The primary goal of the food service programs provided by the Office of School Food and Nutrition Services (OSFNS) is to offer nutritious, high quality meals to students to help them achieve optimum health and to enhance their ability to learn so they can derive maximum benefit from their educational programs.Our menus are planned to contribute specific nutrients necessary for the health of the students, and each meal is reviewed for nutritional completeness and adherence to the United States Department of Agriculture’s Recommended Dietary Guidelines.
OSFNS has traditionally offered menus that reflect a wide variety of choices.This policy presents the challenge of avoiding excess meal preparation while still ensuring that every student who participates in our programs has all choices available, whether he or she is the first or the last student served.This can be accomplished through careful menu planning and ordering, preparation of menu items in small quantities as close to service time as possible (batch cooking), and implementing the “offer versus serve” policy.
In the event of excess meal preparation, the objective is to maximize the use of pre-served products the next day, under optimal sanitation and safety standards.All leftover food items are to be evaluated according to the following criteria: appearance, aroma, flavor and texture.If the items are found to be satisfactory in all four categories, they are to be stored under refrigeration and planned as a third choice on the next day’s menu.Prior to service, these foods are to be reconstituted by heating in the oven to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
If a food item is found to be unsatisfactory in any category of the evaluation criteria it is not to be served, and is to be properly discarded.
Upon occasion certain circumstances may arise that result in the production of excess meals on a given day that may not be able to be utilized within our programs.In this event, it may be feasible to offer this food to a charitable organization, providing the items meet our recognized evaluation criteria for quality.
If there is a need to exercise this option in a particular location, the School Food Service Manager is to bring this to the attention of his or her supervisor and arrangements can be made to make this food available for distribution by an appropriate agency.
By closely monitoring all facets of planning, preparation and service we can minimize the amount of leftovers generated.By utilizing quality pre-served product within our program as an additional choice, we maximize the use of the food items offered while addressing the issue of waste, which is a critical concern not only in our operation, but also within our society.
Thank you.