| Twiggs County School Nutrition Program |
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The mission of the Twiggs County School Nutrition Program is to provide students with quality meals, healthy food choices, prepared and served by professional trained SFS employees. Our goal is to provide meals that contribute to the nutritional health and performance of students at school and in the community. Breakfast and lunches are offered to students at no cost. Teachers and adults visiting the schools may purchase meals at a cost of $1.75 for Breakfast and $3.00 for Lunch. We invite everyone to our school table. Let us know what you think! Motto: Healthy Students – Ready to Learn Our SFS staff served 18,571 student lunches and 18,035 student breakfasts last month!
Who we are and what we do.The School Nutrition Program is authorized under the US Dept of Agriculture. The program is governed by both federal and state regulations, as well as policies of the local board of education. USDA regulation requires the school nutrition program to follow the Dietary Guidelines for Americans which includes the New Food Guide Pyramid. Menus are planned to reduce fat and increase complex/whole grain carbohydrates in school meals per national guidelines. School lunches are planned to meet all USDA regulations and provide at least 1/3 of the age-appropriate RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) for energy, protein, calcium, iron, Vitamin A, and Vitamin C, while staying below the healthful limits set for calories from fat, saturated fat and cholesterol. Each school lunch menu is planned to provide:
We offer a wide variety of low fat milk choices; serving only 1% lowfat, skim, and ½% chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry milk to encourage growing children to consume bone-building calcium. Whole and 2% milk were discontinued to better meet students' nutritional needs and federal nutrition standards. Fresh garden salad meals are available to students daily. The school nutrition program now includes many whole grain or higher fiber wheat bread foods in lunches including sub rolls, dinner rolls, sandwich buns, pizza crust and more. Offer versus Serve is mandated by USDA at the high school level and is recommended at other grade levels. This is implemented at the Twiggs County Middle and High School. The concept requires that students be offered a variety of menus or foods within a menu from which to choose the foods they like, rather than every student being served the same meal with no choices. Menus must offer the 5 required meal components with choices from which students must select 3 to 4 of the 5 meal components. Students are encouraged to select a full 5-component meal for added nutrients and variety. Some entrees are combination items and count for 2 meal components, such as hamburger on a bun, cheese pizza, and sandwiches.
Nutrition and FitnessThings have changed; we don’t eat like we used to and we don’t move like we used to either! Obesity and Health concerns affect children not just the older generation. Many of these concerns can be related to the foods we eat and the exercise we give our bodies.
Nutrition Websites to check out!My Pyramid – Eat Right. Exercise. Have Fun |