|
Nutritional Integrity
Every student will have the opportunity to choose a wide variety of nutritious foods that will prepare them to learn.
Our nutrition standards are based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the USDA MyPLATE.
The nutritional value of meals is evaluated over a period of days rather than judged on a single meal or food item.
Student meals contain adequate calories and a variety of foods to support growth, development, and a healthy weight for the growing child.
Student preferences and input from students are considered in menu planning. Since foods must be eaten to provide students with nutrients, menu changes will be gradual to ensure acceptance.
Purchasing practices ensure the use of high quality ingredients to maximize student acceptance.
Foods are prepared in ways that ensure a balance between optimal nutritional quality and student acceptance.
À la carte food offered to students complies with federal guidelines.
Professional development opportunities in nutrition are regularly provided to school nutrition managers and staff.
Return to the top
Nutritional Concerns
School Nutrition Services tries to balance our nutritional responsibility to students with the need to offer items students will eat and the requirement that we be self-supporting. This is not an easy task.
School Nutrition Services believes all foods eaten in moderation in the context of a balanced diet are acceptable. To help students achieve that moderation, changes were made in menu and ala carte choices. These steps in addition to a long-term emphasis on nutrition education and physical exercise will, over time, have a positive impact on student health. These changes are in line with recommendations made by Virginia Action for Healthy Kids, a coalition of educators, health professionals and community members aimed at promoting health and academic achievement among Virginian youth.
What is School Nutrition Services doing to address the current issue of childhood obesity?
Childhood obesity is a complex issue. Eating, exercise and daily habits are also important to maintain a healthy weight.
In Henrico, we:
- Teach students about the importance of making good choices from the variety of daily meal options
- Offer meals in controlled portions so students can see what a healthy food portions looks like
- Bake most foods instead of frying
- Serve vegetarian entrées
- Serve lowfat 1% and skim milk
Please remember, students only eat a maximum of two meals daily in their school’s cafeteria. That is only 360 of the thousands of meals a child eats annually. While SNS does model healthy choices and correct portion sizes, parents and guardians are role models also. They should provide their children with healthy meals and snacks, less candy and soft drinks, less time in front of the TV or computer and exercise at least 60 minutes each day.
Return to the top
Why Eat School Meals?
Nutrition: All meals served by Henrico School Nutrition Services are required by federal and state regulations to meet specific nutritional requirements. The meals that are provided must be no more than 30% of the calories from fat, 10% from saturated fat, and must meet requirements for calories, protein, vitamins A and C, iron and calcium.
Cost: During the school year, purchasing a school lunch can save a family hundreds of dollars per child compared to bring lunch from home. Also, if a family qualifies, the students may eat at no charge or at a reduce charge.
Time: Buying a school lunch saves you valuable time! Just consider the amount of time it takes to make sure that your child has a meal for school. Include the time it takes to shop, prepare, and pack the lunch and occasionally dropping off a forgotten lunch at school. If your child eats at school, you can pay for the account weekly, monthly, or daily. At school, your child will have a nutritious meal and you would not have to spend time preparing it.
Food Safety: School lunches are safer than the lunches brought from home. A major concern with meals brought from home is keeping the temperature in the safe zone. Hot foods need to be kept above 140°F and cold foods below 41°F to prevent possible food-borne illness. This is hard to do with lunches kept in the classroom or locker. All HCPS lunches are made with the strictest of sanitation practices and held at correct temperatures safely.
Return to the top
Offer vs. Serve
Offer vs. Serve is a concept that applies to the way we do menu planning and determines reimbursable school means. Offer vs. Serve allows students to decline either one or two food items in a school lunch or one food item in school breakfast. When students are allowed to select the food they intend to eat, there is:
- Less food waste
- Increased customer satisfaction
- Students learn to make healthier choices
- Students will eat more food and receive proper nutrients to maintain a healthy mind and body
All meals are priced as a unit, so students who take three, four, or five food items will pay the same price. This is true for breakfast as well.
What must be offered at lunch?
Offer vs. Serve requires that students for lunch can:
Select as little as 3 servings from the 5 lunch components:
1 serving of Meat/Meat Alternative
2 or more servings of Vegetable or Fruits
1 serving of Grains/Breads
1 serving of Milk
5 components
Offer vs. Serve requires that students for breakfast can:
Select as little as 3 servings from the 4 breakfast components:
1 serving of Meat/Meat Alternative
1 or more servings of Vegetable or Fruits
1 serving of Grains/Breads or 2 Grains/Breads and no Meat/Meat Alternative
1 serving of Milk
4 components
Remember, not all food items have to be taken. The federal guidelines do not require all items be taken in order to have a complete, reimbursable meal. A minimum of three items are considered a complete lunch. There is no discount if all food items available are not taken. Teachers and School Nutrition Services staff can encourage students to take all items, but they cannot force or require it. This provision was put in place to reduce the amount of food waste.
Special Diets/Allergies
Allergens (pdf)
School Nutrition Services is required by law to accommodate a disabled child’s special dietary needs. In order to evaluate your request for School Nutrition Services to modify menu offerings for your child, we will need more information from you.
If your child has a disability, as defined under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the ASA of 1990, federal regulations require us to obtain a physician’s statement that identifies the following:
- Your child’s disability and an explanation of why the disability restricts the child’s diet
- The major life activity affected by the disability
- The food or foods to be omitted from the child’s diet and the food or choice of foods that must be substituted
Food allergies and intolerances are considered a disability only if a life-threatening (anaphylactic) reaction occurs from ingesting the food item. Special requests for a child who does not have a disability, but does have a special dietary need, must be verified with a statement from a licensed medical authority (physician or nurse practitioner). The statement must include:
- An identification of the medical problem which restricts the child’s diet and
- The food or foods to be omitted from the child’s diet and the food or choice of foods to be substituted
A decision on how to accommodate the special need will be made on a case-by-case basis by the School Nutrition Services Director. Food substitutions may be limited due to availability of items. Menu information may be provided to parents to allow them to make decisions about food choices for their child.
Children with milk allergies and lactose intolerance are accommodated when they submit a ‘Henrico County School Nutrition Services Eating And Feeding Evaluation For Children with Special Needs’ form signed by a physician or nurse practitioner. Fruit juice will be served as a substitute when available or water will be offered.
Please click HERE for the form that must be filled out.
Return the information to Director, School Nutrition Services, 3751A Nine Mile Road, Henrico, Virginia, 23223. A representative from the School Nutrition Services office will be in touch with you.
If you have questions, please call the Director at 804-226-5520.
Return to the top
Vegetarian Menu
The vegetarian diet is gaining in popularity. Henrico County does not offer menus that meet all the different kinds of vegetarianism; however, we offer daily vegetarian options in our schools:
- Chef Salad: Chef Salad, crackers and milk
- Toasted Cheese Sandwich
- Cheese Pizza
- Veggie Wrap
- Triple Decker Soy Butter and Jelly Sandwich
- And many more options
Return to the top
À la Carte Items
À la carte items are offered as a supplement to lunches purchased at schools or brought from home. The number of different types of à la carte dessert and snack items offered for sale is limited.
Sweet and snack items offered follow federal guidelines for foods of minimal nutritional value as well as recommendations of the Virginia Action for Healthy Kids. Those guidelines include:
Offer only 100 percent juices
Offer bottled water without fortification or sweeteners
No carbonated drinks or sport drinks will be offered
The portion size of sweet and snack items have been reduced
Each dessert or snack item offered will contain less than 300 calories
Each dessert or snack item offered will contain no more than 35 percent total calories from fat except for seeds and nuts
No more than 10 percent of calories per dessert or snack item will be from saturated fat
No dessert item will contain more than 35 percent sugar by weight
Salt will be used in moderation
Return to the top
Food Safety
Food safety and sanitation are critical, ongoing processes that require strict procedures and training. School Nutrition Services requires all School Nutrition Services Managers and Assistant Managers to possess a current ServSafe Sanitation Certification.
Since the 2004 Child Nutrition Reauthorization, Henrico School Nutrition Services has implemented food safety programs based on national HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) principals to identify and eliminate school food safety hazards at every step-from purchasing and receiving, to storing, preparing, holding to actual serving. This HAACP prevention steps takes place in all school cafeterias. School Nutrition Services works closely with the Henrico County Environmental Health Services. We maintain a higher sanitation standard in many cases than State regulations require.
Schools rely on the federal government to inspect and certify the safety of our food supply, and we rely on food manufacturers to provide timely and accurate notifications when their products pose a food safety threat.
All State Health Inspections are available on line and posted in each school cafeteria.
Click here then click on ‘Restaurant Inspections’ and type in the school name to see inspections.
Return to the top
Nutrition Community Partnerships
This year, School Nutrition Services will be joining the following community partners to support our Henrico County Public School students:
Bon Secours Health Care System: Community partner and co-sponsor of the ‘Healthy Kids Day® and Walk’ along with the Greater Richmond Y. This free community event is created to help bring attention to today’s obesity epidemic and that a healthy lifestyle is not work but can be fun. Children are invited to participate in activities while learning about nutrition education and exercise. The event concludes with the 1 mile walk. Chesterfield and Richmond City Schools Districts participate as well to make this a true community event.
Henrico County Child Health Coalition (HCCHC): The Henrico County Child Health Coalition is a collaborative group that focuses on current issues that affect the health and well being of our infants, toddlers, children, and youth. The Coalition identifies system problems in an attempt to elicit change and ultimately improve the health status of all children in Henrico County.
Student Health Advisory Board (SHAB): Serves as a catalyst for systemic changes in the school division for promoting student health which directly impacts educational outcomes. Cooperative partnerships include health instruction, healthy school environment, school health services, school counseling, psychological and social services, prevention services, physical education, school nutrition services, parents and community groups.
Student Wellness Action Committee (SWAC): A committee made up of Henrico County Public School employees including the Student Health Services Itinerant Nurses and School Nutrition Services who come together with the goal of promoting wellness among students and staff. Work is focused at the county level and in individual schools to increase education about the importance of good nutrition and regular physical activity.
Virginia Farm-to-School Work Group: This work group was established to communicate and evaluate the Farm-to-School program and Agriculture in the Classroom. This group’s diverse collaboration includes public, private and non-profit organizations from agriculture, nutrition, food, health, education and community development.
Virginia Youth Obesity Prevention (VYOP): A new initiative from the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth, created to promote good nutrition and physical activity among Virginia youth.
Return to the top
Nutrition Education Resources
The following nutrition education resources are for parents and students who are interested in finding out more about nutrition. These easy-access links explore the field of nutrition and invites you to increase your own awareness of the impact that nutrition has on the lives of your families.
American Dietetic Association
Eat Smart, Play Hard
5 A Day for Better Health Program
Fruit and Veggies More Matters
Kidnetics
Kid’s Health
Milk Matters
School Nutrition Association
Team Nutrition
U.S. Department of Agriculture
USDA MyPlate
Return to the top
ABCs for Good Health
Aim for fitness:
Aim for a healthy body weight.
Be physically active each day.
Build a healthy base:
Let the Pyramid guide your food choices.
Choose a variety of grain daily, especially whole grains.
Choose a variety of fruits and vegetables (5 a day).
Keep food safe to eat.
Choose sensibly:
Choose a diet that is low in saturated fat and cholesterol.
Moderate your total fat intake to 30 percent.
Choose beverages and foods to moderate your intake of sugars.
Choose foods with less salt.
Source: Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010
Return to the top
Healthy Eating Tips
Eat different kinds of food each day.
Eat more whole-grain breads and cereals, fruits and vegetables.
Keep moving to stay in shape.
Start your day with breakfast.
Snack smart.
Do not eat too much of any one food.
Be adventurous.
Remember that foods are not good or bad – eat in moderation.
Make healthy eating fun.
Drink fluids – up to eight glasses of water daily.
Return to the top |
