The National School Lunch Program provides federally assisted meals in over 101,000 schools and has requirements for nutritional content including limits on fat, saturated fat, and minimum daily values of nutrients. Eligibility is based on family income levels. The Rocky Point School Child Nutrition Program meets or exceeds federal, state, and local standards. Their critical challenges are providing healthy, affordable meals that appeal to students, and they have taken initiatives to increase whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and fiber while reducing sodium, cholesterol, and processed foods. Continued progress will require increasing meal costs to fund fresh, whole ingredients and additional staffing.

1. Child Nutrition Community Discussion May 18, 2010

2. The National School Lunch Program A federally assisted meal program operating in over 101,000 schools Requirements: No more than 30% of calories from fat, and less than 10% from saturated fat School lunch must provide one-third of the Recommended dietary Allowances of : Protein Vitamin A Vitamin C Iron Calcium Calories Eligibility: Free lunch – income below 130% of poverty level Reduced price lunch – income below 185% of poverty level (130% of poverty = $28,665; 185% of poverty = $40,793 for a family of four)

3. The National School Lunch Program For school lunch to be reimbursable by the National School Lunch Program ,students must be:

4. New York State – Nutrient Standards for School Lunch The Rocky Point School Child Nutrition Program meets or exceeds these standards.

5. Required Minimum Quantities for School Lunch The Rocky Point School Child Nutrition Program meets or exceeds these standards.

6. Our Critical Challenges Provide a healthy lunch that meets or exceeds federal and state requirements Produce meals at an affordable price (presently $1.75 for elementary and $2.00 for secondary) Offer a menu that will appeal to children

7. Meeting the Challenges: Our Silent Revolution Recent critical initiatives: Increase whole grains – added whole wheat products where available Increase both fruits and vegetables Fresh fruit is served 40% of days Reduced canned vegetables to 33% Only fat-free and 1% milk are offered (mandate requires two fat levels offered) Reduction of sodium Low-sodium, low-fat beef meatballs No extra salt available Condiments by packet only – limit quantities

8. Meeting the Challenges: Our Silent Revolution Recent critical initiatives (continued): Increase fiber (where you least expect it!) Beans ground into taco meat Cherries in hamburgers Whole wheat pasta, bread, rolls Reduction of cholesterol in meals Virtually no trans-fats

9. Meeting the Challenges: Our Next Steps Ongoing initiatives: Increase fiber in meals to almost twice the current level (estimated increase to cost of meal is estimated at thirty cents) Increase the availability , variety, and service of fresh fruits and vegetables (estimated increase to cost of meal is thirty to forty cents) Phase out the availability of flavored milk Continue to reduce sodium in foods served Minimize the use of processed foods in meals (estimated increase to cost of meal is thirty to forty cents) Maintain “Choose Sensibly” program for snack and beverage items

10. What about Jamie Oliver? How about a comparison of our recipe versus Jamie’s?

11. Jamie’s Spaghetti with Meat Sauce Compared to Ours

13. What’s required to continue the progress? The cost of each lunch served will need to increase to as much as $3.00 over the next three to four years This will not reduce taxpayers’ contribution to the program but will fund more fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, and whole-grain products. Maintain reliable sources of fresh food products Hire additional staff to prepare greater proportion of meals locally, thus reducing reliance on processed food products.

14. The dedicated Child Nutrition professionals are ready… …with your support , we will continue to exceed expectations.

15. Questions, comments, ideas?