Report of School Health Advisory Council

Subcommittee on Nutrition

In accordance with the Administrative Guidelines of the FFA Local School Wellness Policy, a Nutrition Committee met on Wednesday, April 12th at 3:30 p.m. in the Superintendent’s Conference Room. Notice of this meeting was provided to all School Health Advisory Council members on March 29th. Attendees included S.H.A.C. members, Angela Edwards, Dorothy Thompson, Dr. Maroba Zoeller and and non- S.H.A.C. member, Ella Jones, Norton teacher.

Dr. Zoeller distributed a flyer provided by the Commissioner of Agriculture entitled “Guide to the Most Common Questions and Answers to the Texas Public School Nutrition Policy (TPSNP) and provided the source website:

Angela will email that website to PTA council membership for newsletter circulation, and it will be posted on the S.H.A.C. website which is being established in accordance with the Administrative Guidelines.

The purpose of the meeting to investigate the current practices of vendor-provided snacks. sodas, other concession items available at campuses and the economic impact on the district of eliminating access to those items was reviewed. Dorothy Thompson, the Allen ISD Director of Student Nutrition, then presented an overview of the district’s nutrition department, including a summary of revenue sources and expenditures.Dorothy explained that the Nutrition Department funds 100% of all kitchen renovations, has major expenses of food supplies and labor (including insurance, FICA, workers’ comp, TRS) of over $5 million. In addition, utilities, new ovens to replace fryers, equipment repair and maintenance, small wares and computer software maintenance and upgrades add another $378,000 to those major expenses. With total food revenue just from August – February of 2006 of $3M, almost two million of that is attributed to “a la carte meal equivalents.”

From this overview, it was very obvious that elimination of “a la carte meal equivalents” (anything not included on the plate lunch) would seriously impact the delicate balance of revenue and expenditure the current system provides.

The explanation of the plate lunch and the free and reduced lunch program led into a discussion of the breakfast that is provided. Breakfastis welcomed as a great way to start the school day. For the students on free lunch program, breakfast is provided at no charge; students on reduced lunch program can purchase a full breakfast for only 30¢. Breakfast is available on all campuses for a small fee and is reported to be well accepted by students and staff alike.

Dorothy then presented some of the upcoming improvements and changes in the nutrition program for next year. Some of the improvements and upcoming changes for elementary and middle schools are:

  • No food item containing more than 23 grams of fat will be served
  • Fries will be offered on 1 time/ week in elementary and 3 times/week in middle school
  • New ovens will replace fryers at middle schools
  • New schools are built without fryers
  • Reviews are being conducted on sugar & fat content of all snack items so that
  • Over 20 new low sugar and low fat snacks will be placed on the 2006-07 bid
  • Mini-ice cream program will be implemented at all elementary schools
  • Beverages will include milk, 100% juice and water

For Lowery FreshmanCenter and AllenHigh School:

  • Nutrition information will be available at all serving lines to assist students with choices that will meet their caloric needs
  • Vegetarian plate offered daily
  • Increase availability of fresh fruit bowls and large side salads to combo with entrees
  • Milk, 100% fruit juice and water are offered with all meals
  • Non-carb, low-calorie beverages will e made available to students as soon as those products are in production from suppliers.

In closure, Dorothy reminded the committee members that vending machines are not available to elementary students, that principals have control of the vending machines at middle schools and the machines are not in operation during the school day; items may only be purchased after the last class of the school day.

Committee members concluded that the purpose of this committee had been fulfilled; that the investigation was thorough and complete. Participants thanked Dorothy for an enlightening presentation and for the positive upcoming changes included in her report.

Dr. Zoeller dismissed the meeting, stating that this summary would be provided to the S.H.A.C. membership according to the Administrative Guidelines.