“Keeping the Business Buzzing”
School Nutrition
on the Cutting Edge –
so Brag About It!
Maureen Faron Pisanick, RD,LD
Dietitian, and Supervisor of Nutrition
Hudson City School District
Things we think about….so should you!
 How can I promote my menu?
 How can I get into the classroom?
 How can I improve the brand and image of my
cafeteria?
 How to gather a team to support our efforts?
 Why does this matter?
 Can I afford to or better yet, can I afford not to?
It’s a tough job…
but someone has to do it
What’s the buzz
word on the menu…
 What’s on it?
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When to share and when to be stealth?
Descriptions say more than words…
What is selling well at other schools?
Trends that stick – not just a Concept Day.
Speed Scratch gaining ground vs. Heat and Serve
The Local “Buzz” – Farm to School
Beating the bad rap….Chef supporting new face to
school foods.
How do I share the menu….
 How do we communicate to the audience?
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Print
Web
Announcements
Menu Boards
Signage
 What is available at no or low cost?
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Menu Templates
Microsoft “Clip Art”
Promotional Menu Templates
STUDENTS!!!
Bring the
Classroom to the Cafeteria!
 Savvy Consumers
 Incorporate students into sample days
 Surveys may be a great help
 Follow the trends – where do kids eat?
 Behavioral Economics….not just your average cafeteria talk
 Keeping ahead of the curve….new regulations (let’s not go there…)
 Classroom Education
 Chance to educate and market
 Makes lunch a part of the “curriculum”
 Menu contests – they eat it if they design it
 Education Messages in the Lunch Line
 Trivia
 Message boards with meaning
Brown Bag Competition….
Free Samples!
Get immediate feedback
Start in the Classroom…
 Intern teaches nutrition to 4th grade students
Bring them into the Cafeteria….
 Students wear milk mustaches after a kitchen tour
The BRAND
 Professional Appearance
 “Restaurant” quality and consistency
 Uniforms and Team Spirit!
 Clean, neat, and organized
 Chef Inspired
 “Let’s Move Chef to Schools”
 Vendors support – Theme days
 Coat your cook’s!
 Making the grade…..with Nutrition Awards
 State Education Awards (OH – Stellar, Buckeye Best)
 Alliance for Healthier Generation Award
 HUUSC – Healthier US Schools Challenge
 Communicate with Community
 Newspaper or Local Cable Access for your commercial
message
Be loud and proud..
Recipe Challenge in the Media
Spread the good word…
 Chef Sarah visit the White House Garden!
Networking and connections..
A game of stakes…or stakeholders
Why does this matter?
 Bottom Line
 Budgets and balance
 Promote our efficiencies
 Bench mark with standards – KPI Key Performance Indicators
(meals per labor hour)
 Cycle Menu Costing/True Value Inventory
 Contribute to the health of children
 It’s not good nutrition until they eat it!!
Can I afford too….
 Knowing our meal costs
 Assess bids, assess plate costs
 Knowing our profit margins
 A la carte formula important
 Know our labor needs – we do run a “business”
 Defining an accurate profit and loss
 Review often to determine peaks and dips
 Communicate with our administration and staff– gain
support for your goals and changes
 Seek grant funding partnerships
 FUTP60
 Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools
 FTS Dollars
Can I afford not too????
 Participation is Key
 Study and redefine the menu mix…….
High
Cost
Low
Sale
Low
Cost
Low
Sale
Low
Cost
High
Sale
High
Cost
High
Sale
Take Aways…
 Assess where your school is at on the continuum
 Provide 1-2 ideas, and help support a gradual
sustainable change or program
 Remember “creating a buzz” change takes a team
effort!
Thank you!
Life is 10% what happens, and 90%
of how you react to it – choose
your attitude to be successful!
pisanicm@hudson.edu
330.653.1215