Every new school year brings a lot of pressure for nutrition services directors. It’s up to you to make sure your staff is trained and prepared, your students have nutritious options, and your program helps educate them on healthier choices. That’s a lot to juggle—which is why we put together this back-to-school toolkit packed with nutrition services resources for schools to make your job easier!
We used what we’ve learned over the last 15-plus years working with nutrition services directors to create this list of simple, ready-to-use ideas for you. Each item on the list is designed to support your nutrition program’s goals, making it a cinch to introduce students to new local produce and keep healthy eating top of mind.
Tip #1: Eat the Alphabet
If you want to introduce your students to new fruits and veggies in a fun and engaging way, an Eat the Alphabet program is a great option. You can put one together in just three steps.
- Choose a fruit or veggie for each letter of the alphabet (e.g. A is for Apple).
- Pair your produce with nutrition education like produce cards, posters, flyers, and more to help students learn.
- Invite students to taste one item per week. They can vote on whether they liked it, talk about the five senses, and more.
You can DIY your own Eat the Alphabet program or use a ready-made version. We offer one through The FruitGuys Farm-to-School Program that does all of the hard work for you. It includes:
- 26 weeks of produce suggestions
- Seamless fruit and veggie delivery
- Free nutrition education materials
- A handy tasting guide for staff
- And more
Plus, it’s fully customizable to fit your grants and programs. Learn more about Eat the Alphabet.
Tip #2: Make Your Cafeterias Work for You
School cafeterias aren’t just places to eat—they’re educational spaces, too. Try these easy decor tips to make yours more fun and informative this school year.
- Hang colorful, eye-catching student posters that teach healthy lifestyle tips, explain where our food comes from, and inspire students to eat more fruits and veggies.
- Add fun fruit and veggie facts to your salad bars or near your cafeteria lines along with nutrition information to entice kids to try something new.
- Post helpful flyers for your staff with food safety reminders, produce prep tips, and more to make their days easier.
If you don’t have these materials on hand, you can make your own or place an order with The FruitGuys Farm-to-School Program to unlock our Client Portal full of complimentary, downloadable resources and the free printed materials we mail to our schools each year. If you already work with us, just log in to the portal to get started.
Tip #3: Try Harvest of the Month
If one of your goals is helping your students appreciate local food and farms this school year, you need to convince their taste buds that local is best. There are all kinds of DIY ways to do just that, but our best tip is to find and try a Harvest of the Month Program. Here’s a quick look at how The FruitGuys’ Harvest of the Month Program works and what’s included, just in case it feels like a good fit for you.
How It Works
- You chose one or two of the locally grown, seasonal items we recommend serving each month.
- Your teachers host classroom tastings with our premade kits and/or you add the items to your meal programs.
- Your teachers and staff pair the produce with our nutrition education materials and resources to make the experience educational and fun!
What’s Included
- Two California-grown produce picks per month
- Easy ordering options, including bulk cases for your meal programs or Classroom Tasting Kits in two sizes
- Colorful, ready-to-use slide decks for each produce pick packed with fun nutrition facts, snack ideas, and farmer stories (in addition to the rest of our nutrition education!)
- A tasting how-to guide for teachers and staff
- Accounting, reporting, and tracking support for local purchases
Learn more about Harvest of the Month.
Tip #4: Bring Food Fun to Your Classrooms
With a little help from your principals and teachers, you can make sure your students keep thinking about healthy eating beyond lunchtime. Here are a few easy ways that staff can start conversations about wellness in the classroom.
- Print and post educational student flyers with healthy snack ideas, fun food facts, sleep and exercise tips, and more.
- Hang colorful, eye-catching student posters that explain the water cycle, show where local food comes from, and highlight what’s in season year-round. (Bonus points for integrating them into lesson plans!)
- Show educational food and farm videos that take students behind the scenes at local farms and explain how to eat different fruits and veggies.
Just like with the cafeteria materials, you can make your own flyers, posters, and videos. You can also work with a provider like The FruitGuys Farm-to-School Program that offers free student nutrition education materials with every delivery. In addition to our downloadable materials, we mail printed posters to schools every year.
Tip #5: Lighten Your Team’s Load by Providing Resources
To keep your school meals and snacks running smoothly, you need to make sure your team has the resources they need. Review your materials and look for gaps, asking yourself questions like:
- Have I posted simple, easy-to-digest guidance on food safety where my cafeteria staff will see it every day?
- Do the staff and teachers in my district have a guide that helps them run safe and effective classroom tastings?
- Do I have templates in place to make menu planning easy?
Once you’ve spotted the gaps in your processes and procedures, create the resources you need to fill them. Or, if you’re short on time, get those resources from a vendor like The FruitGuys that offers staff support and other nutrition services resources for schools.
How to Get Started
You can try these ideas on your own, or we can help you make them happen! If you’re already working with The FruitGuys Farm-to-School Program, start by browsing our Client Portal. It’s full of free, downloadable nutrition education materials, staff resources, and information on our Eat the Alphabet and Harvest of the Month programs. You can also contact us with any questions about our nutrition services resources for schools.
If you’re not working with us yet but want to give one of these ideas a try, fill out this quick form to tell us about your district and what caught your eye. We’ll get back to you soon with more information and a plan to make your school year easier.