USDA/ADE

Rules and Regulations

for

Salad Bars in Schools

Healthy Hunger-Free Kids

Act of 2010• Offering fruit & veggies every day

• Increasing whole grain-rich foods

• Providing only low-fat or fat-free

milk varieties (flavored fat-free only)

• Serving appropriate calories and

portion sizes based on age of

children

• Reducing saturated fat and sodium

Salad Bars in Schools

• Benefits

• Creating a Salad Bar

• The New Meal Pattern

• Incorporating Salad Bars as part

of a Reimbursable Meal

• Point of Service

Benefits of a Salad Bar for a

Child• Increased consumption of

fruits/veggies

• When offered choices, children

respond by trying new items

• Personal experience about choices

• Decisions carry over outside of

school

Creating a Salad Bar

Serving Options:

� Self-service vs. assisted service

� Salad bar incorporated into the serving line as part of a reimbursable meal

� Salad bar outside the serving line with a monitor

� Salad bar outside the serving line as an add-on to the meal

� Everything depends on the four “S”s:

schools, space, staff, students

Salad Bars Outside of Lunch

Service

• Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program

• Breakfast and After-School Snacks

• Taste-testing events

Reimbursable Meals &

Salad Bars

• Must meet meal pattern

requirements

– Serve Only

– Offer vs. Serve

• Accurate Point of Service

• Production Records

• Fruits (cups)

• Vegetables/subgroups (cups)

• Grains (oz eq)

• Meats/Meat Alternates (oz eq)

• Fluid Milk, Low-fat/Fat-free (cups)• Must offer all 5 components, students must

take fruit or veggie component

http://www.azed.gov/health-nutrition/meal-pattern/

New Meal PatternWeekly/Daily requirements for:

Grade Groupingsfor New Meal Pattern:

• Grades K-5

• Grades 6-8

• Grades 9-12

• There is a small overlap in K-5 and 6-8 for calories, grains, meats/meat alternates, sodium

Fruits (cups)

Weekly (daily) amounts required to be offer per child:

Grades K-5 6-8 9-12

Offered 2 ½ (1/2) 5 (1)

Serve only ½ 1

OVS ½ ½

•¼ cup dried fruit counts as ½ cup

Vegetables

Grade Groups: K-5 6-8 9-12

Weekly (daily) 3 ¾ (3/4) 5 (1)

Serve only ¾ 1

OVS ½ ½

Vegetable Subgroups (cups) Weekly Amounts:Dark Green ½ ½

Red/Orange ¾ 1 ¼

Beans/Peas(legumes) ½ ½

Starchy ½ ½

Other ½ ¾

Additional Veggies 1 1 ½

•1 cup raw leafy greens counts as ½ cup

Grains (oz eq)

Weekly (daily) amounts required to be offer per child:

Grades K-5 6-8 9-12

8-9 (1) 8-10 (1) 10-12 (2)

Minimum 1 1 2

At least half of grains offered must be whole grain-rich

Meats/Meat Alternates

(oz eq)Weekly (daily) amounts required to be offer

per child:

Grades K-5 6-8 9-12

8-10 (1) 9-10 (1) 10-12 (2)

Minimum 1 1 2

Fluid Milk (cups)

Weekly (daily) amounts required to be

offer per child:

Grades: K-12

5 (1)

Only fat-free milk may be flavored.

Fluid milk with fat content greaterthan 1% is not allowed.

Must offer two choices.

Other Specifications:Daily Amount Based on the

Average for a 5-day Week.

Grades K-5 6-8 9-12Min/Max calories 550-650 600-700 750-850

Sodium (mg) 1100-1300 1200-1400 1500-1700

Arizona requirement, 2 mg/kcal

Saturated Fat <10 for all grade groups

(% of calories)

Further reduction of sodium with be phased

in over a ten-year time period

Breakfast Options:

• Traditional

– Milk, fruit/vegetable/100% juice, 2 grains,

2 meats or 1 of each

• Enhanced

– Milk, fruit/vegetable/100% juice, 2 grains,

2 meats or 1 of each

• Nutrient Standard

– Milk, 2 sides

• New Meal Pattern (w/State approval)

– Milk, fruit, grain

Offer vs. Serve

A serving method designed to:

� Reduce food waste

� Reduce food cost

� Maintain nutritional integrity of

meals served

�Required for high school level

�Optional for lower grades

�Optional at breakfast for all grades

New Meal Pattern

Offer vs. ServeLunch:� Must offer all 5 components, students may

decline up to 2 components

� Must take ½ cup fruit and/or vegetable

Breakfast:� Traditional/Enhanced-students select 3 of 4 items offered

� Nutrient Standard-students select 2 of 3 items offered

� New Meal Pattern-schools must offer 3 food componentsthat consist of a minimum of 4 food items. Students may decline1 food item but must select at least ½ cup of fruit.

(SBP not required until 2013-2014)

Point of Service• Point where it can be accurately determined

that a reimbursable meal has been served

to an eligible student, ideally placed at the

end of the serving line

Meal counts must be:

�Reimbursable meals

�Categorized

�Without overt identification

�Each day, each meal

POS Exceptions

• You may place your salad bar AFTER the POS as long as the student has three components (and the required ½ cup fruit and/or vegetable component) before leaving the serving line.--If the child does not have three components or the required serving of fruit and/or vegetable, someone would need to be stationed at the salad bar line to ensure the child took at least a ½ cup serving.

� Salad bar items DO count towards the nutritional analysis including calorie max/min and required veggie subgroups,

and each item must be listed on your production record.

Salad Bars in the

New Meal PatternEach independent serving line must

meet the daily and weekly

requirements including vegetable

subgroups

Or, multiple serving lines may use a

centrally located salad bar to meet

the vegetable subgroup

requirements

Recipe for Success

Go for variety!

• Dark green: broccoli, spinach, romaine lettuce &

other dark leafy greens

• Red/Orange: acorn & butternut squash, carrots,

sweet potatoes, & tomatoes

• Beans & Peas (Legumes): black beans, garbanzo

beans, kidney beans, lentils, navy beans, pinto

beans, white beans, & lentils

• Starchy: corn, green peas, green lima beans, &

potatoes

• Others: cauliflower, celery, cabbage, mushrooms,

green beans, & iceberg lettuce

Portion Sizes

• Multiple food components:-any fruit or vegetable item meeting the 1/8 cup

minimum requirement may count toward a

component

• The meal planner should determine a reasonable

minimum portion size when planning the salad bar

- 1 cup of lettuce counts as ½ cup

- 1/8 cup dried cranberries counts as ¼ cup

• Planned portion sizes should be consistent to provide the

minimum daily and weekly fruit and vegetable subgroup

requirements

• Use the Food Buying Guide to determine correct

portion sizes

Pre-portioned Mixed Vegetable

Cup as a Side Item

New Meal Pattern

Salad Bar ScenariosServe Only K-8:

Q: Students enter the lunch room, choosea milk, go the serving line and are giventeriyaki chicken over rice, go throughthe point of service and are instructedto go to the salad bar and take at least½ cup of fruit or ¾ cup veggies beforegoing to the table to eat.

• Is this an appropriate scenario?

A: No, for serve only schools

students are required to take a

full serving of both the fruit and

the vegetable, (minimum of ½

cup fruit and ¾ cup vegetables).

The school would need a monitor

to ensure students were taking

both components in the required

amounts.

Offer vs. Serve:

Q: A high school student enters the

lunch room, chooses a milk, declines

the hot lunch, goes through the salad

bar and scoops out ½ cup of spinach

salad and ½ cup of grapes and

proceeded to the point of service.

Is this an appropriate scenario?

A: No. If a student selects only three

components, and two of these three

components are fruits and

vegetables, the student may select

½ cup of either the fruit or vegetable,

but then must select the full

component of the other.

1 cup grapes or 2 cups spinach based on ourquestion.

CN #06-13 question 104

Menu Planning:

Q: Must the school prepare

full servings of both fruits

and vegetables for every

student when OVS is in place?

A: No. Schools must plan meals to

meet all requirements, but menu

planners should take into account

participation and selection trends to

determine how much food to offer

students. Careful menu planning

will ensure reimbursable meals are

served and minimize food waste.

Production Records

Proof that reimbursable meals have

been planned and served

• Meal and meal pattern served (breakfast)

• School Name

• Date

• Menu items and recipe #’s

• # of student meals planned by grade groups

• Portion sizes for each item by grade group

Production Records

� # of adult meals planned

� Total number of servings actually prepared per menu item

� Total number of servings actually served and leftover servings

� Include condiments

Salad Bar Etiquette for Students

is Very Important!

• The sneeze guard is there to keep their heads

away from the products!

• Using the utensils each time they reach for

something!

• Alert staff as soon as a spill happens!

• Take only what they believe they can eat!

• Have signage to help remind students about

appropriate portion sizes.

• Utilize posters to engage students and remind

them of their role.http://www.lunchbox.org

Handling Fresh Produce on Salad Bars toReduce the Risk of Foodborne Illness

Preparation and Set Up

• Use equipment with food shields or sneeze guards.

• Consider offering pre-packaged or pre-portioned items.

• Place a clean and sanitized utensil in each container on

the salad bar. Replace utensils at the beginning of each

meal period.

• Label containers to identify foods and condiments.

• Use dispensers or single-use packages of salad

dressing and other condiments.

• Set up salad bar just prior to serving time.

• Select container size so that food is used within one

meal period.

• Provide individually wrapped eating utensils, or keep

unwrapped utensils in containers with the handles up.

Temperature Control & Monitoring

• Verify that the temperature of equipment is at 41 degrees F or

below before use.

• Check to be sure the bottom of the pan comes into contact

with the ice or ice pack, when using them for temperature

control.

• Chill foods to an internal temperature of 41 degrees F or below

before placing on the salad bar.

• Check and record internal temperatures of each food item with

a clean, sanitized, and calibrated thermometer before placing it

on the salad bar. Check at least every two hours to verify that

it remains at or below 41 degrees F.

• Avoid adding or layering freshly prepared food on top of food

already on salad bars.

• Use a clean cloth dipped in sanitizing solution to wipe surfaces

during and between meal periods. Store sanitizing solution

away from salad bar.

Staff Roles in Creating and

Managing Salad Bars• Importance of training staff

• Menu Planners

• Cooks

• Servers

• Cashiers

• Salad Bar monitor

• Creativity