ExCEL After School Programs: Tips for Serving Healthy After School Snacks This document provides guidelines and tips for snacks that align with the California Nutrition Standards. Please note that all ExCEL program snacks must meet these guidelines and all sites must create and keep a printed monthly menu of daily snack offerings. The ExCEL Office will ONLY reimburse for snack expenses that meet these requirements. Additionally, this guide may serve as a helpful guide for all ExCEL sites in planning nutritional food options for students and families. All ExCEL After School Programs are required to provide a daily snack to participating students, and must conform to the California Nutrition Standards. This guide will assist ExCEL After School Programs that are ineligible for State and Federal reimbursable snack programs provided through SFUSD Student Nutrition Services or the SF Department of Children Youth and their Families (DCYF) because of the school’s Free and Reduced Lunch status.
WHAT MAKES A HEALTHY SNACK?1,2 In general, when choosing foods, the following are considered healthful qualities: • containing whole food ingredients that are minimally processed, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nut/seeds, and low fat dairy products • high in naturally occurring nutrients (vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients) and fiber • moderate in calories and low in saturated fat, added sugars, and sodium • containing no trans fats, artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives
California's Nutrition Standards3 The guidelines that your program must meet for snack to be considered healthy. The California nutrition standards define the type and amount of fat, the amount of sugar, and the amount of calories for snacks served within the elementary and middle/high school grade levels. For additional information, see the California Department of Education's Standards for Snacks in After School Programs. 1
From the Strategic Alliance's Setting the Bar: Recommendations for Food and Beverage Industry Action Reprinted from the CANFit Healthy Snack Guide for Your After School Program (PDF file). 3 Passage of the California Senate Bills (SB) 12 and 965 updated the California Education Code (49431 – 49431.7) with new nutrition standards for competitive food and beverages served in California public schools. These same nutritional standards are now applied to all snacks served in ASES, 21st CCLC, and ASSETs programs (SB 638, Ashburn and Torlakson, 2006). 2
NUTRITION TEACHABLE OPPORTUNITIES You’re putting time and thought into creating healthy snacks for your students. Make the most of your hard work by using the healthy snack program to teach students about how they can make healthy food choices for themselves. Snack time is what teachers call "a teachable moment." Children are hungry; they're paying attention to food. You're engaged in preparing and serving food. It's the perfect time to learn about making healthy eating choices.
Why Teach Nutrition? We all live in what some nutritionists call a challenging food environment. Foods that are high in calories and fat, low in nutrients and fiber, are all around us, aggressively advertised, and they taste good! As a result, children and adolescents are becoming more and more overweight. This puts them at risk for a lot of health problems, such as diabetes. Just because youths don't look overweight doesn't mean they're eating healthfully. Adopting healthy eating habits protects all youths from developing chronic diseases.
How Do We Engage Youth? Your job is to provide students with opportunities to do things that show them that they can make a difference in their world. This is called "meaningful participation."
MEANINGFUL PARTICIPATION implies two things: • •
Participation is active—the student is engaged in doing something. Action is meaningful—it makes a difference to the student and their larger community.
Nutrition lends itself to positive youth development because food is important to everyone. It is the fuel that sustains life. Students learning about healthy food can affect their ability to influence their family eating well, contributing to their community and being able to make survive on their own as adults. They can also become great ADVOCATES for healthier food environments at school, after school, and in the community.
GUIDELINES FOR PLANNING A HEALTHY SNACK Nutrient Standards Snack food items must meet particular nutrient level. These levels are listed below: • • • •
35 percent or less total calories from fat 10 percent or less total calories from saturated fat 35 percent or less added sugar by weight of product 175 calories or less per par snack for elementary schools or 250 or less per snack for middle and high school
Components Healthy snacks should also have at least TWO of the following four components (CA Standard Guidelines): • Grain/Bread (1 serving). • Milk (1 cup or 8 oz.). • Protein/Meat or Meat Alternate (1 oz.). • Fruit, Vegetable or 100% Juice (3/4 cup). (A serving of Dried Fruit (1/4 cup) partially fulfills this component.)
Planning a Menu Healthy snacks can be found at any retail store, including Costco, Smart and Final, and even Dollar Tree. Most after school programs have a limited budget for snacks. That is why it is important to be creative when looking for healthy foods as potential sources. If it is healthy, you can serve it! As you prepare to plan your MENU consider the below: • • • • • • • • • • •
Include at least two of the four food components (grain/bread, milk, fruit/vegetable, protein/meat/meat alternative) in each day's snack. Serve each of the four food components at least two or three times a week. Provide water to students at the snack table, not just at the water fountain. Water should be the primary beverage available to students. When possible serve fresh fruits and vegetables Incorporate healthy snacks from various cultures. Plan for alternative snack options for students with special dietary concerns/needs. Make sure you can pronounce everything on the ingredient list. Check emergency cards and KNOW food allergies. Include youths in planning healthy snacks. Doing so will help to ensure that the snacks are eaten, rather than tossed in the trash.
Plan ahead it’s helpful to develop menus in advance, to ensure a good variety of foods being offered. Try new foods!
Plan for FOOD Allergies A food allergy occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks a food protein. Ingestion of the offending food may trigger the sudden release of chemicals, including histamine, resulting in symptoms of an allergic reaction. The symptoms may be mild (rashes, hives, itching, swelling, etc.) or severe (trouble breathing, wheezing, loss of consciousness, etc.). A food allergy can be potentially fatal. This guide includes items – such as, dairy, wheat and peanuts‐ that can for some students trigger a reaction. Therefore, it is important to understand the health related needs of your students. SFUSD has an ALLERGY EMERGENCY CARE PLANNINGFORM: http://healthiersf.org/Forms/documents/AllergyEmergencyCarePlanenglish.pdf This form you be on file for students with any allergy including food. If you have not collected this type of information for your students, please check in with school day staff to coordinate accessing this information and making sure of your program staff understands how to respond appropriately. Peanuts/peanut butter seems to be the most common concern when talking about food allergies. According to SFUSD’s Wellness Policy ‐No products containing peanuts or peanut residue may be sold or offered in the school meal. While tree‐nuts (almonds and cashews) or seeds are used sunflower butter, they are often used instead of peanut butter it is critical that you know your students allergy status. When choosing a tree‐nut or seed butter please read the label carefully because while it is often an acceptable substitute, the butters are often produced on equipment shared with peanuts. Many of the ExCEL Lead Agencies may also have policies in place regarding the use of peanuts/nuts so please know your agencies policy.
SAMPLE FOOD LIST BY FOOD CATEGORY Plan at least two food items from two different columns Grains/Breads* (1 serving)
Vegetable/Fruit (¾ cup)
Meat/Meat Alternate (1 ounce equivalent)
Milk (8 fluid ounces)
Animal crackers Bagels Bread Cereal Cereal bars Dry cereal mix English muffin Graham cracker Granola bar Goldfish crackers Noodles Pasta Pizza crust Pretzels (hard, soft) Rice Rice cakes Whole wheat tortilla Corn tortilla Waffles Whole wheat bread Wheat thins Popcorn
Apple cider Apple sauce Apple wedges Banana Blueberries Broccoli Cantaloupe Carrot sticks Cauliflower Celery Cherries Cucumber slices Fruit juice (100%) Grapes Honeydew melon Lettuce salad Marinara sauce Nectarines Orange sections Peaches Pears Peppers Pineapple Plums Potato Raisins Raspberries Salsa Squash Strawberries Sweet potatoes/yams Tangerines Vegetable/tomato juice Watermelon
Cheese Turkey Jerky Chicken Hummus Cottage cheese Eggs (½ large egg) Legumes – cooked dry beans and peas (¼ cup ) Nuts Nut butters (2 tablespoons) Peanut butter (2 tablespoons) Seeds Seed butters (2 tablespoons) Turkey Yogurt (4 ounces) Sunflower seeds Pumpkin seeds Almond milk Cottage cheese Low fat yogurt Soy Milk
Fat‐free milk Low‐fat (1%) milk Lactose‐free low‐fat or fat‐free milk
Two‐Week Sample Menu Week One
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
Grain/Bread Fruit Milk
Grain/Bread Vegetable Water
Grain/Bread Vegetable Milk
Week Two
Grain/Bread Vegetable Water
Grain/Bread Protein Fruit Water Grain/Bread Protein Fruit Water
Grain/Bread Protein Milk
Fruit Protein Water
Grain/Bread Protein Vegetable Water Grain/Bread Protein Vegetable Water
Week One
MONDAY Cheerios (½ C) Banana ½ Milk/Soy Milk/Yogurt (½ C) Water
TUESDAY ExCEL Trail Mix (dry cereal, raisins, sunflower seeds) (¾ C) ½ Apple Water
WEDNESDAY Whole‐wheat crackers (5) Carrots (1/2 C) Water
THURSDAY Fruit Salad‐ a mixture of fruit‐ consider frozen (3/4 C) Yogurt (1/2 C) Water
FRIDAY Corn tortilla (1) wrap with sliced turkey (1 ounce) Romaine lettuce (1/2 Leaf) Water
Week Two
Mixed raw veggies (1/2 C) Hummus (2 TBS) Whole‐wheat crackers (5) Water
Mini whole grain bagel String cheese, part skim (1oz.) Orange slices (1/2 Cup)
Almond Butter (1/2 TBS) Sandwich on Whole Wheat Bread (1 Slice) Milk
String cheese, part skim (1 oz) Apple slices (3/4 C) Water
½ Whole‐wheat pita with hummus (1/4 C) Carrots (3/4 C)
APPENDIX 1: SHOPPING LIST BULK Items‐ COSTCO A COSTCO Business Delivery Account can be set up and with a next day deliver in most cases. While ExCEL can not reimburse for the COSTCO Membership, the snack receipts that met the guidelines will be reimbursed. Setting up this system could be an easy, cost effective way to ensure healthy snacks. Here’s a link to get started: http://www.costco.com/Browse/BDLanding.aspx?lang=en‐US. ITEM
FOOD CATEGORY
ITEM #
PRICE/UNIT
Carrot Sticks 5lb bag
Vegetable
335627
$8.32
Carrots Organic Mini 5 lb
Vegetable
172246
$5.10
Sugar Snap Peas Stringless 2 lbs
Vegetable
45341
$6.43
Flav‐R‐Pac Broccoli Florets 3.5 lbs
Vegetable
258966
$5.29
Broccoli Crowns 20 lb case
Vegetable
534346
$14.43
Spring Salad Mix 3 lb Case
Vegetable
609287
$6.43
Organic Baby Spinach 1 lb
Vegetable
96716
$3.88
Romaine Hearts 6 ct bag
Vegetable
39036
$3.32
Red Bell Peppers 6 ct
Vegetable
91698
$6.43
Mixed Bell Peppers 6 ct bag
Vegetable
60357
$7.21
Cucumbers 6 ct bag
Vegetable
171067
$6.10
Celery Sticks 5 lb bag
Vegetable
335622
$6.66
Grape Tomatoes 2 lbs
Vegetable/Fruit
77053
$5.54
Embasa Salsa Mexicana #10 Can
Vegetable/Fruit
10596
$6.62
Bananas 3 lbs
Fruit
30669
$1.54
Kirkland Nature's Three Berries 4 lbs
Fruit
216553
$12.78
Seedless Red Grapes Organic 4 lbs
Fruit
201499
$7.54
Granny Smith Apples Large 12
Fruit
83257
$7.21
Red Delicious Apples 8 lbs
Fruit
184558
$8.66
Crunch Pak Apple Slices Granny Smith 3 lbs
Fruit
1971
$5.54
Fuji Apples 12 ct
Fruit
21405
$9.99
Sun‐Maid Raisins 2/2.25 lbs
Fruit
4515
$7.99
Kirkland Organic Whole Wheat Bread 2 ct
Bread/Grain
227061
$6.62
Las Fortunitas Whole Wheat Tortillas 40 ct
Bread/Grain
300174
$4.20
Guerrero 4.5'' Corn Tortilla 60 ct
Bread/Grain
5816
$2.28
La Fiesta 13.5" Wheat Wrap 10 ct
Bread/Grain
576556
$3.60
Wheat Thins Original Crackers 2/20 oz
Bread/Grain
7395838
$ 7.76
Quaker 100% Natural Granola 2/34.5 oz
Bread/Grain
43607
$9.31
Kashi TLC Chewy Granola Bar 30/1.2 oz
Bread/Grain
576949
$13.63
Shultz Mini Pretzels 6 lb
Bread/Grain
30426
$6.09
General Mills Cheerios 40.7 oz
Bread/Grain
522107
$6.85
Honey Maid Graham Crackers 4/14.4 oz
Bread/Grain
204529
$8.79
Goldfish Cheddar Cracker 58 oz
Bread/Grain
349529
$9.82
Shultz Mini Pretzels 6 lb
Bread/Grain
30426
$6.09
Kirkland Organic Animal Cracker 64 oz
????Grain
150774
$10.16
Meat/Meat Alternative
44333
$11.50
Kirkland Roasted Turkey Sliced 3/14 oz
Teva Classic Hummus 5 lbs
Meat/Meat Alternative
568872
$10.45
Frigo String Cheese 60/1 oz
Meat/Meat Alternative
843323
$11.62
Cheswick Monterey Jack Cheese 5 lb Block
Meat/Meat Alternative
6251
$12.87
Kirkland Signature California Pistachios 3 lbs
Meat/Meat Alternative
545345
$9.99
Teasdale Garbanzo Beans #10 can Item # 3014 Teasdale Black Beans #10 can Item # 171345 Kirkland Signature Organic Soymilk Plain 12/32 oz Item # 49100 Mountain High Original Style Plain Yoghurt
Meat/Meat Alternative
3014
$3.99
Meat/Meat Alternative
171345
$3.83
Meat/Meat Alternative
49100
$15.42
Meat/Meat Alternative
28978
$4.64
Non‐ Bulk Items unavailable @ COSTCO – Safeway Delivery A SAFEWAY Delivery Account can also be established and has a few options that are not available at COSTCO. Here is the link to get started: http://shop.safeway.com/superstore/default.asp?brandid=1&page=corphome&cmpid=ecom_kw_swy_mid_br
ITEM
FOOD CATEGORY
PRICE/UNIT
Maranatha Creamy No Stir All Natural Almond Butter‐ 12 oz.
Meat/Meat Alternative
$9.09
Sunbutter Sunflower Seed Spread ‐ 16 Oz
Meat/Meat Alternative
$9.29
Davids Sunflower Kernels ‐ 3.75 Oz The Snack Artist Yellow Kernals Popcorn ‐ 30 Oz
Meat/Meat Alternative Bread/Grain
$1.79 $6.59
Mariani Mediterranean Dried Apricots ‐ 6 Oz
Fruit
$4.39
Lucerne Milk Fat Free or 1% ‐ Gallon
Milk
$4.29
To figure out whether or not a snack meets the nutrition standards, use California Project LEAN’s easy on‐line calculator. Enter the information from the nutrition label on the package.
APPENDIX TWO: EXEMPT FOOD AND BEVERAGE ITEMS
Some foods and beverages are exempt, meaning after school programs do not need to do calculations to determine if they meet the nutrition standards. Programs can serve the following exempt items without checking them against the standards.
Exempt Foods (SB 12)
Elementary • • • • • • • •
Non‐fried fruits or vegetables Canned or frozen fruit packed in water or 100% fruit juice Seeds (e.g., sunflower seeds) Nuts Nut butters (e.g., peanut butter) Eggs Individually packed cheese (e.g., string cheese) Non‐fried legumes (e.g., soy beans, canned beans, etc.)
Exempt Beverages (SB 965)
Note: The above items are considered \u201cexempt\u201d as long as they do not contain any calorie‐contributing ingredients (e.g., oils, sugar coatings, etc). For example, nuts are exempt when dry roasted, but not exempt when roasted in oil. All exempt snacks are exempt from caloric requirements and the 35/10/35 rule
• • • •
Water without added sweeteners Milk (2%, 1% or non‐fat) Non‐dairy milk (e.g., soy, rice milks) Fruit and vegetables juices that are at least 50% juice without added sweeteners
Middle and High School For 35% total calories from fat rule: • Eggs • Cheese packaged for individual sale • Nuts and nut butters • Seeds • Fruits and vegetables that have not been deep fried For 10% total calories from saturated fat rule: • Eggs • Cheese packaged for individual sale
For 35% of total weight from sugar rule: • Non‐fried fruits and vegetables • Water without added sweeteners • Milk (2%, 1% or non‐fat) • Non‐dairy milk (e.g., soy, rice milks) • Fruit and vegetables juices that are at least 50% juice without added sweeteners Electrolyte replacement drinks with no more than 42 grams of added sweetener per 20 ounce serving (2.1 grams per fluid ounce)
This resource guide was compiled from the following resources: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/as/afterschoolnutstan.asp http://www.californiaafterschool.org/nutrition http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/pdf/deps/nutrition/snack/sample_snack_menu.pdf If you have any questions or need additional resources/ technical assistance, please contact your ExCEL District Coordinator.
APPENDIX 3: BEVERAGE GUIDELINES Beverages for SNACK:
Water: When making decisions about what beverages to serve THINK WATER FIRST.
Making water easily available for students and staff is the perfect way to model healthy beverage opHons. SeIng up a “hydraHon staHon” complete with an IGLOO Cooler and cups, encouraging students to bring their own water boPles or adding fresh fruit to enhance flavor are just a few ways to make drinking water more exciHng. Remember, SF tap water is tasty and free. Check out this link for Fruit Water Ideas-‐ hPp://www.wikihow.com/Make-‐Spa-‐Water
Milk and Non-‐Diary: Calcium is a key building block for strong, healthy bones and most kids don’t meet their daily calcium requirements. Serving milk and non-‐dairy drink items are a great way to support strong bone development.
Serving two-‐percent-‐fat milk, one-‐percent-‐fat milk, nonfat milk, soy milk, rice milk and other nondairy milk that does not contain more than 28 grams of total added sugars per 8 ounces is a healthy beverage opHon.
Fruit/Veggie Beverages: In terms of AZer School Snack fruit or vegetable based drinks are used to meet the fruit/vegetable requirement and is NOT considered a beverage. When choosing JUICE to be the fruit or vegetable -‐
• it must to be 100% Juice (no added sugar) and • the serving size is ¾ of a cup or 6oz.
Remember, it is replacing a fruit or vegetable. Items like Tampico, Sunny D, punch, sports drinks, Vitamin Water, cranberry cocktail do not meet this standard.
Things to consider when purchasing beverages for other AZer School FuncHons, such as Family Nights. 1. Water or Water with fresh fruit/herbs should always be provided even when offering other beverages. 2. Milk and Non-‐ Dairy items (see above for details). 3. Carbonated water, flavored or unflavored without sweeteners. 4. Consider serving whole fruit slices in place of 100% Juice 5. 100% Fruit Juice (see above for details) How do you know if you are choosing 100% juice when deciphering a food label to understand the difference between 100% juice and “juice drink”, “juice cocktail” and “added sugar” can be complicated. Below are a couple of translaHon Hps to ensure you are choosing 100% Juice. 1. Types of Sugar-‐ Naturally Occurring Sugars and Added Sugars There two types of sugars in American diets: naturally occurring sugars and added sugars. •
Naturally occurring sugars are found naturally in foods such as fruit (fructose) and milk (lactose).
•
Added sugars include any sugars or caloric sweeteners that are added to foods or beverages during processing or preparaHon (such as puIng sugar in your coffee or adding sugar to your cereal). Added sugars (or added sweeteners) can include natural sugars such as white sugar, brown sugar and honey as well as other caloric sweeteners that are chemically manufactured (such as high fructose corn syrup).
2. Code Names-‐ Sugar goes by many different names, depending on its source and how it was made. This can also make it hard to idenHfy added sugar, even when you read ingredient lists and food labels. Check for ingredients ending in "ose" — that's the chemical name for many types of sugar, such as fructose, glucose, maltose and dextrose. Here's a list of other common types of added sugar: •
Cane juice and cane syrup
•
Corn sweeteners and high-‐fructose corn syrup
•
Fruit juice concentrate and nectars
•
Honey
•
Malt syrup
•
Molasses
3. The difference between "100 percent juice" and "juice drink" or "juice cocktail"-‐ this determined by the amount of juice the drink contains. Only 100 percent juice can be labeled "juice." (Mixed juices can be labeled "100 percent juice" if each of the juices added to the mixture is, itself, a 100 percent juice). Anything less than 100 percent juice must be labeled under another name-‐ Juice "drink," "beverage," "cocktail," "punch," "blend," and "sparkler" products might contain as liPle as 10 percent or as much as 99 percent juice. The rest is water or added sweeteners. Check the label to find out how much juice such products contain. The ingredients must be listed on the label in order of volume. The lower a juice appears on the ingredients list, the less there is of it in the drink. How do you classify fruit juice and fruit drinks? 100% fruit juice is considered to be part of the Fruit Group. However, 100% fruit juice lacks fiber provided from whole fruit. Fruit drinks that are not 100% fruit juice contain added sugars and only the amount of the drink that is 100% fruit juice would be counted towards the fruit group. For example, if an 8 fluid ounce (1 cup) fruit drink is "10% fruit juice," then the drink would contain 0.1 cups of fruit. The added sugars in the drink would be classified as empty calorie. What is the difference between "100 percent juice" and "juice drink" or "juice cocktail"? A “juice drink” or “juice cocktail” is NOT 100 percent juice. Only drinks that have 100 percent juice can be labeled “juice”. Anything less than 100 percent juice must be labeled under another name-‐ Juice "drink," "beverage," "cocktail," "punch," "blend," and "sparkler" Mixed juices can be labeled "100 percent juice" only if each of the juices added to the mixture is 100 percent juice). How do you classify fruit juice and fruit drinks? 100% fruit juice is considered to be part of the Fruit Group. However, 100% fruit juice lacks fiber provided from whole fruit.
Type to enter text
EXAMPLE: 100% Orange Juice
EXAMPLE: Fruit Drink
