1. Offer vs. Serve CSNA June 2018

2. CDE Office of School Nutrition Mission
Together We Can
CDE Vision
All students in Colorado will become educated and productive citizens capable of succeeding in society, the workforce, and life.
CDE Office of School Nutrition Mission
The Office of School Nutrition is committed to ensuring all school- aged children have equal access to healthy meals by supporting, training, and connecting Colorado’s child nutrition community.

3. 11/13/2018
Learning Objectives
Explore the requirements and benefits of offer versus serve (OVS)
Recognize and count reimbursable breakfast and lunch meals utilizing OVS
Identify OVS implementation strategies and best practices
Correctly and efficiently serve food portions to meet all USDA school meal pattern requirements while utilizing OVS
Today’s class will explore the benefits of offer versus serve while understanding the requirements. We will have an interactive activity where we will practice determining and recognizing a reimbursable meal while discussing any questions, successes, and challenges along the way.
I will also introduce several resources to assist with the successful implementation of OVS.
At the end of this class you will be able to correctly and efficiently serve food portions to meet all USDA school meal pattern requirements to include offer versus serve. 3

4. 11/13/2018
What is OVS?
Concept that applies to menu planning and the determination of reimbursable meals Allows students to decline a certain number of food components in the meal
Offer versus serve (OVS) is a concept that applies to menu planning and the determination of reimbursable school meals in the USDA NSLP and SBP.
OVS allows students to decline a certain number of food components in the meal, reducing food waste and food cost, and allowing students to select the foods they prefer to eat.
OVS must be implemented in senior high schools for lunch.
OVS is optional for middle schools, and elementary schools for lunch. OVS is optional for all grade levels at breakfast 4

5. 11/13/2018
Signage
Don’t forget that signage is required for both breakfast and lunch (sometimes breakfast is forgotten) 5

6. School Breakfast Program Meal Pattern Requirements
11/13/2018
School Breakfast Program Meal Pattern Requirements 6

7. Breakfast Meal Pattern
11/13/2018
Breakfast Meal Pattern
Meal Pattern
Amount of Food Per Week (Minimum per day)
5-day Week
Grades K - 5
Grades 6 – 8
Grades
Fruit (cup)
5 (1)
Grains (oz. eq.)
7-10 (1)
8-10 (1)
9-10 (1)
Fluid Milk (cup)
5(1)
4-day Week
4 (1)
5.5-8 (1)
6.5-8 (1)
7-8 (1)
Before we move into discussing OVS it is important to review the breakfast meal pattern.
Some of the main issues we see on reviews are not meeting the weekly grain minimum and not offering enough fruit.
Vegetables in the SBP- if starchy veg offered, must provide at least 2 cups of r/o, dark green, legumes, or “other” subgroups over the course of the week.
Can be served as extra- not a component, not an item under OVS, DO contribute to nutrient requirements
All 3 grade groups overlap
Can use one menu for K-12 (use 9-12 grade range for grains) 7

8. Offer vs. Serve School Breakfast Program
11/13/2018
Offer vs. Serve School Breakfast Program

9. 11/13/2018
OVS at Breakfast
Always offer all three components in at least the required amounts
For OVS, must offer at least four food items at breakfast
Students must select at least 3 items (if more than 4 items are offered, they may decline more than one)
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
1 cup of fruit (or veg)
Now lets move into offer versus serve requirements. First, the distinction between components and items. Breakfast is unique from lunch in regards to OVS, because under OVS in lunch, students must select 3 of 5 components. Those 3 components might be any number of food items, including a fruit or vegetable choice.. So it is important to keep this in mind: OVS works differently in breakfast.
First, operators must always offer all three components in at least the minimum required amounts. For OVS, schools must offer at least four food items at breakfast, from among three components
To facilitate understanding for both the POS cashier and students selecting a reimbursable meal, a food item is offered in the daily required minimum amount of each food component that a child can take. This translates to 1 cup of milk, 1 oz eq of grains and at least ½ cup of fruit (or vegetable) 9

10. e.g. 2 oz. eq. muffin = 2 food items
11/13/2018
OVS- Grains (part 1)
A large grain can count as more than one food item for purposes of OVS in breakfast
e.g. 2 oz. eq. muffin = 2 food items
In addition to the 2 oz. grain, at least 2 other food items must also be offered to have OVS
Student cannot decline the 2 oz grain item
Let’s talk about the grains component under OVS. First, a large grain (such as a 2 oz. eq. muffin) counts as more than one item for purposes of OVS in breakfast. In this specific example, the 2 oz muffin counts as two food items.
This is unchanged from previous OVS practices. 1 oz eq of grain is the minimum required amount a child can take daily, for all age/grade groups. So if 2 oz is offered, the menu planner counts this as 2 items.
This means that if a 2 oz eq grain is offered, only 2 other food items (a fruit and milk variety) must also be offered to have OVS (to make the total of 4 food items needed for OVS). However, operators must also keep in mind that because the 2oz food counts as 2 items, it cannot be declined. For OVS at breakfast, students may only decline one item. 10

11. School offers 2 oz eq muffin, 1 cup apples, and milk 5 Items Offered
11/13/2018
Example #1 2 oz eq Grain:
School offers 2 oz eq muffin, 1 cup apples, and milk 
5 Items Offered
Choices:
Muffin + Apples + Milk
Muffin + ½ cup of Apples
½ cup of Apples + Milk
Let’s look at some examples. First, a school may offer a 2 oz eq muffin, 1/2 cup apples, and milk, and have OVS. Students can decline one item, only, so the muffin can’t be declined. Therefore, the milk could be declined. This does not provide many options for the student, but then again this is a very limited menu. 11

12. School offers 2 oz eq muffin, ½ cup apples, ½ cup juice, and milk
11/13/2018
Example #2 - 2 oz eq Grain
School offers 2 oz eq muffin, ½ cup apples, ½ cup juice, and milk
5 Food Items Offered
Muffin + Apples + Juice+ Milk
Muffin + Apples + Milk
Muffin + Juice + Milk
Apples + Juice + Milk*
* This would only be allowed in SBP, not NSLP 12

13. Grains-meat/meat alternate combination items
11/13/2018
OVS- Grains (part 2)
Grains-meat/meat alternate combination items
When counting the meat/meat alternate as grains, the combo may count as two food items
Example: egg sandwich w/ 1 oz. eq. of grains and 1 oz. eq. of m/ma counting as grains = 2 food items
The second part of OVS as it relates to grains has to do with grain-meat/meat alternate combination items
Menu planners have a couple of options related to how to count a meat/meat alternate-grains combination. One option is to count the combination as two items for purposes of OVS.  
For example, a menu planner may choose to credit the egg (meat/meat alternate) toward the grains component and count an egg sandwich as two grain items (a total of 2 oz eq of grains). This is just like the prior slide, when we talked about the 2 oz eq muffin counting as 2 items. The menu planner must also always offer the full required amount of fruits and milk. Again in this case, the student may not decline the combination sandwich under OVS as it would exceed the maximum number of items that may be declined. 13

14. Allowing students to take two of the same grain item
11/13/2018
OVS-Grains (part 3)
Allowing students to take two of the same grain item
If a menu planner offers two different 1 oz. eq. grain items at breakfast, a student may be allowed to take two of the same grain and count as two items
Example: school offers milk and fruit, plus two grains: cereal (1 oz. eq.) and toast (1 oz. eq.)
Student could select fruit and two toasts
2nd toast selected in place of other grain offered (cereal)
Only one item (milk) declined
If the grains component is offered in two, 1 oz eq servings (e.g. cereal and toast), there would be two grains items.
When a menu planner offers two different 1 oz eq grain items at breakfast, a student may be allowed to take two of the same grain item and count this as two grain items for purposes of OVS.
This is acceptable if the menu planner chooses to do so. The menu planner has discretion whether or not to allow students to select duplicate grain items.
For example, a menu may offer milk and fruit, in addition to two grains: cereal (1 oz eq) and toast (1 oz eq). The student could select the fruit and two pieces of toast. The 2nd piece of toast would be selected in place of the cereal, the other grain offered. Therefore, this would be 3 items under OVS, and only the milk (1 item) is declined. 14

15. National School Lunch Program Meal Pattern Requirements
11/13/2018
National School Lunch Program Meal Pattern Requirements

16. Amount of Food Per Week (Minimum per day)
Lunch Meal Pattern
Meal Pattern
Amount of Food Per Week (Minimum per day)
5-day Week
Grades K - 5
Grades 6 – 8
Grades
Fruit (cup)
2 ½ (½)
5 (1)
Vegetables (cup)
3 ¾ (¾)
Dark green
Red/Orange
1 ¼
Beans/Peas (Legumes)
Starchy
Other
Additional to reach total 1
1 ½
Grains (oz. eq)
8-9 (1)
8-10 (1)
10-12 (2)
Meat/Meat Alternate (oz. eq)
9-10 (1)
Fluid Milk (cup)
5(1)
The lunch meal pattern requires daily and weekly amounts of all 5 components based on three different grade levels. This chart shows the requirements for a 5-day school-week. Please refer to the Short and Long Week Calculations for meal pattern requirements for schools with different lengths of weeks.
Main issues we see with lunch are inadequate quantities of grains and m/ma and less with fruit/veg

17. Offer vs. Serve National School Lunch Program
11/13/2018
Offer vs. Serve National School Lunch Program

18. OVS Lunch Requirements
11/13/2018
OVS Lunch Requirements
Signage explaining what must be selected to make a meal reimbursable must also be present for the National School Lunch Program. 18

19. Combination Foods Beef Taco:
11/13/2018
Combination Foods
Beef Taco:
Grain/Bread, Vegetables, Meat/Meat Alternate
Ham Sandwich: Grain/Bread Meat Alternate, Vegetables
Pepperoni Pizza: Grain/Bread & Meat/Meat Alternate
Macaroni and Cheese: Grain/Bread & Meat Alternate
Some main dishes contain more than one food item or component.
don’t be confused by these combination foods - make sure you count each food item. for instance, a burrito might contribute 2 servings of grain and 2 oz meat/ meat alternate. thus, it would count as two food items at the point of sale under offer vs serve.
pasta with meat sauce may contribute 2 oz/servings grain, 1/2 cup vegetable and 2 oz meat alternate. thus, the cashier could count the main dish as contributing 3 food items. this entrée alone would qualify as a reimbursable meal.
the cashier should be informed of the food contributions before meal service when a combination food is offered. 19

20. Q: Special Circumstance: What happens if a student selects only 3 items and two are from the fruit and vegetable component? Is this allowable?
Full Portion Other Component
½ Portion Fruit/Vegetable
Full Portion Fruit/Vegetable
Reimbursable Meal
As we all know with OVS, students will select various combinations- and try to throw us off our game. This circumstance you may not see vary often in the elementary schools; however, you may come across this in middle and high school. This scenario can be confusing. This only matters at the high school level, as the ½ cup of fruit is the full portion for K-8.
When a student selects only three items and two are from the fruit and vegetable components, the student must select the full required minimum portion size of one fruit or vegetable and may select the ½ cup minimum of the other.
Again, this is only when a student selects two components from both the fruit and vegetable category.
K-8
Vegetable – Full portion is ¾ cup
Fruit- Full portion is ½ cup
9-12
Vegetable- Full portion is 1 cup
Fruit- Full portion is 1 cup
K-12
If full serving of Fruit Or Vegetable is selected, and the second choice is a Fruit/Vegetable the serving must be at least a ½ cup serving size.
The other component (Meat, Grain, Milk) must be the full minimum required serving size

21. Resources- Office of School Nutrition Website
11/13/2018
Resources- Office of School Nutrition Website
Offer vs. Serve
Menu Planning
Training Webpage 21

22. 11/13/2018
Contact Information
Jon Padia Nutrition Programs Principal Consultant (303)
Denise Meredith Programs Consultant (720) 22

23. 11/13/2018
Thank You! 23

24. Heather Tedeschi Cherry Creek School District
Offer vs Serve
Heather Tedeschi
Cherry Creek School District

25. Why Participate in Offer vs Serve?
Students get the nutrients they need for success in the classroom
Permits student choice
Students are able to try new foods
Increased participation
Reduces food waste
Students eat more fruits and vegetables because they pick what they like
Saves money

26. Menu Planning Challenges: Vegetable subgroups and grain requirements
Budget

27. Menu Planning: Nutrients to watch
Sodium
1200 mg per meal (elementary lunch)
Cannot add salt to anything unless in menu
Condiments can only be offered as stated on menu
Saturated fat
<10% of calories from saturated fat per day
Must follow all recipes
Trans Fat
Label must state 0 grams per serving
Only items purchased through CCSD Warehouse may be served

28. Food Preparation
Forecast how much food to prepare

29. Breakfast Signage

30. What’s for breakfast?

31. Lunch Signage

32. What’s for Lunch?

33. Offering Meat/Meat Alternate
Must follow all recipes
Use specific tools when needed for accurate measurement
Scales
Spoodles
Scoops
Slicing meat must be done on slicer to ensure consistency

34. Offering Fruits Minimum of 3 fruits offered daily
Minimum of 1 fresh fruit
All fruit has a recipe with specific serving instructions
All fruit must be pre-portioned into offer vs. serve cups

35. Offering vegetables
Minimum of 2 vegetables offered daily All vegetables have a recipe that must be followed Must offer the menu’d vegetable on all serving lines All vegetables must be pre-portioned into offer vs serve cups

36. Offering grains
Must only offer side items (e.g., dinner rolls and breadsticks) when menu’d with the entrée

37. Offering Milk Must offer: Fat free chocolate Skim unflavored

38. Review Question 1
Does a student have to take a fruit or vegetable? Does a student have to take a fruit and a vegetable?

39. Is this a reimbursable meal?

40. Is this a reimbursable meal?

41. Does a student have to take an entrée?
Review Question 2
Does a student have to take an entrée?

42. Is this a reimbursable meal?

43. Does a student have to take a milk?
Review Question 3
Does a student have to take a milk?

44. Is this a reimbursable meal?

45. Can a student take two of the same vegetable?
Review question 4
Can a student take two of the same vegetable?
E.g., two serving of green beans or two servings of fries?

46. Is this a reimbursable meal?

47. Review question 5
Does a student have to take a dinner roll when it is on the menu with the entrée?

48. Is this a reimbursable meal?

49. Does a student have to take a meat or meat alternate?
Review question 6
Does a student have to take a meat or meat alternate?

50. Is this a reimbursable meal?

51. Questions?
Contact:
Heather Tedeschi

52. OFFER VS SERVE TOOLS USED AT ADAMS 12

53. COMPONENTS vs. FOOD ITEMS One of five food groups
COMPONENTS vs. FOOD ITEMS One of five food groups Specific food offered within the five food components + + +
Note: Yogurt and Cheese are considered meat/meat alternate under NSLP per USDA. +

54. BREAKFAST MEAL PATTERN

55. BREAKFAST MEAL MENU

56. LUNCH MEAL PATTERN

57. LUNCH MEAL MENU

58. SERVING UTENSILS TOOL Fresh carrot measuring
1 serving = ½ cup (4oz spoodle) ~7 carrots
Fresh broccoli floret measuring
1 serving = ½ cup (4oz spoodle) ~2-4 florets, depending on size
Fresh cucumber slices measuring
1 serving = ½ cup (4oz spoodle) ~3-4 slices, depending on size

59. IDENTIFICATION OF A REIMBURSABLE MEAL

60. Questions? Contact Ilene Augustin ileneagustin@yahoo.com