MENU PROJECT

Tori Lee & Paige Jensen

Chapter 3 Consideration

• Menu trends
• Menu patterns
• Aesthetic factors
• Government regulations

Initial school menu development factors:

• School system
• Ages 5-10 years old (k-5 grade)
• Serving 1,000 students daily
• ~ 850 students will choose a hot entree item (85%)
• ~100 students will choose a cold entree item (10%)
• ~50 students will bring a lunch to school (5%)

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Nutrition and Meal Pattern Requirements (reimbursement eligibility):

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fruits

vegetables

Dark greens

red/orange

Beans, legumes, peas

Starchy

Other

Addition vegetable to reach total goals

Grains

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Meats and alternatives

Fluid milk

550-650 minimum to max of kcals

Saturated fat <10% of total cals

Sodium target < or = 935mg

Trans Fat: Nutrition label or manufacturer specifications must

indicate zero grams of trans fat per serving.

Reimbursement

• The certification of compliance is in relation to The Healthy Hunger-Free Act which will provide an additional 6-cents per lunch reimbursement to school districts that are certified to be in compliance with the new meal patterns.
• This reimbursement is an investment in improving the overall quality of school meals.
• Overall reimbursement for The National School Lunch Programs for the 2020-2021 school year has either remained the same in some cases or has increased from the past year. Performance based reimbursement for lunches that meet the new meal patterns increased from 6 cents to 7 cents.

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Original Menu

Monday-Friday Lunch Menu:

Main Entrees: 1 Hot entree, 1 Cold entree

Beverages: Milk and OJ

Side options include: Fruit, vegetable, and grain

Desserts: Tuesday and Friday

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Original Menu

Adherence to meal pattern standards

• Calorie intake regulations
• Including all food groups
• Fruits
• Veggies
• Grains
• Meat/meat alternative
• Milk/ Milk alternative
• Sodium
• Saturated and trans fats

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Menu Changes

• Removal of the breadstick
• Adding of desserts
• Type of meal preparation

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Menu 2nd copy

Final Menu

Meal cost per student

Total meal cost per student for the week: $1.73

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Example:

Monday:

pizza = 0.78

green beans = 0.21

pears = 0.32

milk = 0.22

CC cookie = 0.16

Orange juice = $0.08

Ham = 0.54

WW bun= 0.22

Cheese = 0.17

Total: $1.69 with milk

Total: $1.55 with orange juice

Total: $1.62 cold menu item with milk

Total: $ 1.70 cold menu item with orange juice

Avg.: $1.64

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Explanation of Final Menu

• Factors
• Price
• Meal pattern requirements
• Main menu changes
• Side option
• Desserts
• Prepared or homemade
• Meal cost per student
• Under $2.00 requirement

Sources

• https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/certification-compliance#:~:text=The%20Healthy%20Hunger%2DFree%20Kids,with%20the%20new%20meal%20patterns.
• https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/fr-110119
• https://healthyschoolrecipes.com/recipes/?fwp_paged=22
• https://mrs.mdek12.org/
• https://www.calorieking.com/us/en/foods/f/calories-in-fruit-snacks-mandarin-orange-fruit-cup/P7jll-OxSRuGkq7AnZqvpQ
• https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/resource-files/110651%20Orange%20Juice%20Individual%20Cups%20Frozen.pdf
• https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/resource-files/100206%20Apple%20Slices%20Canned%20Unsweetened.pdf

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