NSSD SCA NUTRITION COMMITTEE Meeting Minutes of Thurs., Sept.21, 2006

Members present:  Marge McCarrick, Susan Moshell, Elizabeth Laderer, Elizabeth Guercin, Catherine Lau.
UPCOMING MTG. DATES (all Thursdays @10a.m., HS Alumni Rm.): (Pls. mark your calendars) October 26th,  November 30th,  (no meeting in December),  January 11th.

The Nutrition Nook smoothies corner at the High School cafeteria is slated for possible completion during the December vacation break, so that it may be opened for business in January…..Fruitful Bars aren’t selling well yet at the HS….Six cases of O-Water sold quickly within a few days of initial sales offering, and that supply will be replenished.  Apple & Eve juice box samples are available now at the elementary schools.  Other beverage brands will also be introduced during the school year… The newly-introduced Grass Roots Muffins are extremely popular….The Snapple line of drinks which contain the unhealthy ingredient high-fructose corn syrup has been pulled from the middle school, and was replaced by pure fruit-juice-based beverages.  All 20-oz. sports drinks at the HS have replaced with a 12-oz. size; by next year it will officials be a beverage regulation at all schools.  Comparisons are being made on various drinks’ sugar and nutrition contents, and on price comparisons, in an effort to make better items available at reasonable prices. Kit-Kat and Twix bars, and Yoo-Hoo Chocolate Drinks have been removed from the schools’ snack lines. Z Bars are at all bldgs. Other snacks suggested for consideration: Walnut Acres applesauce tubes; Stonyfield yogurt tubes; Fantastic brand or Thai Kitchen brand  single-serving noodle soups (add water and serve).  Organic baby carrots are now being provided at all school buildings as a snack.  New veggie wraps are now at the HS.  Elem. Schools will introduce their wrap of the day in October.
Mealpayplus.com is being accessed and utilized by an increasing number of district parents—11% are already registered users of the new program.

NSSD cooks attended a NYS Board of Health refresher course on food handling practices during this past summer.

A desire was expressed to form a subcommittee for brainstorming new ideas for monthly in-class nutrition time (teacher-initiated), with rotating topics of interest and an easy-to-follow format, to encourage more children to choose fresh, healthier foods over processed or sugar-laden ones.

E.L. introduced a new program via the P.A.T.C.H.E.S. organization (Parents Assn. For the Treatment of Children’s Health in an Educational Setting), called Heart Links.  (Website: www.patchesonline.org ).It was organized in order to include all health-related issues ian a school setting (e.g., diabetes, food allergies, athsma), to address and convey concerns to administrators, and to provide health-related information to both school staff and parents.   C.L.