There will be no more charging after May 17th, 2013.  Please have negative balances paid before June 7th.  Payments can be made by Cash or Check or on-line at www.cafeprepay.com .  Thank you.

National School Lunch Week - Check out the fun activity sheets and parent information.

USDA New Food Guidance System from the 2010 Dietary Guidelines - MyPlate

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) assisted meal program that provides nutritionally balanced lunches to school-aged children. VDOE administers the NSLP at the state level, and school divisions operate the program at the local level through agreements with VDOE. Participating school divisions receive USDA cash subsidies and donated commodities for each meal served that meets federal nutrition standards – one third of daily recommended levels of protein, calcium, iron, vitamins A and C and calories – and must provide free and reduced-price lunches to eligible children.

The School Breakfast Program (SBP) is a federally assisted meal program that provides nutritious breakfast meals to students. The U. S. Department of Agriculture administers this program at the Federal level. VDOE administers the program at the state level and school divisions administer the program at the local level. Breakfast menus must provide one-fourth of the daily recommended levels for protein, calcium, iron, Vitamin A, Vitamin C and calories. Participating schools must serve breakfasts that meet Federal nutrition standards – one quarter of daily recommended levels of protein, calcium, iron, vitamins A and C and calories – and must provide free and reduced-price breakfasts to eligible children.

DID YOU KNOW . . .What Are Whole Grains? Whole grains or foods made from them contain all the essential parts and naturally occurring nutrients of the entire grain seed.  If the grain has been processed (e.g., cracked , crushed, rolled, extruded, and/or cooked), the food product should deliver approximately the same rich balance of nutrients that are found in the original grain seed. 

The Whole Grains Council lists these examples, when consumed in a form including the bran, germ and endosperm, of generally accepted whole grain foods and flours:  Amaranth, Barley, Buckwheat, Corn, including whole cornmeal and popcorn, Millet, Oats, including oatmeal, Quinoa, Rice, both brown rice and colored rice, Rye, Sorghum (also called milo), Teff, Triticale, Wheat, including varieties such as spelt, emmer, farro, einkorn, Kamut, durum and forms such as bulgur, cracked wheat and wheatberries, and Wild rice.

DID YOU KNOW . . . Quick-cooking brown rice has been precooked (parboiled), so it's ready in about a quarter the time as regular brown rice.  Nicola McKeown, PhD, director of the Friedman School's Nutritional Epidemiology Program, says, "The advantage of quick-cooking brown rice is that it saves you time and you get all the whole-grain benefits.  The quick-cooking variety of brown rice is a whole grain and is comparable to the regular variety with respect to dietary fiber, manganese, magnesium, selenium and fiber." McKeown adds that while brown rice is a healthier alternative to white rice, it's also energy dense-so a recommended portion size is only half a cup of cooked rice.

DID YOU KNOW . . .Yogurt has long been known as a source of bone-building calcium and satisfying protein.  Greek yogurt, however, is a relative newcomer to US markets.  As with all yogurts, Greek yogurt is produced by heating and culturing milk with gut-friendly bacteria.  Greek yogurt is then additionally strained to remove excess whey for a thicker, creamier finished product.  Even non-fat or low-fat varieties of Greek yogurt have a rich taste and mouthfeel.  This creamy treat also packs a nutritional punch.  The process of removing whey naturally results in a higher protein content:  Although slightly higher in calories than regular yogurt (100 vs. 80), non-fat Greek yogurt has 18 grams of protein in 6 oz, compared to 8.

 In preparation for meeting the 2010 Dietary Guidelines, Shenandoah's Pride Dairy is changing its Chocolate Milk formula from a 1% lowfat milk to a Nonfat milk product.  The product is called TruMoo Nonfat Chocolate Milk with reduced sugar.  This product is sweetened with "Sucrose" not High Fructose Corn Syrup. 

New Meal Patterns for Lunch and Breakfast - 2012/2013