Make Food More Appealing USDA Foods & Fresh Produce How to use what you’ve got? By: Stephanie Wells Quitman ISD Elementary School Cafeteria Manager Increasing Participation

Demographics Quitman ISD Elementary Campus  Student population 571  Free & Reduced 383  Paid 188  Overall 67% Free & Reduced Overall Participation  Breakfast  37,962 Reimbursable Meals  Lunch  57,660 Reimbursable Meals  Breakfast Participation has increased 10%  Lunch Participation has increased 2%

How did we increase participation? We had to think like the students. What would they want to eat? What would their food choices look like? And how do we afford it?

Chef Stephanie's Best Practices  Use Fun Colors  Be Creative  Healthy Ways to Garnish

“Think outside of the Box!” The Brown Box or AKA USDA Foods. Turn Boring into a Masterpiece.

Peach Fruit Ice Cream Use USDA Foods and turn them into a more appealing recipe for the students. As easy as Step 1Step 2 Step 3

Finished Product Meal Contribution: ½ Cup Fruit Want the recipe? Just ask. Fresh Fruit Ice Cream

Canned Sliced Apples Students won’t eat your USDA Foods sliced apples? Try these helpful tips  Dye sliced apples fun colors (only 4 to 6 drops per can)  Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon and fresh made granola from a WG. Serve it warm and it makes awesome breakfast fruit.  Chop up and add to a WG Fresh Baked Muffin.  Or simple serve in soufflé cup with whipped topping and dust with cinnamon

More Appeal Same Healthy Fruits!

Use what you’ve got and make it more APPEALING! Budgets are tight in the Child Nutrition Program and we all know it. At Quitman Elementary Campus this school year, we have starting talking to our customers and asking what they would eat? We got request for candy, ice cream, junk food and your typical Elementary Student requests. We pushed ourselves to make healthy foods more appealing so the students would learn that eating healthy did not mean eating something that didn’t look good. You will see your participation increase just by making some small changes to products you already have in your kitchen. Remember we all eat with our first!