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| Month in FOCUS | Issue 32, November 11, 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 November Month in FOCUS
Read on to learn about the impact of the midterm elections; find out about big changes in Oklahoma City Public Schools and a makeover for chocolate milk in Chicago Public Schools; view additional video from the Annual Meeting; learn who has signed the stakeholder pledge; and more, plus updates on policy, news, and events.
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What the midterm elections mean for school food
As we all know by now, last week's elections signal a shift in the political climate. With a loss of 60 seats, Democrats no longer hold a majority in the House of Representatives. They have lost three seats from the Education and Labor Committee, 15 seats from the Agriculture Committee, and three Democrats from the Progressive Coalition (which is, however, still the largest caucus in the House). Though Republicans gained six Senate seats that had been held by Democrats, the Democrats retain the majority there, with 52 members.
As reported in last week's Foodlinks America (a great biweekly resource; to subscribe, email bvauthier@tefapalliance.org): "The 2010 election was the first time in eight decades that the House changed hands without the Senate doing so. However, the defeat of Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) means there will be a new Democratic chair for the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. That honor could pass to Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, a socially liberal Democrat...Significant changes will be made in the House, where Republicans will rule. Representative Paul Ryan (WI) will have seniority on the Budget Committee, Frank Lucas (OK) may take over the Agriculture Committee, and John Kline (MN) can claim the leadership of the Education and Labor Committee."
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 Overall, the remaining Democrats in Congress are mainly the more progressive ones. This may make it easier for them to "hang together" on issues, and also may make it harder to find common ground with more conservative Republicans. So, what does this all mean for issues pertaining to transforming school food? The good news is that our issues generally enjoy bipartisan support -- the point has frequently been made that few elected officials, whether Democrat or Republican, could fail to support feeding hungry children and helping farmers at the same time. As we have always done, we will need to talk about the issues differently for different audiences. In a Republican House, the federalist goal of giving state and local communities more power and control over their food supply can be a positive. However, an emphasis on regional and local sourcing of foods can also be interpreted as a "free trade" barrier, so the message must be developed carefully. |
Steve Gallagher of Oklahoma City Public Schools turns big ideas into reality
Steve Gallagher, Director of Child Nutrition Services at Oklahoma City Public Schools (OKCPS), is a man with a lot of ideas. During his five years with OKCPS, he and his colleagues have done much to transform the school meal program from simply status quo to striving for excellence. Recently, OKCPS has made a number of improvements which are sure to affect its students and the entire community in positive ways.  | | Steve Gallagher, OKCPS |
Beginning in the 2010-2011 school year, all OKCPS students are now able to eat breakfast for free, regardless of their economic status. Gallagher recognizes the importance of regularly eating breakfast -- it can improve standardized test scores, reduce disciplinary problems and absenteeism, and make kids less likely to be overweight. As part of their universal free breakfast, through generous grants OKCPS has implemented Breakfast in the Classroom in many schools within the district, bringing breakfast participation up from around 35 percent to nearly 90 percent -- no small feat. In addition to eating breakfast in the classroom, now OKCPS students can enjoy fresh fruits and veggies there. The Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Program grant funded 52 OKCPS elementary schools for the program, and OKCPS elected to fund the program for the remaining elementary schools out of their own budget. Thanks to Gallagher and his colleagues' persistence and the documented need of the school district, OKCPS has been awarded 62 percent of the state's Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Program funding, which equates to an additional $1 million more of fresh produce being consumed by the students each year. OKCPS is also a major recipient of products acquired through the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry's farm to school program, working with farms in the region to supply fresh, regionally sourced food to the Oklahoma City schoolchildren. "We're working on growing our farm to school program," says Gallagher. "The infrastructure and the desire are there -- the program will continue to grow and evolve as we get more farmers and school districts involved." Gallagher and OKCPS have been in talks with Oklahoma wheat growers in hopes of using local grain in the whole-wheat pizza crusts they order from a Texas supplier. >> For the rest of the story, click here to jump to the FOCUS blog >> |
Chocolate milk gets a makeover in Chicago Public Schools
Milk is an important part of any school meal program. Chicago Public Schools (CPS), our third Learning Lab district, has recently made a change to their lunch lines, continuing to  provide students with school meals that are nutritious and appetizing, and that will contribute to their growth, good health, and ability to learn. Currently, CPS serves 1% and skim white milk as well as 1% chocolate milk. Recognizing the popularity of chocolate milk among students, CPS worked collaboratively with the dairies that supply milk to the district to significantly decrease the amount of added sugar in chocolate milk served in schools. Starting in December 2010, all chocolate milk in the CPS school meals program will have just 22 grams of sugar per 8-ounce serving (about half this amount of sugar naturally occurs in white milk). This move to 22 grams of sugar represents a 21% reduction in added sugar. Saint Paul Public Schools made this change, too, as part of its Learning Lab -- in fact, their work affected districts across the state of Minnesota! Click here to find out how they did it [PDF], in our Learnings From the Lab series. |
D.C. Hunger Solutions unveils new website for Healthy Schools Act
 The landmark Healthy Schools Act, passed in May 2010, positions the District of Columbia (D.C.) to become a national leader in school health, wellness, and nutrition. The Act:
- Expands access to school meals by making breakfast free for all students, bringing breakfast into the classroom, and eliminating the reduced-price co-pay for lunch
- Raises the nutrition standards and improves the quality of school meals
- Promotes farm to school programs
- Triples eventually the amount of physical and health education students receive
- Expands school-based health and wellness programs
As D.C. public schools and public charter schools begin to implement the Healthy Schools Act, D.C. Hunger Solutions has launched a new website to serve as a clearinghouse for information about the Act and to spotlight successful ways schools are implementing the Act. The website, which will be managed by D.C. Hunger Solutions in collaboration with D.C. Farm to School (FOCUS community partner of D.C. Public Schools) and other stakeholders, aims to help schools effectively carry out the provisions -- explaining the new requirements, providing tools to help implement the Act, and helping the public see the progress of schools in implementing the Act.
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Stakeholder Pledge: Who's joined the ranks?
 We're happy to report that nearly all school food service professionals and a significant number of their community partners have signed the FOCUS Stakeholder Pledge! (Community partners are a few steps behind districts, as we've asked districts to sign first before passing the pledge on to their partners.)
The Stakeholder Pledge makes explicit what had previously been implicit in our working relationships with school food professionals and their community partners. Signed pledges document mutual understanding and shared commitment to the FOCUS mission and values. The following have signed the pledge.
School food service professionals from: - Anoka-Hennepin Independent School District (Minnesota)
- Atlanta Public Schools
- Austin Independent School District
- Baltimore City Public Schools
- Boston Public Schools
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
- Chicago Public Schools
- Dallas Independent School District
- Denver Public Schools
- District of Columbia Public Schools
- Douglas County School District (Colorado)
- Jefferson County (JeffCo) Public Schools (Colorado)
- Jefferson County Public Schools (Kentucky)
- Milwaukee Public Schools
- Oakland Unified School District
- Oklahoma City Public Schools
- Philadelphia Public Schools
- Portland Public Schools (Oregon)
- Prince William Public Schools (Virginia)
- Riverside Unified School District (California)
- Saint Paul Public Schools
- San Diego Unified School District
- San Francisco Unified School District
- Seattle Public Schools
- Wake County Public Schools (North Carolina)
Community partners from: - Advocates for Health in Action (Wake County)
- Center for Resilient Cities (Milwaukee)
- City of Boston
- D.C. Farm to School Network (District of Columbia)
- Ecotrust (Portland)
- Family Farmed (Chicago)
- Fair Food (Philadelphia)
- The Food Trust (Philadelphia)
- Georgia Organics (Atlanta)
- Healthy Schools Campaign (Chicago)
- Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (Saint Paul)
- Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (Baltimore)
- Louisville Farm to Table (Jefferson County, KY)
- Mecklenburg County Health Department (Charlotte)
- Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry (Oklahoma City)
- Slow Food Denver
- Sustainable Food Center (Austin)
- Washington State University, Cooperative Extension (Seattle)
We'd like to extend a public welcome to these official FOCUS stakeholders, and remind those that haven't yet signed: we'd love to have you, too!
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Spotted yourself yet? Even more video from the 2010 Annual Meeting
Since the October issue, we've uploaded more footage from the 2010 Annual Meeting, including a longer, more in-depth look at the Annual Meeting and talks from Bob Bloomer, Regional Vice President, Chartwells-Thompson at Chicago Public Schools; Leo Lesh, Executive Director, Nutrition Services at Denver Public Schools; Jim Groskopf, Purchasing Analyst at Saint Paul Public Schools and Gitta Grether-Sweeney, Director of Nutrition Services at Portland Public Schools; and Jan Poppendieck, author of "Free For All: Fixing School Food in America."
Additional videos coming soon! Bookmark our page and check back for updates, or subscribe to the RSS feed. |
Better Beef Days: A look back
B etter Beef Days was a great success, providing healthier choices for schoolkids in Portland, San Diego, Oakland, and Denver! Here's some of the great coverage from National School Lunch Week:
Oakland Local Oakland North Center for a Livable Future (blog) Fed Up With Lunch (blog) |
Policy update
What's next for Child Nutrition reauthorization?
The House is expected to begin its lame duck session on November 15, and voting on the Senate version of CNR is a high priority on the House calendar. A major concern has been the use of $2.2 billion in future SNAP (food stamp) funding to help pay for increased CNR spending. According to a November 10 Washington Post article, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller has received commitments from the White House to restore the SNAP cuts in subsequent legislation.
The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) held two "virtual rallies" to pass a strong CNR bill with no cuts to SNAP funding, encouraging supporters to send letters to the editor with this message. For summaries of CNR legislation, letters opposing SNAP cuts, and other updates, check out FRAC's Legislative Action Center.
Feeding America has been organizing a sign-on letter [PDF] in support of passing CNR and  addressing the SNAP cut, conducting a social media campaign, and coordinating a national call with Secretary Vilsack to motivate grassroots supporters to contact Congress in support of CNR. Additionally, there will be National Call-In Days on November 15 and 16, and the Community Food Security Coalition (CFSC) has issued an action alert with more details about these opportunities.
Food safety news
The Food Safety Modernization Act is scheduled to be introduced to the Senate on November 17. The bill takes important steps to improve corporate food safety rules, but it is not appropriate for small farms and processors that sell to directly to places such as restaurants, schools, and farmers markets. However, amendments that address this concern will be offered when the bill comes to the floor. For more information, see the action alert from our friends at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.
Next up: Farm Bill
Advocates have begun to identify priorities for the Farm Bill, scheduled for a 2012 renewal. This is another critical opportunity to make changes in school food procurement, such as the geographic preference language included in the 2008 Farm Bill. On the November 18 School Food FOCUS Policy Working Group call, we will begin to develop a process to gather feedback from FOCUS stakeholders on how best to leverage this opportunity. Contact sdavidson@schoolfoodfocus.org if you'd like to join the call.
Meanwhile, back at the USDA...
FOCUS Policy staff continues to explore how best to work together with key decision makers at USDA. Thomas Forster and other FOCUS staff will make visits to D.C. to continue to shape these opportunities. Among other pilot project priorities, FOCUS is seeking ways to include school food in new research by USDA's Agriculture Marketing Service into Regional Food Hubs. We are also working with our One Tray partners on the upcoming rule regarding geographic preference to make sure that it is implemented in the best possible way.
Finally, we have 4 different groups assisting with legal research and examining regulatory roadblocks to bringing more healthful food into our schools.
- The Harrison Institute, instrumental in the original geographic preference rule, is investigating current federal regulations addressing a geographic preference for locally produced foods under USDA entitlement programs.
- We have also engaged a legal firm in New York City to identify challenges and barriers to applying geographic preference to school procurement at the state and local level.
- An internal FOCUS research team is compiling USDA survey information to assess state and local barriers to using the USDA Foods (commodities) program for more healthful foods.
- FOCUS evaluators from UC Davis will be developing a survey for school food professionals to dig deeper into USDA Foods challenges and solutions.
Stay tuned for progress reports on these exciting developments!
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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. >> Colorado Proud Day (Let's Move blog): Andy Nowak of Slow Food Denver, FOCUS  community partner of Denver Public Schools (DPS), covers the September 8 Colorado Proud Day in DPS for the official blog of the White House program Let's Move, highlighting the success of incorporating regionally sourced foods and Chefs Move to Schools in DPS. >> Chicago chefs spice up schools' new push for healthy eating (Chicago Tribune): While area chefs begin to collaborate with schools as part of the Chefs Move to Schools program, Chicago Public Schools and Chartwells-Thompson have early feedback on some of the new entrees on their healthier revised menus. Students say they miss nacho cheese sauce, which has been replaced with real cheese; but new hits include lo mein, hummus, and Korean barbecue. Bob Bloomer of Chartwells-Thompson at Chicago Public Schools also wrote an excellent letter to the editor (starts on lower half of page) in response to an unbalanced story about using student-grown produce in the lunchroom.
>> Lunch ladies and school lunch programs (The Splendid Table - American Public Media): Jean Ronnei, Director of Nutrition and Commercial Services at Saint Paul Public Schools, discusses the origins of processed food in the National School Lunch Program, challenges to improving school meals, and federal policy in this audio clip. >> You can lead kids to healthy food, but can psychology make them eat? (Associated Press): Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced $2 million in grants to food behavior scientists to find ways to use psychology to improve kids' use of the federal school lunch program and fight childhood obesity. Cornell scientists Brian Wansink and David Just will use $1 million to establish a child nutrition center to build on their existing research that has shown how moving the salad bar and placing chocolate milk behind the regular milk can influence student food choices. Finally, check out this inspiring video featuring Rodney Taylor and the efforts of his Nutrition Services Department at Riverside Unified School District in California, who have had great success in implementing their salad bar program. |
Upcoming events
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 January 16-18, 2011 Child Nutrition Industry Conference (CNIC) from the School Nutrition Association
This year's theme, "Quest for Quality," emphasizes gathering and sharing new ideas for integrating quality practices into every aspect of a school nutrition operation, including human resources, procurement, marketing, and sustainability.
Sheraton Seattle, Seattle, WA
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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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