Moving More Fresh Food
to
Schools & Food Shelves
Bertrand Weber, Minneapolis
Public Schools
Rob Zeaske,
Second Harvest Heartland
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“How innovation is changing the mix of food
these school district and food bank systems
distribute…and implications ahead for local
sites we serve.”
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Workshop Agenda:
More Change = More Fresh
1.
High level changes to our food systems
2.
Learnings from “the field”
3.
Future implications for sites
4.
How do we work together?
5.
Discussion/Q & A
High Level Changes to Our Food Systems
MPS at a Glance
62 schools with a combined enrollment of 34,277 students
The District currently serves a daily average of about 12,000 breakfasts, 24,000
lunches, and 4,500 snacks, a total of 7.15 million meals a year
District Enrollment as of October 3, 2012
35,261 Students
65.8% of students qualify for Free or Reduced price meals
Free
21,277 60.3%
Reduced 1,916 5.4%
12,068 or 34.2 % of students are in the full paid category
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36% African American,
33% White/Caucasian,
19% Hispanic/Latino,
8% Asian American,
4% American Indian
• 1966 Only 6 elementary
schools have a lunch
program
• 1970 School Board vote to
expand lunch program to
all 68 elementary school
• 1973 School Board
approves fund to build
central kitchen
• 1974 Ground broken for
Nutrition Center
• 1975 Nutrition Center
opens assembling 11,000
meals on the first day.
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1976
High Level Changes to Our Food Systems
A Tale of Two Cities
2011
Minneapolis
St. Paul
Enrollment
34,332
37,780
Free & Reduce
66%
71%
Participation
62%
78%
Revenue
$14.6 M
$20.7M
Revenue per Pupil
$42.53
$54.80
I t ’s a M a t t e r o f N a t i o n a l S e c u r i t y
• President Harry S. Truman began the
national school lunch program in 1946 as a
measure of national security. He did so
after reading a study that revealed many
young men had been rejected from the
World War II draft due to medical
conditions caused by childhood
malnutrition.
• In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson
extended the program by offering breakfast
to school children.
• In 1968, a summer meals program was
offered to low income children.
The Challenges
Nutrition Center
• The nutrition center produces prepackaged processed lunches
and breakfasts that are re-thermalized at each school site
• No cooking facility
Refrigeration
Elementary & K-8 Schools
• 49 Sites
• 4 Kitchens
Secondary Schools
• 12 Sites
• No Serving
Lines
Our Solution
Rationale
40% of low income children are
overweight because of a lack of healthy,
available food and malfunctioning
metabolisms because of starvation.
In America we spend approximately
$6,000 feeding a child during the
entire tenure of their K-12
education.
Adult diseases related to childhood
eating habits and poor nutrition cost
the health care system $5,000 per year
or $175,000 per person in a lifetime
Rationale
Most Children Can
Recognize over 1,700
Products, But Do Not
Know What’s Grown and
Produced Locally
The Objective
To improve school
food, teach nutrition,
support sustainable
food systems, and
create an education
program focused on
understanding the
relationships between
food, culture, health,
and the environment
To offer nutritious,
appealing school meals and
effective education about
nutrition so that students
can achieve their full
academic potential and
learn to make healthful
choices
First Basic Steps
•Acknowledge Current Program Strength and
Weakness
•Define Goals and Objectives
Pre-Pack
Satellites
Cooking Kitchens
•Engage Community Partners and The District
•Identified Current and Future Obstacles
Culinary and Nutrition Center
Why Fresh local food?
• Freshest products
• Peak flavor
• Support local food
economy
• Reconnect students to
their source of food
• Build support for
program
Initial Plan
Market Cart Salad Bars
• Introduce Market Cart Salad Bars to a limited numbers of identified schools
strategically located within the district
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Pre-Pack
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Satellites
Cooking Kitchens
New Director
New Vision
Team of Staff
Farmer Fair
Farm to School
Coordinator
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Changes
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Redesigned menus
Salad bars
Local meat – turkey, beef
Local products – Holy Land hummus,
Birchwood Café Bean Salad
Local fresh produce RFI
Use cosmetically-imperfect seconds
– Organic butternut squash
Frozen local produce pilot
Educational partnerships
Community engagement
Special promotions
Taste tests reaching 8,000 students
last year with over 40,000 samples
2013-2014 Local Fresh Products Need
Apples
Melons
Water Melons
Potatoes
Onions
Summer Squash
Carrots
Cucumbers
Tomatoes
Grape Tomatoes
260,000 ea
20,000 lbs
16,000 lbs
10,000 lbs
36,000 lbs
2,500 lbs
32,000 lbs
6,000 lbs
3,500 lbs
1,200 lbs
Green Beans Sept
Green Beans
Sweet Corn
Winter Squash
Yams / Sweet Potatoes
Pumpkins
Parsnip
Turnip
Peppers
Cabbage
Beets
1,500 lbs
1,500 lbs
10,000 ea
5,000 lbs
5,000 lbs
5,000 lbs
1,000 lbs
1,000 lbs
2,000 lbs
2,500 lbs
3,000 lbs
Impact
• Tasty, appealing
food that kids love
• Increased visibility
and good will
• Support from local
food community
• More partnership
opportunities
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High Level Changes to Our Food Systems
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Second Harvest Heartland
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Our Food Banking History
 Recycling “what’s left” from food manufactures
 Reliance on certain types of food donors
 Supplemental food supply
 Efficient delivery
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High Level Changes to Our Food Systems

Second Harvest Heartland
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Rationale for Change—Market Forces
 Increasing efficiency of food manufacturers mean less
waste/donations to us while economic conditions have been
driving up need for MORE food
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Simultaneous increased societal
interest in “fresh and nutritious”:
locavore movement, farmers
markets, food pharmacies,
fighting obesity, etc.
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There are big “reservoirs” of
untapped agricultural surplus
to be accessed—right out of the ground
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High Level Changes to Our Food Systems
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Second Harvest Heartland – available food sources will
continue to change
Produce from agricultural surplus is
projected to be the biggest driver
of growth of emergency food
nationally
6 billion pounds of unharvested
produce
Channel available
‘10-’15
‘06-’11nationally
Retail food rescue,
25.67%
Purchase
d for
resale.
17.39%
Donated food
from
manufacturers,
growers, and
distributors,
37.24%
Government
programs,
18.49%
Produce
Purchasing
Retail
Manufacturer
Federal
Govm’t
+10%
+17%
+17%
+3%
+18%
+12%
(3%)
(3%)
+16%
(4%)
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High Level Changes to Our Food Systems
210 million pounds of potatoes, sweet corn and peas
go unharvested in Minnesota each year
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High Level Changes to Our Food Systems
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Second Harvest Heartland
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Our Response—finding new and fresher food sources to
augment and add to declining traditional sources
 Capturing agricultural surplus on
an increasingly larger scale
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The “great 2012 corn rescue”
Other ag surplus: potatoes, carrots,
onions, cucumbers, squash, etc.
Food Rescue
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Has become our fastest growing
food source
300+ retail grocery
and convenient
stores provide fresh
food
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High Level Changes to Our Food Systems
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Second Harvest Heartland
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Impact to date
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600,000 pounds of sweet corn to Minnesota food banks and
beyond (Summer, 2012)
2.3 total pounds of produce captured in 2011from growers
4.4 million pounds of produce captured in 2012 from growers
24 million pounds of food rescued from 300+ retail grocery stores
and convenience stores
Food Rescue grew 522% between 2009 and 2012
Learnings From the Field :
What Have Schools and Food Shelves Experienced
With These Systems Changes?
• Minneapolis Public Schools
– Consumption of fresh vegetables increased by 21.23% when
served on the salad bar vs. in prepack and canned fruit decreased
by 12.3% when served on the salad bar vs. in prepack
– Based on participation, the average cost for fresh fruit is $0.30
higher per portion at prepack sites vs. salad bar sites ($0.46 per
portion vs. $0.16 portion) and vegetables is $0.03 higher per
portion at prepack sites vs. salad bar sites ($0.06 per portion vs.
$0.03 per portion)
– Changes in procurement practices and delivery to accommodate
for lack of refrigeration.
– Changes in skills with need for culinary training and HCAP training
needed
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Learnings From the Field :
Feedback from the community
– THANK YOU for making such healthful changes in the MPS food service. I'm really
happy to see additions like salad bars with fresh produce and grain and legume salads,
as well as compostable serving ware. Keep up the good work! Have a great school
– Hello, I am a mother of two elementary age children, who are vegetarian. I want to say
how grateful I am that my kids are enrolled in Mpls public schools at this time when we
are revitalizing the menu with whole and fresh foods
– Just wanted to let you know that the mango slices were a huge hit. I didn't order much
because I was unsure of how the kids would take to them well they were all gone at the
end of service and the kids told me they really liked them.
– My son is a 10th grader at South Open. He is crazy about the new lunches! He says
they are SO GOOD!! He loves the fresh salad bar and exciting meals from the Mill City
Cafe. Thank you for these changes!
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Learnings From the Field:
What Have Schools and Food Shelves
Experienced With These Systems Changes?
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Second Harvest Heartland
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Agency partners vary widely in their local food ordering preferences
and desire and capacity for “fresh”
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It can be difficult to receive so much fresh produce at once
(Minnesota harvest season) and less the rest of the year; SHH is
interested in relationships with other food banks who have
different harvest seasons
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Produce is delivered very quickly but occasionally there are
quality issues; SHH packing and shipping processes are being
constantly tweaked for better results
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Fresh food can be costlier to store and handle locally—some
agencies don’t have the resources to access
We provide an average of 70% of the food needed at our agency
partners/programs—they also supplement by sourcing other “very
local” fresh food/produce
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Learnings From the Field:
What Have Schools and Food Shelves
Experienced With These Systems Changes?
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Second Harvest Heartland: feedback from our agency partners
“I have been so excited to see fresh corn and green beans on the (ordering)blog! ”
“The quality produce that we receive enables us to help people and give them
dignity.”
“One lady who stopped and took a box of food confided in me how little food she had
at home and how much help this was, especially the fact that it was fresh and healthy
food. I think most people would use produce given the opportunity, but it is just too
expensive for some to be able to purchase.”
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Learnings From the Field:
What Have Schools and Food Shelves
Experienced With These Systems Changes?
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Second Harvest Heartland: feedback from our agency partners
“Fresh produce is a culture change for volunteers. Success depends on their buy-in.
Also, recipes are important to help clients engage with fresh produce. “
“Fresh produce is more work for meal programs, although from a health perspective,
fresh is considered better. Changing menus and providing adequate staffing is the
challenge. “
“Seniors love produce, but are limited in how much they can take, both because they
are single households and have limited storage. “
“The quality of the produce has varied. “
“We have received a different quantity every week. Sometimes
it’s hard to handle the volume.”
Future Implications
• Schools
– Infrastructure
• Capital Investment – Refrigeration, Salad Bars, processing
equipment.
– Operations
• Central processing facility at Culinary Center.
• Increase aggregation of local products.
• Season extension freezing process.
– Training
• Increase need of culinary training
• GAP certification of local farms and farming organization
– Procurement
• Increase use of seconds
• Farm partnership
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Future Implications
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Second Harvest Heartland and Agency Partners
Tactical And Operational
 Capital Investment – continued investment in freezers and coolers
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Operations – changing our models and work to use new food
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Food quality – continue to address freshness to avoid waste
Delivery frequency – more deliveries of fresh food, smaller quantities?
Hours of operation – short shelf life of perishable food might require
different hours to turn food quickly and safely…open more often?
Food Safety – sorting and handling perishable product is a higher bar
Variety – at food bank and food shelf level, explore new sources
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“Orchestration” and deeper collaboration – sharing partners and
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Costs – it may not just be “more food,” it may also be more
expensive
more tightly coordinating partnerships (e.g., local grocery store pickups) is challenging
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Future Implications
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Second Harvest Heartland and Agency Partners
Conceptual
 Is our system moving from “recylcers” to “hunger relievers”? What’s
“left over” may not be enough in our new normal.
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Is providing food enough? Some agency partners support nutrition
education, food preparation classes or other tools to support clients’
nutritious choices.
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Future Implications
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Second Harvest Heartland and Agency Partners
Food Shelves and Meal Programs are already innovating to increase fresh and respond to market
changes
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“We started getting clients involved in our own plots at the city VEGTABLE GARDEN
PLOTS. Clients are responsible for weeding, watering, and all vegetables go to the our food
shelf for everyone to take.”
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“We are …doing a canning training night and doing SALSA'S, PICKLING, etc. in August. We
just posted a cooking class using these items and using items from the food shelf like rice,
beans and other items. “
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“We will be getting a lot of stuff from local farmers and every Wed night in town they have
Farmers Market from 4 to 7; we get left overs donated for our clients.”
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“I have been asked ‘What can I do to help with hunger in our community? I can’t afford to
donate money or canned goods. Can I give garden produce?’ The answer is absolutely
YES! It doesn’t have to be a bushel; it can be a single head of lettuce or a few extra carrots. ”
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Future Implications
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Second Harvest Heartland and Agency Partners
Food Shelves and Food Programs are already innovating to increase fresh and respond to market
changes
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“We're procuring and distributing fresh produce in the following ways:
Partner with local farmers & fruit tree growers; invite clients to join in gleaning excess
Operate a community garden and invite clients to manage and harvest
Food shelf client choice shopping”
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“We moved the location of the fresh produce to the beginning of the client’s shopping
experience. This way, they can take their time choosing their selections and not feel rushed by
anyone in line behind them. “
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“We have taken more time in how we display produce, to make it look more appealing. We
sort and spread out the contents as much as possible, so clients don't have to "dig through" the
box causing more bruising to fragile items.”
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“In the coolers, we have invested more time in how the donated refrigerated food is
organized, so that the variety of foods are more visible at a quick glance and not hidden
behind taller.”
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How Can We Work Together?
Hunger
School Nutrition
Relief
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Backpack programs
MSP food truck
Promote school breakfast
Link to public programs (SNAP,
SFSP)
Promote better nutrition to local
school boards = better learning
outcomes
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Audience Discussion

Turn to person on your left or join a small group
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Take 10 minutes to discuss the following:
 What implications in this presentation
imply the biggest change in your work?
 What are two things your organization
might do to address these changes to
move more fresh food through the
system?
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Come back for full discussion

Q&A with speakers