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| Month in FOCUS | Issue 31, October 13, 2010 |
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Want to have your finger on the pulse of school food procurement?
Our site features a weekly update covering school food procurement in the news.
Click here for a more frequent, in-depth update than what you'll find in Month in FOCUS.
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Welcome to the October 2010 Month in FOCUS
It's National School Lunch Week! What are you doing to celebrate? Read on for more: a new documentary about school meals; a spotlight on innovative work in Douglas County, Colorado; an announcement about the 2011 FOCUS Annual Meeting; new videos from our 2010 Annual Meeting; Better Beef Days; and updates on policy, news and events.
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Have you seen "Lunch Line"?
 School Food FOCUS was excited to co-host a screening of the new documentary "Lunch Line" in New York City. On October 6, a sold-out crowd filled the theater, enrapt by the tale the filmmakers weaved -- the history of the National School Lunch Program shown through the lens of the popular tween book and film series, Twilight, and enriched by the spirit of Chicago teens participating in Healthy Schools Campaign's Cooking Up Change contest. The film helps audiences learn why school food is such a complex issue. To shape the future, one must understand the past, and "Lunch Line" illustrates this history superbly.
Following the screening, FOCUS Executive Director Toni Liquori appeared on a panel alongside Kristen Mancinelli of New York City SchoolFood community partner City Harvest and film directors Michael Graziano and Ernie Park.
To watch the trailer, click here. To request a screening of the film in your community, click here.
Bonus! The next morning, FOCUS Communications Associate Meredith Modzelewski appeared on local NYC news to speak about the film and about school lunch. You can view her segment here.
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Brent Craig talks the talk and walks the walk -- increasing participation in Douglas County (CO) School District
"With a lack of communication, people always assume the worst," explains Director of Nutrition Services Brent Craig of Douglas County School District (DCSD) in Colorado. "That's a mantra for school lunch. What we've concentrated on is that simple thing: communication."
Social media revolution | | Brent Craig |
How has he done it? Largely through Facebook and an informative, friendly monthly newsletter. Nutrition Services staff check the Facebook page three times a day, answering questions and defusing the irritation of some visitors by asking for more information, offering a personal phone call and, hopefully, getting them to open up -- through both sharing and listening. "Ideally, our approach is to listen, educate, then recruit that person as a champion for school lunch and Nutrition Services," says Craig. To date, the Facebook page has nearly 900 fans.
Nutrition Services used to merely post the monthly newsletter on their website, but they found that only about 200 people (in a district with over 50,000 students) checked the site each month. Now they send the newsletter directly to parents, and they have seen the positive feedback accumulate with supportive emails and renewed enthusiasm: since they began directly sending newsletters and menus to parents, Douglas County now serves about 1,800 more meals per day compared to last school year.
The newsletter profiles chefs working in the district, discusses new menu developments and covers current events as they relate to school lunch. "The tone is friendly. We know we're not perfect, but we're making strides. In a recent newsletter we wrote, 'We think Jamie Oliver is awesome! In Douglas County, we incorporate whole-muscle chicken nuggets and patties, just like Jamie was working on,'" explains Craig.
Soon, DCSD Nutrition Services will be using Twitter and blogging regularly. Craig looks forward to engaging with even more of the district's students and parents effectively in the ways that work best for them.
>> For the rest of the story, check out the FOCUS blog >>
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Mem'ries: Video from the 2010 Annual Meeting
Whether or not you were able to attend the momentous FOCUS Annual Meeting in Chicago this past March, have a look at our newly posted video overview from the event! Your smiling face might just be in it. Click the image below to go to the video page.
Our friends at Meerkat Media created the piece for us based on footage shot throughout the meeting. In the coming days, we will post more videos that take a more in-depth look at the meeting, such as the District Showcases and Jan Poppendieck's keynote speech. Bookmark our page and check back for updates, or subscribe to the RSS feed.
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Start planning for a "Mile-High" Annual Meeting
 You heard it here first: the 2011 School Food FOCUS Annual Meeting will be in Denver, the site of our second Learning Lab! The meeting will take place in June 2011, with exact dates to be determined.
Do you know of any conferences or other activities happening in June 2011 that we should be aware of to avoid double-booking? Please let us know.
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Better Beef Days
This exciting stakeholder-led initiative is happening this week! FOCUS is conducting  targeted local and online media outreach to publicize the districts' dedication to providing better meat options for their kids, benefiting both student and environmental health. Outreach has changed slightly to more accurately reflect the efforts on the ground. To recap:
- San Diego Public Schools will serve grassfed beef hot dogs in the district's high schools.
- Portland Public Schools will serve grassfed beef hamburgers sourced from Carman Ranch in Oregon on whole-wheat Shepherd's Grain buns throughout the district.
- Oakland Public Schools will serve grassfed beef hot dogs district-wide as part of its "Ideal Meal" alongside products such as locally baked cornbread and antibiotic-free chicken.
- Denver Public Schools will serve sustainably raised Colorado beef district-wide in "haystacks" (tortilla chips topped with ground beef and low-fat cheese) and in spaghetti with meat sauce.
Fingers crossed for exciting media coverage!
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Policy update: Congress adjourns without passing CNR
There's a CNR cliffhanger for America's children! On September 30, Congress
 | | Photo: Jan von Holleben |
adjourned without taking action on the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act. Here's a quick recap of the good, bad and ugly of these efforts.
The Good: the Senate bill includes...
- Mandatory funding for farm to school efforts
- Nutritional standards for competitive foods
- $300 million a year in new meal reimbursements, the largest increase in history
- This translates to an additional six cents for every meal that meets the new standards
The Bad: What's not in the bill
- An increase in reimbursement rate large enough to make changes that many school food advocates would like to see
- The funding increase ($4.5 billion) in the Senate bill is less than half of the $10 billion requested by the Obama administration
- The House bill proposes more funding ($7.5 billion), but has not identified sufficient offsets to pay for the bill
The Ugly- The Senate bill shifts $2 billion from SNAP (food stamp) funding to school nutrition programs
- This has divided hunger and nutrition advocates; before the recess, some advocated to pass the Senate version of the bill, and others asked Congress not to pass the bill until the offset was replaced
There were not sufficient votes in the House to pass the Senate version of the bill, so the current CNR was extended through December 3. Advocates are now hoping that an acceptable compromise can be found during the lame duck session -- after midterm elections, and before newly elected Congressmembers take office. There is hope that the final bill will not include the contested cuts to the SNAP program. FOCUS staff have heard from advocates that if a Republican majority is elected, entirely different bills may be introduced. |
Reshaping federal policy to support more healthful school meals
 JoAnne Berkenkamp (right) of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), community partner to FOCUS district Saint Paul Public Schools, makes a sound case below to begin altering federal policy to better support more healthful school meals. Her comments especially apply to farm to school funding opportunities still pending in CNR, as well as to upcoming leverage points in the Farm Bill to shift federal funds from supporting a few commodity program crops to supporting farmers who serve local markets.
Farm-to-School's Teachable Moment
Teaching the value of healthy eating in schools is a great way to fight obesity.
Schools throughout the country are shaking up the cafeteria through new initiatives to improve children's health while giving a boost to local farmers. It's time to give the mystery meat a break and bring out locally produced apples, squash, tomatoes, and chicken.
You'd think that a program linking local farmers producing fresh, minimally processed foods with local schools would be a no-brainer. But several decades of federal farm programs have discouraged farmers from targeting local markets--instead encouraging farmers to expand acreage with a few commodity program crops (like corn, soybeans, or wheat) or get out of farming all together. At the same time, school lunch programs dealing with tight budgets have taken advantage of more highly processed foods over buying fresh from local farmers. >> Click here to read the rest of the op-ed.
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Notable news
A selection of news stories and reports, many of which originally appeared in our weekly procurement change news round-up. It's posted each week on the School Food FOCUS blog. >> Chefs in schools making veggies cool (Edible Dallas & Fort Worth): FOCUS district
 | | Brad Trudeau, rock star chef |
Dallas Independent School District (DISD) Executive Chef Brad Trudeau is featured in a discussion of the Chefs Move to Schools program with Dallas-Fort Worth area chefs and school food service professionals, including DISD Director of Food and Child Nutrition Services Dora Rivas. >> From Farm to Tray (Minnesota Parent): FOCUS district Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS) Director of Nutrition and Custodial Services Jean Ronnei and former FOCUS Learning Lab Manager Dorothy Brayley are quoted in this illustrative piece about successful farm to table efforts in the district, and how SPPS worked with FOCUS and community partner IATP to provide better food for students. >> Campaign encourages schools, students to support local farmers and eat healthy (Atlanta Journal-Constitution): Nutrition Director Marilyn Hughes of Atlanta Public Schools, Farm to School Coordinator Erin Croom of community partner Georgia Organics, and regional stakeholders discuss the benefits of farm to school programs. >> Fancy food for students (Parker Chronicle News): Three elementary schools in FOCUS district Douglas County celebrated Colorado Proud School Meal Day on September 8 with Colorado beef hamburgers and Colorado baked potatoes. The district plans to showcase a locally grown product each month. The move to fresher food, along with school gardens and exercise, is part of a district-wide wellness initiative involving school staff, parents, and the community. >> New Report on School Food in New York City (Food Systems NYC): A new report titled "Recipes for Health: Improving School Food in New York City" was released by the Projects for Healthy Public Policies at the City University of New York School of Public Health at Hunter College and New York City's community partner City Harvest. The guide for stakeholders, advocates and policymakers is available online at the City Harvest website. |
Upcoming events
October 16-19, 2010
Community Food Security Coalition Annual Conference - "Food, Culture, & Justice: The Gumbo That Unites Us All"
Participants will have the opportunity to see first-hand the unique regional and multi-cultural approach to food organizing taking place in New Orleans, as well as workshops and plenaries to inspire and educate about the food security movement. Session topics will include: rebuilding local food economies; ending poverty and increasing food access; outcomes of the US Social Forum; environmental justice; public health links; food policy councils; urban agriculture; and more. Policy Program Manager and Stakeholder Liaison Sheilah Davidson will present on behalf of FOCUS.
New Orleans, LA
November 4, 2010
Cooking Up Change 2010
Cooking up Change combines the energy of a culinary competition and the fun of a celebration with the power of Healthy Schools Campaign's mission. Be part of the movement to transform the way our nation's children eat at school while enjoying great-tasting food from aspiring young chefs and Chicago's leading caterers. Meet high school culinary students competing to create a healthy school lunch with just $1 a serving that will be served in Chicago high schools.
Salvage One, Chicago, IL
November 6-10, 2010
American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting & Exposition
The APHA Annual Meeting & Exposition is the oldest and largest gathering of public health professionals in the world, attracting more than 13,000 national and international physicians, administrators, nurses, educators, researchers, epidemiologists, and related health specialists. This year's conference centers on issues around social justice and public health. APHA's meeting program addresses current and emerging health science, policy, and practice issues in an effort to prevent disease and promote health. Toni Liquori will be in attendance representing FOCUS and joining Denver Public Schools and its community partner, Slow Food Denver, in hosting a field visit to schools engaged in the Learning Lab.
Denver, CO
November 12-13, 2010
Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (NESAWG) Annual Conference - "It Takes a Region: A Working Conference to Build our Northeast Food System"
The conference will look at exciting efforts underway in the region -- including alternative supply chain networks, food system assessments, regional planning, infrastructure initiatives, and policy advocacy. Participants will address pressing new issues in work groups, listening sessions, topical break-outs and open networking, and will continue to explore scale, size, geography and cross-sector partnerships. Kathy Lawrence is organizing an institutional purchasing workshop with Dana Hudson, Northeast Regional Lead at the National Farm to School Network.
Desmond Hotel and Conference Center, Albany, NY
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School Food FOCUS
is a national initiative that helps large school districts with 40,000
or more students procure more healthful, more sustainably produced and
regionally sourced food so that children may perform better in school
and be healthier in life. Funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and
launched in late 2008, FOCUS works with food service and other
stakeholder groups to collect, analyze, and use food system data and
peer-tested research to spur change in procurement methods. School Food
FOCUS supports a network of people who are engaging nearly 30 large, primarily urban
school districts in systems change and also facilitates the sharing of
best practices and lessons learned.
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