Developing Menus USDA Professional Standards Code 1110-1150 - 1170 Lesson Objectives Where to start when it comes to developing menus. Understand how to follow the guidelines. Know who your audience is. Recognize what your resources are. Know how to work within a budget. Learn how to make menus that appeal to everybody. Recognize the need to evaluate your menus and accept feedback. What is the point?? There is an art to developing well thought out and successful food service menus. Developing a menu that is accepted by all can be very challenging for many districts. Understand that you must follow USDA guidelines for all national nutrition programs. You must work hard to please your number one customer (the students!). Menu Planning Planning a menu can be a very daunting and a seemingly quite difficult task. With a little help it can most certainly be done. Where to start? 1. Consider your student body size Are you planning for just one school or all schools in your district? 2. Think about your grade groups Portion sizing and nutrition guidelines are based off of grade groups and are unique for each group. 3. Is it better to do a cycle menu that repeats? If so, how many weeks will your cycle menu be? It can be very helpful to do a cycle menu as it assists in forecasting. 4. Make sure you are following all USDA nutrition guidelines. 5. Understand what your budget is. Will you receive USDA brown bag foods, participate in DOD, and/or put money towards processing certain food items? 6. Know what foods you already have in your possession. That can be a good place to start as you don t want to keep inventory for too long. 7. Don t be slow to ask for help where needed. 1
USDA Meal Pattern Requirements The complete meal pattern requirements can be found online at: https://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/dietaryspecs.pdf Brief Overview: There are 5 different food components (milk, grains, fruits, vegetables, meat/meat alternate). Milk 1 cup (8 fluid ounces) for all age/grade groups Must offer daily variety comprised of at least 2 of the following: o Fat free flavored o Fat free unflavored o Low fat (1% or less) unflavored o Low fat or fat free lactose reduced/lactose free Whole, 2%, and low-fat flavored milk are not allowable No fat/flavor restriction on milk substitutes Milk can be declined under Offer vs. Serve Grains All grain items must be whole grain rich Whole grain-rich = At least 50% whole grain and rest of product/blend must be enriched refined flour o Whole-grain content per oz equivalent must be at least 8.0 grams o Product includes the FDA whole-grain health claim o A whole grain is the first ingredient in the product All grains are credited in ounce equivalents and based on 16 grams of grain Fruits Limit on fruit juice applies to the total fruit offering per week o No more than half of the weekly fruit offering may be in the form of 100% juice May offer fruit in pureed form o Smoothies o Soups o Etc. 2
Vegetables Fruits and vegetables are separate components Daily minimum quantity requirement Weekly variety requirement (5 subgroups): o Red/orange (carrots, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, red bell pepper) o Dark green (romaine, spinach, broccoli) o Legumes/beans/peas (kidney beans, chickpeas) o Starchy (white potatoes, corn, green peas) o Other (mushrooms, celery, cucumber, zucchini) Vegetables can be in a pureed form Meat/Meal alternate Minimums based on grade groups Can offer: o Lean meats and poultry, eggs, fish, low-fat cheeses, yogurt, beans, nuts and seeds Tofu and soy yogurt are acceptable as well Who is your audience? 1. Determine what age group you are serving. K-5, 6-8, 9-12 Each group follows a different set of guidelines. 2. Know how many people (children and potential adults) you are serving. Are you serving just one school or an entire district? Are adults eating with you? (examples: teachers, principals, parents) Use Your Resources Your State Agency is available to you for help! o Contact them with any questions or concerns immediately and not wait until it comes up during your Administrative Review. Know you have USDA Brown Bag foods for popular food items at a lower cost. Understand how to utilize your Entitlement money. Use Your Resources Recognize how to use DOD for fresh fruits and vegetables. Know your community! o Other school districts nearby can be great resources. o Local Dairy Council, food banks, nutrition networks, etc. 3
Budgeting This is a critical part to your menu planning! You can only purchase what you can afford. Fortunately, there are many high quality food manufacturers that offer delicious foods that will work within a school nutrition budget. o They will also most likely meet the Meal Pattern Requirements. Work backwards. o Plan the menu around meeting the minimum requirements. o Once this is done then begin to work backwards to fill in the rest. o Understanding what you would like to accomplish is key to making it happen. Make Your Menu Appealing Pair typical menu items together. o Example: Hamburger with sweet potato fries Make the tray nice and colorful. o Don t pair spaghetti with tomato sauce, strawberries, and cherry tomatoes all in the same meal. (TOO MUCH RED!) Offer a variety of food textures. Plan for variety. o Offer many different menu items (within reason) during the cycle menu. Plan for quality preparation - Make sure you can feasibly cook the planned menu items each day. o It s important to know if the prep and cooking may be too difficult. TIP OF THE DAY! Ask your food broker or manufacturer representative to let you and your staff try a sample of a food you are interested in. If you like it, ask them if you can sample it with a class or other student group. Getting student feedback before you put it on the menu is always a good idea! Evaluate Once the menu has been planned it is always important to evaluate its success. Make sure to survey the students to see what items they like the best. You can also get a good idea of what is being eaten and what is going in the trash if you are able to attend a lunch. Consider conducting taste tests for new items with a group of students. Ask the food service staff which food items are most successful. Be flexible! o If a menu item isn t working, it might just have to go! Know that it may take a few times of seeing a new food item for students to accept it. 4
Wrap Up... Planning successful menus may be challenging, but it is very rewarding. Knowing your budget, kitchen capacity, staff capacity, and audience is KEY! Know your resources and if you need help don t ever be afraid to ask for it. All of the USDA Meal Pattern Guidelines can be found at: www.fns.usda.gov/sfsp/meal-patterns Get everybody involved when it comes to planning next year s menu. The more input the better! Contact your supervisor or the State Agency with any questions or concerns. They are always there to help you and want you to be successful! Test your knowledge... 1. What are the three different grade groups in the Meal Pattern Requirements? 2. What are the five different food components? 3. True or False: Meals should be all one color and texture. 4. What minimum percentage of whole grain must each grain item be? 5. Who should you survey after a new menu is served? Congratulations!! You have completed the Lesson for Developing Menus USDA Professional Standards Code 1110-1150 - 1170 Please note all staff in attendance appropriately at SchoolFoodHandler.com 5