SCHOOL FOOD ENVIRONMENT
ENACT STRATEGY: Support Foodservice Staff
Provide training and support to foodservice and other relevant staff to meet nutrition standards and prepare healthier meals
As schools create food policies and programs to provide healthier food, foodservice staff must be an integral partner for the programs to be successful. Whether the school is taking steps towards meeting nutrition standards, doing more on-site cooking, or implementing a complete farm to school program, foodservice staff must be involved and engaged. New ways to purchase and prepare food and encourage nutritious choices all require skills for proper implementation, and professional development is a critical investment. Providing training is essential not only for success of program, but also provides food service staff with transferable skills so that they may find work more satisfying, and be more committed to the program to offer healthy meals to students.
Rethinking School Lunch Guide: Professional Development (PDF)
This chapter of the Rethinking School Lunch Guide focuses on the goals and challenges of providing the training and support needed for foodservice staff and teachers to implement a farm-to-school program.
Keys to Excellence in School Food and Nutrition Programs
The School Nutrition Association provides a self-assessment tool to evaluate school food service programs in four “key” areas: Administration; Communications and Marketing; Nutrition and Nutrition Education; and Operations.
The Yale Sustainable Food Project has brought local, organic, and sustainably grown food to the college campus. This article discusses the process of training and engaging foodservice staff in the changes to campus food, which has been key to the program's success.
The School Nutrition Association is a national, nonprofit professional organization that provides training and credentialing for all levels of food service workers. Courses such as Healthy Edge: Building Healthy School Meals are offered online, and a related foundation offers tuition assistance for staff training.
National Food Service Management Institute
The National Food Service Management Institute offers workshops, seminars, and conferences for child nutrition program professionals working in school and child care settings. The Institute also conducts applied research focused on defining best practices and competencies for child nutrition program professionals.
On-the-Job Training for School Nutrition Assistants is Essential (PDF)
This study demonstrates that investing in training of foodservice staff
Nettles, M., Carr, D., Hubbard, S. On-the-Job training for School Nutrition Assistants/Technicians is Essential. Insight, a publication of the National Food Service Management Institute. No. 35, 2007.
Verbal prompt by food service staff increases school lunch fruit consumption
This pilot study found that when food service staff verbally offered fruit, it increased the percentage of students that took, and subsequently consumed, a fruit serving as part of their purchased school lunch.
Schwartz, Marlene. The influence of a verbal prompt on school lunch fruit consumption: a pilot study. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. 2007 March; 4:6.