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School Nutrition Bulletin 2021-26

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

Announcements from the WI DPI School Nutrition Team (SNT)

  • Updates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
  • Updates from the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) School Nutrition Team
  • Other Updates and Information
Happy New Year from the School Nutrition Team!
 

Updates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

 

2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans
On December 29, 2020, USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services jointly released the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. These are the cornerstone of the federal food assistance programs, and drive the delivery of nutrition education and nutrition policy.
 
USDA will be releasing infographics and other materials for your use in promoting these new guidelines, so be on the lookout.
 
Dietary Guidelines for Americans is the nation’s trusted resource for evidence-based nutrition guidance. The guidelines are designed for use by healthcare professionals and policy makers for outreach to the general public and provide the nutritional foundation for federal nutrition programs. The dietary guidelines should not be considered clinical guidelines for the treatment of disease.
 
As in previous editions, limited intake of these two food components is encouraged. In fact, this sentiment remains prominent throughout the policy document and complements the four overarching guidelines, which encourage Americans to “Make Every Bite Count” by:
  • Following a healthy dietary pattern at every life stage.
  • Customizing and enjoying nutrient-dense food and beverage choices to reflect personal preferences, cultural traditions, and budgetary considerations.
  • Focusing on meeting food group needs with nutrient-dense foods and beverages from five food groups – vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy and fortified soy alternatives, and proteins – and staying within calorie limits.
  • Limiting foods and beverages higher in added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium, and limiting alcoholic beverages.
New MyPlate Digital Tools and Resources Available
MyPlate is here to help you and your family put the Dietary Guidelines into action with new digital tools and resources available starting today! Start Simple with MyPlate offers free, personalized resources based on your eating needs and habits.
 
Follow these simple steps and get started with these MyPlate resources:
  • Find your starting point: Take the quick MyPlate Quiz to see how your eating habits stack up against the MyPlate recommendations. Based on your answers you’ll receive tailored resources and a personal quiz results code to sync with the Start Simple with MyPlate app.
  • Set simple goals based on your personal needs: Use the Start Simple with MyPlate app to help you set daily meal- and snack-based goals to help you eat healthier. Sync your results from the MyPlate Quiz for a personalized experience. Join challenges, see progress, and earn badges to celebrate successes.
  • Learn how much you should eat: To find out what and how much to eat from each of the food groups, get your own personalized MyPlate Plan.
  • Put your plan into action: Discover recipes on MyPlate Kitchen. Check out hundreds of healthy, budget-friendly recipes that provide detailed nutrition and food group information to help you choose recipes that fit your needs.
  • Save money and eat healthy: Use Healthy Eating on a Budget to help you save money at the store by making a shopping plan, shopping smart, and preparing healthy meals to stretch food dollars.
  • Keep up the good work!: One big change is that USDA has officially changed the website from ChooseMyPlate.gov to MyPlate.gov. Explore MyPlate’s new website – MyPlate.gov – with streamlined information for you to find tips, tools, and recipes that will fit your healthy eating needs.
The benefits of healthy eating add up over time, bite by bite. Small changes matter. Start Simple with MyPlate.
 
Team Nutrition Professional Standards Training Tracker Tool
Team Nutrition appreciates receiving your feedback on the Professional Standards Training Tracker Tool (PSTTT) and works continuously to enhance the user experience. Per the overwhelming feedback, Team Nutrition has further enhanced the capability for Directors and Manager-users to edit the names and emails for those employee profiles that are not associated with an eAuthorization account. Additionally, user profiles now have a new field for an employee identification number. This feature is designed to make logging and tracking training easier for districts that have employees with the same, or similar names.
 
Track your required annual training hours today using USDA’s free Professional Standards Training Tracker Tool!
 
New Training Videos: Mealtimes With Toddlers in the Child and Adult Care Food Program
Children’s nutritional needs and developmental abilities change and evolve dramatically in the first few years of life. The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) meal patterns reflect the changing nutritional needs of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. On December 18, the Food and Nutrition Service’s Team Nutrition initiative released new training videos about mealtimes with toddlers (one- and two-year-olds) in the CACFP. These videos complement Team Nutrition’s Mealtimes with Toddlers in the CACFP Operator Booklet and Family Handout, and may be used by state agencies and CACFP operators to increase understanding of meal pattern requirements for this important age group.
 
The two to three minute videos are available in English and Spanish and address the following hot topics:
  • assisting toddlers in learning how to feed themselves;
  • encouraging toddlers to try new foods; and
  • types of milk to serve children in the CACFP.
The videos, along with the Mealtimes with Toddlers in the CACFP Operator Booklet and Family Handout are available on the Team Nutrition website. The videos include audio descriptions to promote access for those who have low vision or who are blind.
 
CACFP Halftime: Thirty on Thursdays Webinar on Using the Nutrition Facts Label in the CACFP
On January 21, 2021, USDA’s Team Nutrition initiative will present Using the Nutrition Facts Label in the CACFP. Registration for this free webinar is now available, using the following registration links:
Registration links are also available here.
 
This upcoming webinar will show Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) operators how to use the information on the Nutrition Facts label to identify foods that can be served as part of reimbursable meals and snacks. Attendees will have the opportunity to submit questions to the presenters and to check their knowledge through interactive polling questions. FNS Regional Offices, state agencies, sponsoring organizations, and CACFP program operators are invited to participate.
 
 

Updates from the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) School Nutrition Team

 

Around the World in 80 Trays
Happy New Year! The Around the World in 80 Trays event is quickly approaching! Remember to take the pledge and use the week of January 18 to 22, 2021 to create a meal! For more event information and resources, visit the NSLP webpage.
 
School Nutrition Team Google Currents Page
Reminder! The SNT created a Google Currents page where school nutrition professionals of Wisconsin can network, discuss important school nutrition information, and ask questions related to serving school meals. This page is open to Wisconsin school districts, vendors, distributors, and food service management companies servicing Wisconsin schools. This page cannot be used for advertisements. A member of the SNT can sign you up. As a member, you can post to the site. Remember to turn on notifications to receive an email anytime someone posts. This way, you are always in on the conversation.
 
Educational and Enrichment Activities for the Afterschool Snack Program
We’re sharing easy-to-access Educational and Enrichment Activities you can share directly with students to go along with their afterschool snack. Most of these activities work for in-person students or for virtual, at-home learners. There are a variety of activities for different ages. You can share the links with families, print out the activity sheets and slide into a snack sack, or play the videos during snack time, as you wish. We hope this is helpful to those of you providing afterschool snacks!
 

Other Updates and Information

 

Here is an article out of Today’s Dietitian Magazine about the importance of family meals.
 
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This is a communication from the WI Department of Public Instruction, School Nutrition Team.
You can contact the School Nutrition Team at dpifns@dpi.wi.gov. To subscribe to schoolmealsnews, please send an email to dpifns@dpi.wi.gov.
dpi.wi.gov/school-nutrition #WISchoolMealsRock