New Meal Pattern presentation from the Nevada School Nutrition Association 2014 Conference. Nevada Department of Agriculture presentation covers updates to Meal Pattern including what's new for the 2014-2015 school year. Presentation covers changes to lunch, breakfast, what's coming up on the horizon, and resources

1. New Meal Pattern
Catrina Peters, MS, RD
Nutrition Programs Professional
Nevada Department of Agriculture
Food and Nutrition Division

2. New Meal Pattern
Update on NDA Materials
• Branding of Nevada School Meal Pattern
• PSA with very special guest to be aired soon!
• Menu Signage
• Delivery in August
• Brochures, Magnets, PowerPoint Slide Deck
• Working on topics as they were ranked most desirable
• Training Videos

3. New Meal Pattern
• Lunch
• Breakfast
• What is coming up on the horizon?
• Resources

4. Lunch

6. New Meal Pattern-Lunch
Two main changes for lunch this school year (SY 14/15)
1. First sodium target now in place (Effective July 1, 2014)
2. All grain items must meet Whole Grain Rich criteria
• (50% or greater whole grain ingredients)

7. New Meal Pattern-Lunch
Sodium Target
Grade Group Sodium Target 1 (mg)
K-5 <1,230
6-8 <1,360
9-12 <1,420

8. New Meal Pattern-Lunch
• How is this calculated?
• Weekly average
• Allows for some days to be higher than others
• How can I lower the sodium in meals?
• Watch for high sodium items
• Condiments-soy sauce, ketchup, salad dressing
• Entrees-Asian items with sauce already in them, teriyaki chicken
• Processed entrees
• Lunchmeats/cold cuts

9. New Meal Pattern-Lunch
• All grain items must meet whole grain rich criteria
• What does this mean?
• >50% of grain ingredients are whole grains
• How do I know if something meets whole grain rich criteria?
• Check out the label
• Looks for the whole grains council stamp
• Look for the FDA whole grains health claim
• Ask your NPP!

10. New Meal Pattern-Lunch
• New Whole Grain Guidance
• http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/whole-grain-resource

11. New Meal Pattern-Lunch
• What about the Pasta exemption?
• See memo NSLP 2015-4
• Must write State Agency to request flexibility to use enriched pasta
• Must demonstrate hardship in acquiring acceptable whole grain
rich pasta

12. Breakfast

14. New Meal Pattern-Breakfast
Main Changes This School Year
1. A full cup of fruit must be offered
2. Students must take ½ cup of fruit for breakfast to be
reimbursable
3. All other vegetable subgroups must be offered before
starchy can be offered
4. All grains must be whole grains
5. Sodium Target 1 in effect

15. New Meal Pattern-Breakfast
A full cup of fruit must be offered
• Schools may offer a single fruit type, or a combination of fruits
• Fresh, frozen, canned, and dried fruit allowed
• Fruit or fruit juice allowed
• Limit on fruit juice applies weekly
• Total volume of juice offered over the week/total volume of fruit offered over the
week
• ½ cup of juice may be offered daily in SBP along with whole fruit

16. New Meal Pattern-Breakfast
Students must take ½ cup of fruit for breakfast to be
reimbursable
• OVS can help with food costs
• Can be any type or combination of fruit, fruit juice,
dried fruit, frozen fruit

17. New Meal Pattern-Breakfast
All other vegetable subgroups must be offered before starchy
can be offered
• The SBP does not have a total vegetable or a weekly vegetable
subgroups requirement
• If a school chooses to offer vegetables in place of fruits, it must plan
how and when to offer them
• To serve starchy vegetables at breakfast must provide at least 2 cups
of the red/orange, dark green, legumes, or “other” vegetable
subgroups are offered over the course of the week
• It does not matter what day of the week the starchy vegetables are
included in the menu

18. New Meal Pattern-Breakfast
All other vegetable subgroups must be offered before starchy can
be offered
• Why?
• How?
• Breakfast burrito with black beans and salsa
• Omelet/Fritatta-spinach, red peppers, tomatoes
• Breakfast cassaroles
• Greens in smoothies

19. New Meal Pattern-Breakfast
All grains must be whole grain rich
• Lots of whole grain cereals now available
• Even whole grain rice crispies!
• Many processed breakfast products have been reformulated to
meet this requirement

20. New Meal Pattern-Breakfast
Grade Group Sodium Target 1 (mg)
K-5 <540
6-8 <600
9-12 <640

21. OVS: Components vs. Items
• Always offer all three components in at least the required amounts
• For OVS, must offer at least four food items at breakfast
• Students may decline one food item (must select ½ c fruits)
• Regulatory definition: A food item is a specific food offered within the food
components
• For purposes of OVS, an item is the daily required minimum amount of each
food component that a child can take
1 cup of milk
1 oz eq of grains
½ cup of fruit (less than required offering beginning 2014-15)

22. OVS- Fruits
• Under OVS, fruits component may be split and count as two
food items
• At discretion of operator
• Example: Oatmeal rounds (1 oz eq), apple slices (1/2 cup),
orange juice (1/2 cup), and milk
• Four food items
• Student can select any three items (must include at least ½ cup of
fruits for reimbursable meal)
• Can split fruit any or all days of the week

23. New Meal Pattern-Looking Forward
• What’s worked well?
• What is still a challenge?

24. Questions & Discussion