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Thursday, September 02, 2010
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| | Email this article • Print this article | | September Farm Fresh Feature - Somerset Grapes | The Somerset grapes featured in September are grown at the Wild Mountain Vineyard in Almelund. The Vineyard is owned by Al and Judy Olsen. They grow a variety of grapes for use in eating (table grapes), making jams, jellies, juice and wine. The Somerset grape is one of the hardiest, developed for the northern climates of Minnesota, Pennsylvania and other northern states. They are sweet and seedless. Perfect for eating!
Grapes are actually berries. There is an average of 100 grape berries in a bunch. They are an excellent "finger food" with little preparation other than washing before eating. One cup of the grapes contains:
• Antioxidants called flavonoids and phenols that help prevent heart disease and some cancers
• Almost 30% of the recommended daily value of Vitamin C and an excellent source of Vitamin K
• Fiber, iron, calcium and Vitamin A
• About 3/4 cup water, helping to hydrate the body
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Changes put local products onto school menus
BY DANI STRENKE
Chisago Lakes Food Service Director Kathy Burrill is excited about changes coming to the school menus this year, and hopes students will like the changes too.
Parents who attended open houses at Chisago Lakes schools last week may have noticed a big change when they picked up a copy of the school menu. Burrill worked with the elementary and middle school food service staffs to come up with a year-long cycle menu, with all nine months of lunch menus on a single page.
The menus are color-coded, with five weeks of menus alternating throughout the year. Burrill said they looked at putting together some of the most popular main entreés and side dish combinations into the five weekly menus.
Parents can now look ahead and see which weeks will feature their child's favorites, or which weeks they will probably be packing a few lunches.
Although the five weekly menus repeat throughout the year, there is still a lot of variety in the menus.
"When you look at the red week, for instance, it only repeats about six times in the year," Burrill said.
The blue week line-up for Tuesdays - tacos in a bag, fixings, rice and corn and caramel apple wedges - is offered only five times during the year, Burrill said, so students will see the same variety week by week that they have seen in the past.
"It might seem like a big change, but we've really been following a cyclical menu for quite a while," Burrill said.
The meals remain a balance of offering kids what they want to eat so participation stays up, and ensuring they get the proper nutrition.
Burrill said there may be items such as chicken nuggets and pizza on the school menu, but those items are very different than fast food.
"Our chicken nuggets are made with whole grain breading and baked, not fried," she said. "The pizzas use whole grain crust and low-fat cheese." Most importantly are the correct portions, and pairing those entreés with healthy sides, Burrill said.
Burrill first learned about the idea for a cycle menu through a friend and colleague at a national school nutrition association. The idea was presented at a workshop, and Burrill immediately recognized it as a win-win concept.
"It's a money saver because we know exactly when we're serving what food, and also parents know at a glance what's coming up," Burrill said. "We're also not sending home 2,500 paper menus each month and not knowing how many actually get home."
The cycle menu will be used at Taylors Falls, Lakeside and Primary elementaries, and Chisago Lakes Middle School. Food service staff at the high school compile their own menus.
Alternate menu items will still be offered at the middle school, including two hot entreé alternates, sandwich or salad.
Burrill said the cooks like the idea of a cycle menu.
"They aren't able to do as much with variety at the elementary schools, so they said it's great," Burrill said.
The cycle menus are printed on hard card stock with magnets on the back. Burrill said they were available at open houses, or parents can call the district office to request a menu. It is also available online at the district web site.
The other change Burrill has made for this school year is participating in a Farm2School program.
The program was developed through the University of Minnesota Extension office, as a way to increase use of local products in school meals.
Burrill used materials provided through the Farm2School web site to start the program. The goal is to offer one local product as part of the school menu each month, preferably several times during the month.
For September, Burrill worked with Wild Mountain Vineyard owners Al and Judy Olsen to bring Somerset grapes onto district lunch trays.
The vineyard, in Almelund, has traditionally focused on producing wine, jams, jellies and juice, but has started producing table grapes in recent years.
Burrill said the Olsens will be delivering 100 pounds of grapes each week to the school district, and all five buildings will receive grapes. The grapes will be available to students as a supplement to the other fresh fruit already on the menu each day.
The Olsens were pleased to be bringing their grapes into the schools, Burrill said.
The Olsens will also be offering an educational piece to the program, by visiting with Lakeside students during the lunch hour. They will be bringing some whole grape bunches and vines, and other grape products, teaching the kids about the health benefits of grapes and how they are grown.
"It's great for farmers to come in and for kids to see how the food came to their tables," Burrill said.
At the other schools, a placard on display will show each month's "Farm Fresh Feature" and give information to students about where the featured item came from and its nutritional benefits.
Eventually, the Farm2School program could expand into classroom field trips to some of the participating local producers.
"They're close, and field trips or even mini courses at the middle school could help build those community connections," Burrill said.
Apples from Pleasant Valley Orchard will be another featured product this fall, and Burrill is working on products like potatoes, soybeans and wild rice for the winter months.
She'd also like to feature bison hot dogs from Eichten's. When those are featured, Burrill plans to offer regular hot dogs as well, or maybe start by offering samples to students a day or two ahead of time.
"The idea is to get them trying new things too," Burrill said.
She hopes that willingness will transfer to family dinner tables.
"Maybe then when they're shopping with mom or dad they'll pick something out and say, 'let's try this at home,' because they liked it at school. It's not so weird or different then."
Burrill said she is pleased that their regular produce distributor is purchasing most of the district's fresh fruit through Bix Produce Co. in St. Paul, which uses all local growers for its produce.
The Farm2School program does cost a little more than getting products from places like California or Chile, Burrill said, but food service is able to cut costs in other ways.
One cost-saving measure is inclusion in a school district buying group, which functions like a co-op, Burrill said.
Last year, Chisago Lakes Schools joined Anoka-Hennepin in the buying group, which has now expanded to 60 school districts. The group is able to work together directly with manufacturers on securing the best food prices, realizing savings on many items the district was buying already.
"You don't have to purchase everything on the list either," Burrill said.
We may know that our students don't like a particular thing, so we won't get it."
Burrill hopes the changes will increase participation in the school lunch program, which was at about 68 percent on a daily basis last year.
"We hope people will realize the value they get for that $1.85 or $2.05 per lunch," Burrill said.
The price for a breakfast this year is $1.00 and adult lunch price is $3.50.
Burrill reminds parents that they can utilize the PayPams system to set up electronic payments into their student meal accounts.
The system can be set up to send an email reminder anytime a child's account is under $5 and needs to be replenished. About 40 percent of parents are using the system, and Burrill said the district covers the processing fees associated with the service, so there is no cost to parents.
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