specifically for use at RSU 9, but the dough will also be sold through the district’s regular food distributor, enabling the opportunity for expansion to other districts in the future. RSU 9 will be the first school district in Maine to offer this healthy and local pizza option to its students, with hope for growth throughout Maine schools in the future.
“I am humbled and thankful to work with such great partners who have helped make this project a reality,” said Chef Hutchins. “It took some trial and error and a great deal of effort but in the end we have a fantastic product that is made right here in Maine, by Maine workers, using Maine grown grains. Having it stocked for sale by a major distributor closes the loop and makes it sustainable all the way from the farm to the fork.”
All RSU 9 school cafeterias participate in the Let’s Go! 5210 program and carry out a Smarter Lunchroom model where the healthy choice is made the easy choice. With the addition of this locally sourced whole grain pizza dough option, RSU 9 cafeterias continue to carry out this model. Hutchins is also a strong component of the RSU 9 Farm to School Workgroup and continues to find new opportunities and ideas in exposing students to local foods and farms.
School districts all over Maine, while operating within very tight budgets, are working hard to include as much locally grown foods as possible into their menus. RSU 9 School Nutrition Director Andy Hutchins, worked closely with local pizza dough manufacturer “It’ll Be Pizza” in Scarborough and foodservice specialist Lee Walker from Sysco, to create a pizza dough recipe that meets the expectations of today’s students while meeting the USDA’s nutritional requirements for school nutrition programs.
Not only did Hutchins work with It’ll Be Pizza to develop this dough specifically for use at RSU 9, but the dough will also be sold through the district’s regular food distributor, enabling the opportunity for expansion to other districts in the future. RSU 9 will be the first school district in Maine to offer this healthy and local pizza option to its students, with hope for growth throughout Maine schools in the future.
“I am humbled and thankful to work with such great partners who have helped make this project a reality,” said Chef Hutchins. “It took some trial and error and a great deal of effort but in the end we have a fantastic product that is made right here in Maine, by Maine workers, using Maine grown grains. Having it stocked for sale by a major distributor closes the loop and makes it sustainable all the way from the farm to the fork.”
All RSU 9 school cafeterias participate in the Let’s Go! 5210 program and carry out a Smarter Lunchroom model where the healthy choice is made the easy choice. With the addition of this locally sourced whole grain pizza dough option, RSU 9 cafeterias continue to carry out this model. Hutchins is also a strong component of the RSU 9 Farm to School Workgroup and continues to find new opportunities and ideas in exposing students to local foods and farms.
Winter Kids Healthy Snacks at Mallett School!
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Thanksgiving Dinner without the Westminster Dog Show, Macy's Parade, or all the Crazy Relatives!
Customize Your Burger Day!
Yes! We do catering too!
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Chicken Rice Burrito Chicken Teriyaki
Well, Mother Nature was not kind to us on School Breakfast Week with several snowstorms. None the less, a good time was had by all and we were able to sample a number of new breakfast items. Here are a couple of pictures from the
Omelet Station at Mt. Blue Middle School.
Omelet Station at Mt. Blue Middle School.
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The All New Sandwich Bar opened today at Mt Blue Middle School! Students will enjoy several entree choices every day and a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables from a new and improved fruit and veggie bar!
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Are you ready for some Barbecue!
Friday, September 9th at Mt. Blue Campus Dennis Sherman, founder and owner of Denny Mikes Sauces and Seasonings will be helping us prepare some delicious BBQ for lunch on Friday, September 9th. Denny has won more than 60 awards at juried competitions around the country. You don't want to miss this one! |
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It's opening day at the high school. What better way to start the new year than with spaghetti and meatballs with homemade sauce and fresh baked garlic bread! Or, a nice Chicken Caprese with local Roma tomatoes and fresh basil from our own school garden!
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