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Gordon Food Service®

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Concept Marketing Boosts Participation

Recipe for Healthy Kids Challenge—Chicken Alfredo with a Twist

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Nutrition News

Concept Marketing Boosts ParticipationLet’s say you and your spouse go out to dinner, and you order a chicken sandwich that comes with a side of french fries. “Can I get that with vegetables instead of french fries?” you ask the waitress.

“No,” she says. “It’s served as is.”

� at’s a good way of introducing the notion of Concept Marketing to school foodservice directors. Concept Marketing is all about choices, yet it can be diffi cult for schools, which may move hundreds of students through serving lines within a lunch period, to off er much in the way of choice.

Unless, of course, something makes it easier for them. � e Concept Marketing and Custom Concepts® programs from Gordon Food Service® do exactly that. It’s a collection of concepts—sandwiches, Italian, Asian, and Mexican—that come complete with menu ideas, layout suggestions, and marketing kits. You can choose exactly which elements to use in your operation and customize them to suit your needs.

Many schools are on a four-week cycle menu, and it becomes routine for students and staff . Doing something diff erent every so often helps renew interest in school lunches, and the concepts, which are quick and easy to use, are designed to increase student excitement and participation.

� at’s certainly been the experience for many Gordon Food Service customers that implemented Concept Marketing this past spring.

Building Burritos Builds Excitement at Jackson Local Schools It didn’t take a whole lot of convincing for Marsha Escola to agree to a “Build-Your-Own-Burrito Day” at Jackson High School, located in Ohio. After all, the Food Service Director for the Jackson Local Schools district has always pursued creative methods to boost student participation, from experimenting with new menu directions to hosting community breakfasts.

What tipped the scales in favor of the burrito concept, says Escola, was a promise from her Gordon Food Service Customer Development Specialist to man the serving line alongside her staff . “My CDS told me, ‘Marsha, this is a really cool way to build excitement and participation. And I’ll be there to show you how it’s done.’ � at sold me!” she laughs.

AUGUST 2011 Continued on next pageMarsha Escola, Jackson High School's Foodservice Director with her Gordon Food Servcie Customer

Development Specialist, Ben Mullins.

With six years in her current position and a total of 17 years in foodservice, Escola is well aware that giving students more choices helps build excitement. In fact, the Jackson High School cafeteria had been completely renovated in 2007 to allow just that. A quartet of specialty stations—main entrée, grill, pizza/pasta, and salad/deli—was developed to increase daily options and facilitate self-selection. In addition, choice-enhancing concepts like “Create-Your-Own-Sub Days” and Baked Potato Bars are regular fi xtures on the high school menu.

Small effort, big impact.Still, the concept for a burrito bar was a bit more elaborate for staff and students alike. Students were given a choice of three meats—beef, chicken, or shredded pork—plus cilantro rice and black beans. � e meal was rounded out with peaches and milk.

Escola emphasized that the burrito choices had to be delivered in a timely and effi cient way—with almost 1,800 students enrolled in the high school, getting kids through serving lines quickly was a paramount concern.

� e Gordon Food Service Customer Development Specialist showed up early on the day of the event to give the staff some pointers. “We’d already received the suggested layout for the serving line,” Escola recalls. “And when he arrived that morning, he demonstrated exactly how the process would work and made everybody feel comfortable and confi dent. It all went smoothly after that.”

Escola reports that the student response was “absolutely tremendous.” Buzz had been building for a week or two, thanks to posters and promotional materials supplied by Gordon Food Service, and morning announcements touting the special day. “Burrito Day” was also included in the monthly menu published on the district website.

“I heard nothing but positives from students, staff , and teachers,” relates Escola. Participation spiked that day and the excitement carried on for some time. “It was a great success.”

Success repeats itself.It was so successful that Escola decided to try another concept at Jackson Middle

School. “We did a Chipotle Day in June. Students could choose beef or chicken served in a traditional tortilla shell, along with cilantro rice and queso sauce. "Students could order lettuce, tomato, and fl ame-roasted corn as toppers. Mandarin oranges and milk were also served."

“� e kids just loved everything about the event,” enthuses Escola. “And so did the teachers and staff . I had one secretary say she always brings her own lunch but she heard about Chipotle Day and decided to give it a try. She thought it was great.”

� e challenge, of course, is to harness that excitement and turn it into consistently higher participation. To that end, Escola is planning to incorporate regular Burrito Days and Chipotle Days at both the high school and middle school in the next school year.

“I am not sure if this many choices would overwhelm younger students in our elementary schools,” ponders Escola. “But I’d love to do it once a month at the middle and high school,” says Escola.

“� e beauty of this program is that Gordon Food Service supplied everything. Now that we know how it works, and we already have the promotional materials, it will be really easy to do it again.”

Escola believes it’s important to share news of these events with parents and taxpayers. “I want to advertise to the community as well as to students,” she says, to reinforce the quality image of the foodservice program. Polar Bear Pride, a mini-magazine published by the district and mailed to 21,000 area residents and business owners, covered the previous events. “But I want to invite the Jackson Suburbanite (local newspaper) and a local TV station to the next events.”

It’s quite likely the media will show up, according to Escola, because the community is very supportive of the school district.� e district includes a high school, middle school, and four

elementary schools serving about 5,700 students total.

Community support has helped the district reach great heights. Newsweek magazine has ranked Jackson High School among the top 5 percent of all U.S. high schools. Both Jackson High School and Lake

Cable Elementary School are nationally recognized Blue Ribbon schools—a distinction earned by just 314 of the nation’s 120,000 public and private schools.

� e district’s graduation rate is 99.8 percent and more than 87 percent of students seek

higher education.

“It’s a wonderful place to work,” says Escola. “My staff is fantastic. And I adore working with Gordon Food Service. � ey have made so many things available to me that make my job easier—like these concepts.

I really think they will boost our participation next year!”

Burrito bar line-up.

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Fast, Easy, and Cost-EffectiveHere’s how you can get the most out of Concept Marketing:

1. Contact your Gordon Food Service Customer Development Specialist to review your choices. Each of the four concepts off ers a great deal of menu fl exibility. Start the planning process 4 to 8 weeks before your fi rst event.

2. Get the word out. A range of pre-fabricated marketing tools is available for each concept, but you can choose to create your own. Ask art class students for help designing signs, fl iers, and other materials. Highlight the event in your menus and morning announcements.

3. Count your pennies. � ere is no charge for taking advantage of this program, unless you purchase marketing materials.

4. Count on help. In addition to consulting on everything from recipes to prep recommendations, your Gordon Food Service Customer Development Specialist is available to train and motivate staff members—and to work alongside them on serving lines.

5. Relax. Concept Marketing is easy to implement. Your Gordon Food Service Customer Development Specialist is available to generate ideas, provide helpful tips, and provide direction. Schools that have participated have commented that it was nowhere near as diffi cult as they thought. By the end of the service, customers were sharing ideas of what they wanted to do next time.

What other schools are saying:Parma City Schools

“Wow, this is like Subway!”

Jackie Rohr says she heard this from one student after another when she and her staff hosted a “Build-Your-Own-Hoagie” Day. Rohr is Foodservice Supervisor for Parma City Schools, a Cleveland, Ohio district that includes 19 schools and almost 12,000 students.

“We did it in May at Normandy High School,” she recalls. “Students were off ered a choice of buns, meats, cheese, and assorted veggies. Product-wise, we didn’t order anything other than what we normally do, other than pre-sliced buns, tomatoes, and onions. But the staff was a little apprehensive because we’ve never done this kind of set-up before. How quickly could we move students through when every one of them has to make multiple choices?” Very quickly, as it turns out. “Maybe even more quickly than our usual lunch line,” Rohr enthuses. Menus made students aware of the decisions they’d have to make before they went through the line, and meats were pre-sliced and portioned. “Our Gordon Food Service Customer Development Specialist even showed up that morning to show us exactly how the process would fl ow.”

Rohr reports “incredible response” from students. “It worked so well that we’ll be doing it again on a regular basis at Normandy and our other high schools. I want to try other concepts, too.”

Louisville City Schools“We did a Pasta Bar at our senior high school in April,” says Barbara Hermann, Foodservice Director at this 3,000-student district in northeastern Ohio. “It included choices of noodles, sauces, and proteins.”

Louisville High School will transition to a food-court setup next year, and Hermann thought the Pasta Bar concept “would be a great trial run for us. But oh my gosh, I was overwhelmed by the response. We served about 90 percent of the student population that day. I didn’t hear a single negative response. I’ll be doing it at the middle school next year!”

Cass City Schools“We did a Sandwich concept, a Taco Bar, Pasta Bar, and Asian Bar in both the middle and high schools,” says Shari Bock, Foodservice Director for Cass City Schools, a three-school district in the “thumb” of

Michigan. “We off ered more choices in the high school than in the middle school, but all the kids got really excited about it.”

Bock says she plans on continuing the concepts into the new school year.

“Especially the Asian Bar—we had great participation for all the concepts, but that was the best.”

Plain Local SchoolsJennifer Rex, Child Nutrition Director for Plain Local Schools, a 6,000-student district in Canton, Ohio, introduced multiple concepts to her high school this spring.

“We started the school year with an ethnic station that alternated between Mexican and Asian. But everything was made up ahead of time, there were no custom choices.”

� en Rex tried it the Gordon Food Service way: “We did a Burrito Bar with a choice of meats, sauces, guacamole, and cheese. Once we saw how easy that was, we did a Sub Bar and then an Asian Bar. We didn’t do any PR other than putting the concepts on the menu—but the response was great. We even got a lot more staff participation!”

“Students say this feels more like a restaurant,” Rex says. “And the staff really enjoys the extra interaction they have with the kids.”

Bad Axe Public Schools“Kids like choices and they like empowerment,” says Bonnie Gainor, Foodservice Director for Bad Axe Public Schools, a southeastern Michigan district with approximately 1,200 students. “If you allow them that, they will participate.”

Gainor already averages a healthy 71 percent participation rate at Bad Axe High School, but she says the rate soared even higher when she and her staff hosted fi ve theme days: two Italian Pasta Bars, a Mexican Bar, and two Build-Your-Own Sub days.

“I would tell anyone who wants to increase participation and is not using these concepts to get on board,” says Gainor. “I know I’ll be starting up again in September!”

Bad Axe students line up for Build-Your-Own-Sub Day.

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The Gordon Food Service Nutrition Resource Center recently relaunched over 60 training topics. This varied assortment will surely meet the needs of your foodservice staff with topics such as: The Basics of School Breakfast; Cycle Menu Planning; Reducing Sodium on the Menu; HACCP: Food Safety in Your School; Understanding Food Allergies; and Smart Choices à la Carte.

Each topic is designed to help you implement internal training programs in compliance with federal regulations. Within each topic you will fi nd:

• Pre- and post-tests • Attendance sheets • PowerPoint presentations • Presentation notes • Activity ideas • Copy-ready certifi cate of completion

Categories of training topics include: K-12 Education, Food Allergies, Food Safety, Nutrition, Foodservice, and Environmental Services.

These training topics can be found by logging into GFS Experience® through www.gfs.com and then clicking on “Foodservice Training Topics” under “Resources.”

Can’t fi nd your topic? If you have a topic in mind to add to the assortment, send your request to the Nutrition Resource Center to be added to the queue via nrc@gfs.com.

After years of working with many foodservice directors, Gordon Food Service is well aware of the endless jobs on your to-do list and the lack of time to complete them. Lately we have had an overwhelming request for lists of products which will meet a variety of requirements. In order to respond to this need, Making the Grade® 2011–2012 hosts an assortment of new product guides to help you make the best and most informed decisions for your cafeteria.

� is year color and nutrient-specifi c product lists are included in Making the Grade to help you meet the growing menu guidelines in your school. By visiting the Great for Schools™ website on GFS Experience, you will fi nd lists of products that are rich in iron, calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin C. In the same area is a list of dark green and orange vegetables, along with a list of legumes/beans to help you incorporate more of these nutrient-rich foods.

� e largest category of products includes products that will meet the nutrition guidelines defi ned by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation (www.healthiergeneration.org). And since certain states are leading schools toward following the Alliance guidelines, these lists seem to be the most popular. As these guidelines reach beyond a single set of standards, we have created specifi c competitive food lists for elementary, middle, and high school, as well as a list of lean proteins and whole grains, both of which will meet the criteria of the Alliance.

In addition to the nutrition standards of the Alliance, we have also included an approved product list that contains acceptable competitive food options for schools participating in the HealthierUS Schools Challenge (www.fns.usda.gov/tn/healthierus/index.html). Each of the organizations above is voluntary, and it’s free to participate. Both groups are recognized nationwide and certainly come with positive reputations—one that may boost the reputation of your own school in your community. Also note that if it’s Alliance that you choose, you will be off ered an on-site Relationship Manager to help you along as your school strives to reach each level of achievement.

Finally, if you are simply running out of fresh ideas for bread or meat components to include on your menu, we have the solution for you! Check out our list of Breads/Grains and Meats/Meat Alternates to jazz things up. � e specifi c nutrition and equivalents are included right along with the product descriptions and our own reorder numbers.

We hope these new resources prove useful in your busy days ahead. If you have other ideas in mind or fi nd that a certain product has not been included, please email the Nutrition Resource Center at nrc@gfs.com with new categories and lists that you would like to see added.

Best wishes in the coming school year!Gordon Food Service Nutrition Resource Center

After years of working with many foodservice directors, Gordon In addition to the nutrition standards of the Alliance, we have In addition to the nutrition standards of the Alliance, we have In addition to the nutrition standards of the Alliance, we have

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Recipe for Healthy Kids ChallengeYou are probably familiar with First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Campaign that was launched in 2010 to combat childhood obesity. Last year, Let’s Move! teamed with the U.S.D.A. on a Recipes for Healthy Kids Challenge. Schools across the nation were challenged to create tasty, healthy, and exciting new recipes for inclusion in school lunch menus.

Selected recipes from schools across the nation fi t into one of three categories: 1) Whole Grains; 2) Dark Green and Orange Vegetables; and 3) Dry Beans and Peas. Once the schools and winning recipes were narrowed down, Gordon Food Service was excited to see that one of their customers, Van Buren Middle School, was selected as a fi nalist for the Whole Grains category for their Chicken Alfredo with a Twist recipe. Try it at your school this year:

Chicken Alfredo with a TwistYield: 50 ServingsREORDER NO. DESCRIPTION 50 SERVINGS

867850 GFS® Whole-Wheat Rotini Pasta, cooked and drained 41/2 lbs.695513 Cream of Chicken Soup 150 fl z.992577 Fat Free Half-and-Half 3 qts.513776 Trade East® Ground White Pepper 2 tsp.224839 Trade East Garlic Powder 1 tsp.445401 Primo Gusto® Grated Parmesan Cheese 21/4 cups313262 Cooked and Diced Chicken 61/2 lbs.

Preparation InstructionsWash hands. Pour the cooked pasta into two 4" steam table pans. In a stock pot, combine soup, cream, pepper, garlic, Parmesan cheese, and chicken. CCP: Food should reach a minimum internal temperature of 135°F. Pour sauce over pasta and mix together. Cover the steam table pans with lids, and place in warming cart. CCP: Hot food held for later service must maintain a minimum internal temperature of 135°F.

UP-80852-FOZO-11072011/40456/3.2M

P.O. Box 1787 • Grand Rapids, MI 49501 • (800) 968-6474©2011 Gordon Food Service® • www.gfs.com

Gordon Food Service Education Consultant Mark Morrison provides consultation to school foodservice programs on a wide range of issues, from proper menu planning to managing a profitable program.

“Foodservice for education is in the midst of a revolution,” says Mark. “It’s shifting from a mindset of simply feeding lunches to one of serving customers. That really is a momentous change, with implications for every facet of the business.”