Fresno Welcomes USDA Undersecretary Kevin Concannon
On Tuesday we welcomed USDA Undersecretary Kevin Concannon to a special visit with Fresno Unified School District (FUSD) to celebrate the new community eligibility provision. This provision enables FUSD to feed all students in the district, regardless of income. Read more on the provision, here.
Fresno Unified is the largest school district in California to apply for the community eligibility provision. As the videos below demonstrate, the district is thrilled to offer meals to all students!
Smarter Lunchrooms Make a Big Impact at Computech Middle School
UC CalFresh has collaborated with FUSD on Smarter Lunchrooms efforts in the district, and was invited to work at Computech Middle School to make a few additions to the cafeteria to promote healthy foods.
Computech has a large cafeteria with a lot of room to feature student work, add items to the serving line, and promote healthy foods. The flow of meal service is very efficient, and the Noon Time Assistants at the school already do a fantastic job of setting up the lunch trays for meal service each day. After identifying many strengths at the site, our goal was to enhance and build on those strengths. Working together we made a huge impact!
Below are some of the photos of the additions made to the cafeteria, along with the positive feedback we have already received from staff and students!
Before: the sneeze guard made it challenging for students to reach their food. Since the food is wrapped for meal service, the sneeze guard was removed. Making that change really opened up the space.
After: removing the sneeze guard made food easier to reach. Bonus: menu cards were added to showcase healthy food!
During his visit, the Undersecretary said his favorite part of the Smarter Lunchrooms movement was the menu cards.
Before: plastic tubs were used to present fruit. Small changes in presentation made a big difference.
After: adding mixed fruit to the bowls in the serving line created a visually appealing display and took only a few extra minutes to prepare. This change demonstrates one of the best parts of Smarter Lunchrooms: low to no-cost changes that can make a big impact!
After: Fresh fruit in bowls is eye catching, and a yellow tablecloth brightens the serving line, giving it a cafe feel. The Noon Time Assistants stack trays for every lunch service. Not only does it look fun, it speeds up the service line by separating trays (pictured right) that tend to stick together when stacked.
In the middle of the transition from tubs to bowls, clear and stainless bowls were used. Food Service District Supervisor, Morgan Terry, noted that students took 3 times as much fruit from the clear bowls as they took from stainless steel bowls. Seeing this difference, food service purchased additional clear bowls.
"The bowls look real nice, real fancy." -student, upon seeing tablecloths and clear fruit bowls replacing the tubs used.
Before: A large freezer blocked off the front of the cafeteria.
After: Relocating the freezer cleared the way to make nutrition and student artwork the center of attention!
"It looks really nice." -student, remarking on the changes made in the cafeteria.
Though copies of the menu are always available to students, pictures of the foods being served were new. FUSD offers a fantastic selection of healthy meals daily. With the help of the UC CalFresh team, the breakfast menu took center stage!
After: branding the cafeteria as the Computech Cafe was great! Students really liked seeing their mascot and school colors on all of the new signage.
To promote nutrition and wellness throughout the campus, a few additions were made to the staff lounge as well.
"It makes me feel like I want to be in here." -Noon Time Assistant, commenting on the changes to the teachers' lunchroom
Future Collaborations Planned
UC CalFresh had a great time working at Computech, and looks forward to collaborating with FUSD Food Service staff at additional school sites early next year!
If you'd like to be a part of the Smarter Lunchrooms Movement in Fresno County, email Shelby MacNab at smacnab@ucanr.edu to get started.
