1. Training for Food Service Staff
Offer vs. Serve
and
New Meal Patterns
Training for Food Service Staff
This staff training is intended for staff training on Offer VS Serve in the National School Lunch Program. Training on OVS in the School Breakfast program will be available at a later date. Additional staff trainings on other New Meal Pattern topics are/will be available.
Notes for speaker:
-Make a copy for each person of the OPSI Offer VS Serve point of service reference sheet.
-Words in italics are meant to be spoken.
-Answers posed to the group are NOT in italics
-References to additional information and additional trainings are not in italics
-Discussion topics and ideas are offered on slides 21 and 24. You can include these however you feels best meets the needs of your staff (ideas include having trainees work in groups of two and report back to large group OR discuss and brain storm as a large group).

2. Offer vs Serve
Objectives -Identify the requirements for Offer vs Serve in the NSLP -Practice identifying meals that meet the requirements of a reimbursable meal -Brainstorm strategies to encourage students to choose and enjoy fruits and vegetables
During this training we will:
-Identify the requirements for Offer VS Serve in the NSLP
-Practice identifying meals that meet the requirements of a reimbursable meal
-Brainstorm strategies to encourage students to choose and enjoy fruits and vegetables

3. Much of Offer vs. Serve remains the same for NSLP
-Required for senior high schools
-Optional for lower grades
-Student’s option to decline item(s)
-Same price if child declines item(s)
-Full amount of each component must be available to choose
Much of Offer vs Serve remains the same for NSLP.
-OVS remains required for senior high schools (9 – 12) and is optional for lower grades.
-The option to decline items remains with the child - although must take at least ½ cup of fruit or vegetable which we’ll discuss later.
-Meal is still priced as a unit and the price is the same whether the child takes the full reimbursable meal or declines one or two items.
-Full amount of each component must be made available to choose.
-And students are always encouraged to not only take the full planned serving for the fruit and vegetable components but for all components as only the full meal provides the nutritional benefits needed for each grade grouping of students.

4. What’s required in OVS (NSLP) ?
Offer vs Serve
What’s required in OVS (NSLP) ?
- Must take at least 3 of 5 components
- Must take at least ½ cup serving of the fruit OR vegetable component
A student can decline a maximum of two items – this means they must take at least 3 of the 5 offered components including a fruit or a vegetable.
For those of you that currently use NSMP this will be a different way of thinking about things.
If the school offers a combination item – one containing more than one component (say a cheeseburger (grain and meat) ): if a student chooses to decline this item, they’ve declined two components. Three components are still necessary.
In order for the fruit or vegetable component to be credited under OVS, the student must take at least ½ cup serving of the fruit or vegetable component. This smaller portion size is only credited under OVS as meeting the fruit or vegetable component. Students must select the full serving of all other food components.
In just a few moments we will take a look at the slides

5. The ½ cup minimum serving from the fruit or vegetable component may
Offer vs Serve
The ½ cup minimum serving from the fruit or vegetable component may
be:
A mix of different fruits
A mix of different vegetables
A mix of fruits and vegetables
Although fruits and vegetables are separate components in the meal patterns, the OVS requirement to select at least ½ cup of fruits or vegetables may be
-a mix of different fruits
- a mix of different vegetables
-a mix of fruits and vegetables

6. Offer vs Serve Let’s do a little practice with Offer vs Serve.
Here is our planned meal: A hamburger (on a WG bun ), ½ c steamed broccoli, ½ cup green salad , ½ c fresh oranges and milk.
For this tray:
-How many components: 5
-Is there a minimum of ½ cup fruit or vegetable? Yes
-Is this tray reimbursable: Yes

7. Offer vs Serve
If a student declines the broccoli does this remain a reimbursable meal?
-How many components: 5
-Is there a minimum of ½ cup fruit or vegetable? Yes
-Is this tray reimbursable: Yes

8. Offer vs Serve
What if the student declines both the broccoli and the salad?
-How many components: 4
-Is there a minimum of ½ cup fruit or vegetable? Yes
-Is this tray reimbursable: Yes

9. Offer vs Serve This student only selects the burger and milk
-How many components: 3
-Is there a minimum of ½ cup fruit or vegetable? No
-Is this tray reimbursable: No

10. Offer vs Serve This student selects the burger and the fruit.
-How many components: 3
-Is there a minimum of ½ cup fruit or vegetable? Yes
-Is this tray reimbursable: Yes

11. Offer vs Serve This student declines the burger For this tray:
-How many components: 3
-Is there a minimum of ½ cup fruit or vegetable? Yes
-Is this tray reimbursable: It depends on the grade group!
Think about a k-5 grade group. You may want to get your chart out for a reference. For this age group a full component of fruit is ½ cup and a full component of vegetables is ¾ cup. For this tray we can consider the fruit at ½ cup a full component. Therefore we can use the special rule for fruits and vegetables for the ½ cup serving of broccoli. And therefore this tray is reimbursable for the K-5 grade group.
On the other hand lets think about this same tray for the 9 – 12 grade group. For this age group a full component of fruit is 1 cup and a full component of vegetables is also 1 cup. Therefore we can NOT use the special ½ cup exception for both the fruit AND the vegetable. One would need to be the full 1 cup serving. And this tray is not reimbursable for the 9-12 grade group

12. Offer vs Serve Lets take a look at another meal.
The planned meal for the day : 1 slice cheese pizza, ½ c peas, ½ cup of blueberries, ¼ cup of celery and milk.
-How many components: 5
-Is there a minimum of ½ cup fruit or vegetable? YES
-Is this tray reimbursable: YES

13. Offer vs Serve
What if the student declines the blueberries and celery?
-How many components: 4
-Is there a minimum of ½ cup fruit or vegetable? Yes
-Is this tray reimbursable: Yes

14. Offer vs Serve What if the student declines the peas and celery?
For this tray:
-How many components: 4
-Is there a minimum of ½ cup fruit or vegetable? YES
-Is this tray reimbursable: YES

15. Offer vs Serve
What if the student declines the peas and celery and self serves a small portion of blueberries?
For this tray:
-How many components: 3 or 4 (depending if you count the blueberries!)
-Is there a minimum of ½ cup fruit or vegetable? NO
-Is this tray reimbursable: NO

16. Offer vs Serve
What if the student declines the blueberries and the peas?
For this tray:
-How many components: 4
-Is there a minimum of ½ cup fruit or vegetable? NO – only ¼ cup of celery (you could count the tomato sauce – but likely only 1/8 cup per slice
-Is this tray reimbursable: NO

17. Offer vs Serve
And what if the student declines the peas, celery, and fruit and selects juice instead of milk?
For this tray:
-How many components: 3
-Is there a minimum of ½ cup fruit or vegetable? YES
-Is this tray reimbursable: YES
Let’s be clear that this is not a great choice! Ideally the student would also choose a whole fruit, vegetables and milk.

18. Offer vs Serve
Offer VS Serve can be challenging – especially when you are faced with a long line of students that you are trying to move thru the point of service quickly.
Let ‘s take a look at the Offer vs Serve POS reference guide that OSPI has developed.
How can we utilize this tool at our schools? Where can we put copies of this reference guide that would be most useful?

19. How do we “encourage” kids to take the required fruits and vegetables?
Offer vs Serve
How do we “encourage” kids to take the required fruits and vegetables?
Now that we know what is involved in offer vs serve, let’s turn our attention to how we can “encourage” student to take the required fruits and vegetables.

20. Advertise! Offer vs Serve
The first step is make sure the students know what the new requirements are for offer vs serve .
Here are some examples from Lake Stevens School District
What ideas do you have for how we could advertise the ½ cup fruit or vegetable serving requirement for offer vs serve?

21. Fast! Convenient! Offer vs Serve
When choosing fruits and vegetables is FAST and convenient we increase the likelihood of students choosing at a eating more fruits and vegetables
Let’s brainstorm ideas about how we can make fruits and vegetables fast and convenient for our students.
Working in groups of two – come up with three suggestions for how we can make fruits and vegetables fast and convenient for our students.
Fast!

22. Make fruits and vegetable SHINE!
Offer vs Serve
Make fruits and vegetable SHINE!
Studies show, moving and highlighting the fruit increased sales by up to 102%
Ideas include
Add signs, a desk lamp or other illumination so that kids won’t miss seeing the fruit!
Put fruit in a nice basket or bowl, anything to get it out of the stainless steel serving pans.
What do you think we could do to really highlight our fruits and vegetables?
More information can be found at

23. “Success is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well”
Thank you for your time!
“Success is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well”
~Jim Rohn