Events and updates


The monthly MSNA Industry Conference committee meeting was held at Lake to Lakes Marketing in January. The committee is made up of six school foodservice directors and six industry professionals to plan the annual May conference at Rutgers Bay Resort. Topics for discussion at the conference include “going green,” including examples of recycling and composting programs. From left is Bernie Reinken of Hutchinson ISD, Jill Ponder of Lake to Lakes Marketing, Amy Thering of St Paul Schools, and Sharon Maus of MSNA. (Committee members not pictured are Strategic Equipment’s Jay Bravinder, Vader Landgraff’s Laurance Anderson, Moundsview ISD’s Debbie Harrod, ATS &R’s John Jurichko, Foodservice News’ Nadine Kasel, Rosemount-Apple Valley ISD’s Wendy Knight, Hobart’s Tayler Martin, and Prior Lake-Savage ISD’s Jean Winters.


MSNA Legislative Conference

The Minnesota School Nutrition Association Legislative Conference will be held on March 11 at the Hiway Federal Credit Union in St. Paul. Elaine Keefe, the MSNA’s lobbyist, will talk about the issue paper and instruct attendees on their meetings with legislators.


Commodity Expo

The Commodity Expo in St. Cloud will be held February 9. Last year’s show drew about 250 school district representatives looking to purchase commodity products for school meals. “It’s always a good attended show,” said Kitty Demorett, school specialist for brokerage Roisum Elite. Companies such as Roisum are on hand to show new products that qualify under the USDA commodity program and the state of Minnesota’s rebate program that allows schools to purchase manufacturers’ products. Demorett said that whole grain and low sodium products “are big ones.”

Also having a greater impact this year is the growing Minnesota School Food Buyers Group, which, with its member schools, bids directly with a manufacturer on a product. It’s ability to purchase in bulk sometimes results in a cheaper commercial price than if the schools used state rebate dollars.

Background: Schools receive a commodity entitlement from the federal government based on the school’s student participation in the school’s lunch program. That money is “non-cash,” meaning no money changes hands, but schools can spend the money in different ways, including purchasing Regular (“brown box”) USDA Commodities, such as cheese, ground beef, canned fruit and vegetables and other basics. Schools can divert brown box commodities (such as ground beef) to a processor, but pay any extra fees for that processing (fee for service).

The schools can, through the state’s Rebate Program, also purchase products made with brown box commodities straight from the manufacturer or distributor. What products are out there? Plenty. From chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese from Tyson and Land O’ Lakes, respectively, to the various sweet potato sides from Lamb Weston and corn chips from Barrel O’ Fun. The rebate to the school is determined by just how much—or how many—of the brown box commodities are used in the product.

The Bosco’s cheese-stuffed breadstick earns a school reimbursement for the cheese, the Schumacher hamburger patties because of the USDA beef used, and the Barrel O’ Fun chips because they are made with whole corn grain, rather than corn meal that other manufacturers use.


IATP congratulates Wayzata Public Schools nutrition leader for national award

Mary Anderson, supervisor of Wayzata Public Schools’ Culinary Express foodservice program, was honored in January by the School Nutrition Association for her innovative leadership of Wayzata’s school nutrition program. Anderson received the 2010 Foodservice Achievement Management Excellence (FAME) Silver Leadership Award, given by the School Nutrition Association every year at their annual meeting.

This year, Wayzata schools’ farm to school initiative features fresh fruits and vegetables from Minnesota including sweet corn, beets, parsnips and squash, as well as local cheese, grains and other items.
In addition to leading the Wayzata program, Anderson serves as president of the Minnesota School Nutrition Association (MSNA). IATP is partnering with Anderson and MSNA to expand farm to school initiatives statewide by helping schools with staff training, procurement, student education and communications support.

“Mary’s work sets a gold standard for school nutrition around the state,” said JoAnne Berkenkamp, director of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy’s (IATP) Local Foods program. “Her program’s emphasis on nutrition, local sourcing and cultural diversity really shows what is possible when it comes to providing healthy food for our kids.”

Minnesota’s farm to school work is garnering increased national attention. In November, USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan visited with Anderson, IATP and other school nutrition leaders to get a first-hand look at the state’s farm to school work.

In the coming months, IATP and MSNA will release a survey of farm to school initiatives taking place around the state, demonstrating the strong growth of these efforts.

—Mike Mitchelson