March is National Nutrition Month, and we couldn’t be more thrilled with this year’s theme, “Fuel the Future”!  The theme resonates with us here at SUSD Nutrition Services, as we fuel the future every day.  These past few weeks, we have focused on what direction our menus will take in the post-pandemic world.  We are very excited to partner with student groups, such as the Student Advisory Board and the CTE Culinary class at Chaparral High School, to help us not only plan menus based on student feedback, but also develop new recipes and concepts. 

To further celebrate National Nutrition Month, you may have heard that HonorHealth is ready to move forward and officially launch a Blue Zones Project in Scottsdale!  With this project being the first Blue Zones Transformation Project in Arizona, we at SUSD Nutrition Services are eager to jump on board and develop Blue Zone-inspired recipes that will align with the project’s aims of transforming the health and wellness of the community.  You can learn about Blue Zones here.

Good nutrition is always at the forefront of what we do, and our team prepares balanced and nutritious meals for our students that are whole grain-rich, reduced in fat and sodium, and portion-controlled, with a wide variety of fresh fruit and vegetables served daily.  In addition, SUSD Nutrition Services is committed to the health and wellness of our students by eliminating high fructose corn syrup, MSG, artificial food dyes, and BHT/BHA; limiting added sugars in à la carte items; and eliminating white milk at breakfast.  Look to see more exciting trends and initiatives to come, including fun new recipes, flavor stations and topping bars!

To keep up with Team Awesome and all we do, follow us on Facebook at SUSD Nutrition and on Instagram @SUSD_Nutrition.

National School Breakfast Week is March 6-10, so “DIG IN to School Breakfast”!  Check your school’s menus here and look for tasty treats, such as Apple Nachos and Overnight Oats!  Breakfast is served at every SUSD school, so start your student’s day the healthy way and give our school breakfasts a try!

Read more at The SUSD Source

Since 2018, SUSD Nutrition Services has waived the reduced meal student co-pay, which essentially provides meals at no cost to those families qualifying for reduced-price meal benefits.

We are thrilled with the announcement from the Arizona Department of Education that from January 2023 through June 2024, all reduced-price meals will be at no cost to students, statewide. Currently, many districts charge the USDA reduced meal co-pay of $0.30 for breakfast and $0.40 for lunch, but starting this week and running through the end of the next school year, the cost is $0.00 for all students in Arizona who have been approved for the reduced-price status.

Nothing makes us happier than to see SUSD help trail-blaze initiatives that others also see as beneficial to communities across Arizona. SUSD will continue its long-standing commitment to waive the reduced meal co-pay, and we continue to encourage SUSD families to apply online to see if they qualify for this amazing benefit.

To apply online, click here.

Let’s give a shout out to healthy school meals here at SUSD.  Did you know that Nutrition Services offers breakfast and lunch on a daily basis that includes not only high-quality entrées, but also a wide and colorful variety of fruits and vegetables and other healthy components?   That’s right.  With the evolution of the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 and the Scottsdale Nutrition Initiative, school meals just keep getting better and better here in Scottsdale.

Here's some of what you can expect:

• Menus designed with integrity that are fully compliant with USDA requirements  
• High-quality products offered
• Multiple fresh fruits and vegetables offered daily
• Whole grains offered in place of enriched grains
• Lean proteins offered
• Fat-free and 1% milk served daily, with fat-free chocolate milk offered only at lunch
• 100% fruit juice offered
• Multiple entrée and side options available daily
• Vegetarian option served daily
• We focus on low-fat, reduced-sodium, and appropriately portioned sizes in our menus
• We do not serve items with MSG, high fructose corn syrup, BHA/BHT or artificial food dyes and are working to eliminate nitrates/nitrites in our menus

Just last Friday, I enjoyed a school lunch at Yavapai Elementary, where I selected chicken fajitas as my entrée (whole-muscle grilled chicken with sautéed peppers and onions with cheese in a whole-grain tortilla), tri-colored fresh cauliflower (green, purple and yellow), fresh red grapes, baby carrots with low-fat ranch dressing, shelled edamame, fresh zucchini and yellow squash, and an 8-ounce carton of 1% white milk.  It was delicious, and there was more that I could have chosen, as well!

The supply chain and labor crisis has had an impact on the variety of options, but we see the supply chain improving daily and we are pleased to return to more robust and exciting menus than we were able to offer during the pandemic.  I encourage you and your child to give school lunch a try!  Check out our menus here.

Patti Bilbrey
Director of Nutrition Services

Read more at The SUSD Source

Did you know that breakfast is served at all SUSD schools, all year long? That’s right. Team Awesome serves nutritious and delicious breakfasts that include whole-grain entrées, lean proteins, fresh fruit and vegetables, 100% juice and low-fat white milk. Eating breakfast at school has many benefits, not only for your student, but for you as a parent or guardian, as well!  

• Students who eat breakfast at school ‒ closer to class and test-taking time ‒ perform better on standardized tests than those who skip breakfast or eat breakfast at home. (Food Research and Action Center, or FRAC)
• There’s one less thing to do before heading to school!
• Eating together fosters community within the classroom.
• Students who participate in the school breakfast program exhibit decreased behavioral and psychological issues and have lower rates of absenteeism and tardiness. (FRAC)

Encourage your student to join us every morning for a free and nutritious breakfast at school!

School breakfast is easy on the pocketbook, as well, with the following prices:

• Elementary Breakfast - $1.50
• Middle/High School Breakfast - $1.75
• NO cost for all students approved for the Free or Reduced Meal Program

The following schools also qualify for FREE breakfast for ALL students:  

• Echo Canyon School – Free breakfast in the Cafeteria
• Hohokam Elementary – Free breakfast from mobile Breakfast Cart
• Tavan Elementary – Free breakfast from mobile Breakfast Cart
• Yavapai Elementary - Free breakfast from mobile Breakfast Cart
• Tonalea MS – Free breakfast from mobile Breakfast Cart
• Coronado HS – Free breakfast in the Cafeteria

Read more at The SUSD Source