We Moved to a New Website!

We have exciting news! Boston Public Schools Food and Nutrition Services has a new website!

You can access it by going to bostonpublicschools.org/fns

or you can click here !

 

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program to Start in 30 Schools

 

 

 

 

 

Food and Nutrition Services is happy to announce that the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has approved 30 Boston Public Schools for the 2015-2016 Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP).  The FFVP is a government initiative to expose children to a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables outside of school breakfast and school lunch.

FFVP On-Site Coordinators report that students have been asking, “Where are the fruits and veggies?” since the first day of school. Bianca Tamburello, the new Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Coordinator, is thrilled by student enthusiasm for the program. She plans to generate even more excitement about the program by organizing fun nutrition education activities and offering interesting fruit and vegetable snacks such as mangoes, snap peas, and maybe even jicama this school year!

FFVP will kick-off the week of October 5^th in all participating schools.  Below are the participating Boston Public Schools.

Samuel Adams Elementary	John F. Kennedy Elementary
William Blackstone Elementary	Patrick Kennedy Elementary
Boston Teachers Union K-8 School	Joyce Kilmer K-8
Clap Innovation School	Martin Lither King, Jr. K-8
James F. Condon Elementary	Joseph Lee K-8
Paul A. Dever Elementary	Mather Elementary
East Boston Early Education Center	Donald McKay K-8
Sarah Greenwood K-8	Richard J. Murphy K-8
Henry Grew Elementary	Hugh R. O’Donnell Elementary
Curtis Guild Elementary	Orchard Gardens K-8
Nathan Hale Elementary	James Otis Elementary
Harvard/Kent Elementary	William E. Russell Elementary
James W. Hennigan K-8	Charles Sumner Elementary
Higginson/Lewis K-8	William Monroe Trotter K-8
Jackson Mann/Horace Mann School	John Winthrop Elementary

Meet Bianca! Our Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Coordinator.

 

NEW – CACFP FY2016 – SY15-16 Application

Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP): Click Here to apply for After School Meal Application as part of the CACFP program.

 

Summer Food Service Program begins July 1, 2015

As the school year wraps up, BPS Food and Nutrition Services Department is preparing to sponsor the USDA Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) in over 100 open sites across the city. These SFSP open sites provide FREE breakfast and lunch to all children and youth, 18 years of age and under.  No registration or IDs necessary.

SFSP open sites will run from July 1-August 28, 2015.* For an updated list of open sites and service times, click here to visit the “Summer Food Service Program 2015” page on this blog. Or call the Project Bread Hotline at 1-800-645-8333 for more information.

Also summer menus are now available! Click here, to see the SFSP Menus for July-August 2015.

Have a great summer! Hope you will come on down to an open site near you to enjoy healthy, tasty meals this summer!

 

 

*Select sites will be open through September 4, 2015.  These sites will be highlighted on the “Summer Food Service Program 2015” page on this blog later this summer.

 

Announcing: FFVP Poster Contest Winners

We received over 400 entries from 8 Boston Public Schools: Bates Elementary, Condon Elementary, Higginson Elementary, Jackson Mann K-8, Kilmer K-8, Lyndon K-8, P.J. Kennedy Elementary, and Sarah Greenwood K-8.

Our new superheroes in the Fruit and Veggie Action League range from Papa Potato and Corny the Cobbler to the Horned Melon and his side kick Rambutan.  These fruit and veggie superheroes help people stay healthy and strong while fighting bad guys and curing bee stings.

Thanks again to all of our participants for your creativity and for helping us form the Fruit and Veggie Action League!

Below are our winning superhero posters sorted by grade level:

Winners from Grades 1-3

Winners from Grades 4-5

Winners from Grades 6-8Best Comic Strips from All Grade Levels

 

It’s School Lunch Hero Day!

May 1, 2015 is School Lunch Hero Day!  We know that our students are better learners when their stomachs aren’t grumbling. Every day our cafeteria staff plays a HUGE role in making sure our students have healthy meals to eat at school each day.

Today we are saying THANK YOU to over 400 BPS school food professionals who prepare around 40,000 meals every day for BPS students.  These women and men work hard as they aim to prepare healthy, tasty meals that meet federal nutrition standards and student preferences on the lunch line.

At the Mather Elementary School in Dorchester, FoodCorps Service Member Annabel Raby organized a cafeteria staff appreciation day to honor and thank the staff with posters and aprons decorated by the students.

Hope you will also take a moment to say THANK YOU to your cafeteria staff today!

School Lunch Hero Day was started by Jarrett J. Krosoczka, author and illustrator of the Lunch Lady graphic novel series to say THANK YOU to his childhood school lunch hero and all the women and men who continue to serve and care for our students every day in our school cafeterias.

Check out this YouTube video to learn more about School Lunch Hero Day!

 

 

Survey says….What would you like to see on the menu?

In March 2015, we asked for your feedback on the menus through a survey that we posted on the blog.  Thank you for your responses!  We received over 100 responses, from 15 schools across the city (both full kitchen cafeteria and satellite sites).  We asked, “What would you like to see on the lunch menu?” and captured your responses in the the word cloud above.  The larger the word, the more frequent the response.

In  2011, we also surveyed students across the city, and asked “What gets you in line?”  See the word cloud below for the results from 2011:

These survey results provide some food for thought as we continue to improve our menus to meet required nutrition standards and diverse student preferences within a tight budget.  The rest of the survey results will be considered as future menu changes are considered.

Thank you for taking the time to complete our survey!  As our menus continue to evolve, please continue to provide your input by emailing SchoolFoodBoston[at]bostonpublicschools.org.

 

 

New changes to the April Menu!

Starting April 1st, there will be a new, simpler menu in schools. All breakfasts and lunches will continue to be free for all student. Popular items will be offered more frequently. There will be lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. We hope that you will give the meals a try!

Highlights of our streamlined menu:

Breakfast: Two choices offered daily, including hot options served twice a week.

• Cold choices include cereals, muffins, or yogurt, always offered with fresh fruit and 100% juice, and non-fat or 1% milk.
• Cereals continue to be whole grain and limited in sugar. Cereals that are perceived as sugary, although available to school districts in a low sugar version, will not be offered.

Lunch: We offer student favorites more often in our new-three week menu cycle.

• Three choices will be offered daily with both hot and cold entrée options.
• Previously, schools with grades K-8 had three meal choices and high schools had four entrée choices.
• Cold meal options include entrée salads, subs and sandwiches. Additionally, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are available.
• Fruit offerings are unchanged, with fresh fruit and 100% juice, daily.
  Milk offerings are unchanged and include nonfat and low-fat options.

Check out the April Menus at: https://schoollunchboston.wordpress.com/menu/ and tell us what you think of the new menu by emailing us at SchoolFoodBoston[at]bostonpublicschools.org.

 

School Breakfast Fuels Greatness @ Edison Middle School

Earlier this week, New England Patriots Safety Duron Harmon, Former New England Patriots Tight End Jermaine Wiggins, Massachusetts dairy farmer Susan Shields and Audrey Rowe of the Food and Nutrition Service at the United States Department of Agriculture visited Thomas A. Edison School in Brighton to get students excited about school breakfast. Fuel Up to Play 60 is the nation’s largest in-school wellness program and has launched a “Fuel Greatness” campaign to mobilize communities to take action and advocate for, and implement, alternative breakfast options in school districts nationwide.

“School breakfast provides students with a solid foundation for learning,” said Wiggins. “It provides the fuel they need to set their day in a positive direction toward success at school which is important each and every day.” “School breakfast is one of the most important things we can offer our students,” said Mary Driscoll, Principal, Thomas A. Edison School. “It is our duty as school leaders to make sure our students have access to healthy foods at school throughout the day. School breakfast is essential to a child’s ability to learn. It’s a tool for success just like books, homework and class time.”

Students who eat breakfast at school are more likely to succeed in the classroom, and thanks to the Cabot Family Charitable Trust and New England Dairy & Food Council, students at six Boston Public Schools, including the Thomas A. Edison School, are eating a healthy breakfast more often. To help support the expansion of school breakfast in Boston Public Schools, $25,000 in funding was provided by the Trust to New England Dairy & Food Council.

These funds go a long way toward helping students develop healthy behaviors at school that fuel greatness in the classroom and will benefit them for a lifetime” said Katherine S. McHugh, executive director, Cabot Family Charitable Trust.Research demonstrates that good nutrition, including daily breakfast, and increased physical activity can lead to improved academic performance1, but according to one study, more than 60 percent of students do not eat breakfast each day.2 Many kids are showing up to school hungry, and hungry kids may not be able to succeed in the classroom.

“Good nutrition is as critical to a child’s overall success as the curriculum that our schools teach every day,” said Audrey Rowe, the Administrator for the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). “A well-balanced breakfast offers an important nutritional foundation and charts the course for a healthier next generation.”

To learn more about Fuel Greatness, Fuel Up to Play 60, and school breakfast, visit: http://www.fueluptoplay60.com. Join the conversation on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at #FuelGreatness

 

FFVP: Superhero Poster Contest

MARCH is National Nutrition Month!

In celebration of National Nutrition Month, BPS Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) is looking for a team of fruit and vegetable superheroes to help us fight hunger and support healthy kids!

FFVP is a USDA grant funded program the provides additional fresh fruits and veggies during the school day at select schools.  These fruit and veggie snacks are served in the classroom, above and beyond what is already offered during breakfast and lunch.  This year, FFVP is operating in 31 BPS elementary/K-8 schools and has served a variety of citrus, snap peas, mini cucumbers, kiwi slices and much more.

The FFVP Action League is looking for your…

BEST Fruit Superhero
BEST Vegetable Superhero
BEST Super Power

Bonus points if you create a comic strip featuring your fruit and veggie superheroes and their super powers.

Fruit and Veggie Superhero submissions will be accepted through April 17th, 2015 from the 31 FFVP schools.  For poster contest guidelines please click here.

Tune in this spring to meet the winners of the FFVP Action League Poster Contest!

 

Is your elemementary school interested in the FFVP for next year?  Contact our FFVP Program Manager, Lauren Kaskey at LKaskey[at]bostonpublicschools.org for more details.