Even before well-known chef Jamie Oliver began his food revolution, Frisco ISD child nutrition staffers were hard at work accepting the USDA’s Healthier US School Challenge (HUSSC) with major and minor changes to the district’s menus.

“We meet almost 90 percent of the HUSSC requirements,” Child Nutrition Director Debera Tredennick said. “But we have been working for months tweaking little things here and there to meet 100% of the goal.” The popularity of the Jamie Oliver show gave the department the desire to push the initiative quickly, she said.

FISD had already instituted a few of those “tweaks” in May before school dismissed. Elementary students who preferred to take a few bites of lunch and then move on to the ice cream selection noticed almost all the ice cream choices disappeared. The district is replacing the items with sherbets and other lower sugar, lower fat desserts.

Principals found themselves caught between disappointed students and pleased parents concerned about the ice cream being sold all along. Good nutrition won out over the traditional childhood treat.

Another area Tredennick says will bring change is the use of more whole grains. FISD is well known for made-from-scratch rolls and breads. They will still be made-from-scratch but they will be made with whole-wheat flour. Another item that should increase on the lunch menu is brown rice although child nutrition department is having a difficult time finding a cost-effective, quality supply. It is an issue school food service departments, including Frisco, are stressing to the USDA, Tredennick said.

The child nutrition department has been testing recipes and report healthy and tasty successes. One recipe they are very proud of is a fruit cobbler made with a whole-wheat crust. They have found excellent fruit suppliers and foresee offering the cobbler at least once a week.

Even branded food service restaurants such as Pizza Hut, which supplies pizza at the high schools, are working hard to develop healthy versions of teen staples. Pizza Hut is working on a tasty whole-wheat crust. Tredennick thinks they are on the right track and knows the company will insist on perfection before they release a product to the public. “We are still waiting,” she said.

FISD’s food service personnel hope individual campuses will win on more than one level if the district is approved by the new federal program – in health rewards and monetary awards.  Awards in the form of bonds and cash prizes are being offered to individual campuses. Tredennick says Frisco Child Nutrition employees hope to see all of the campuses win on some level.

The FISD Child Nutrition Department is accustomed to being recognized for excellence. Awards have been won in the past. The management team serving FISD students has successfully completed state and nationally approved certification classes in nutrition education, culinary education, administration, communication, operations, marketing, training and food safety. Student and parent input is utilized for menu adjustments annually. Healthy snack choices are provided and nutrition education classes are a part of the curriculum as the Child Nutrition Department works with educators to help students learn about nutrition and exercise as part of a life-long lifestyle.

The FISD Child Nutrition Department is also self-supported by the meals and items sold in campus cafeterias. Employees understand quality is important to the bottom line and nutrition is important to their young customers.

The Healthier US School Challenge (HUSSC) means major and minor changes to FISD menus. Many of the snack items FISD serves at the elementary schools will “go away” or will look different (smaller portions, lower fat, etc.). These changes will occur very slowly so students will not see a major change. Major changes will happen in the fall and will involve food preparation techniques,” according to Tredennick.

The staff is not above borrowing a good idea. The staff watched Oliver’s Food Revolution with interest and took recipes from his website. The recipes were introduced to FISD high school students and may be incorporated in FISD cafeterias.

To help students and parents in their own efforts to be health conscious, FISD has had a virtual café for some time, which allows parents and students to select food items and check nutritional and caloric content of the meals planned for the week. This can be found at http://www.friscocafe.org/

Check out this area of the website in coming months for café menu changes and other healthy hints.