Child Nutrition
Child Nutrition Home
The Region 7 Child Nutrition Program provides services, support, and assistance to 95 school districts and 10 charter schools throughout East Texas. Services provided to students and families through a district's child nutrition program are an integral component in helping students lead healthy and successful lives.
Our Region 7 Child Nutrition team is committed to ensuring its districts' child nutrition programs are operated effectively and efficiently in every school by offering a comprehensive range of training and technical assistance designed to aid child nutrition professionals in:
- Meeting federal, state, and local program requirements
- Mastering necessary skills and attaining knowledge through customized training and workshops
- Implementing and maintaining sound financial practices and cost effective programs
- Staying up-to-date on the latest news, developments, and legislation related to and affecting Child Nutrition programs
- Incorporating methods to make meals appealing to students
- Providing quality services and meals to schools, students, and families
Please learn more about services available by browsing our Child Nutrition web pages, and feel free to contact our office with questions or to obtain additional information. We look forward to serving you, your schools, and your students!
Services Provided
Commodity Processing Co-op
The Region 7 Commodity Processing Co-op is a service provided to area school districts and charter schools food service departments. Districts and charters who are members of the Region 7 Purchasing Co-op can participate in processing at no additional charge.
The processing of donated foods (commodities) from USDA allows schools to contract with commercial food processors to convert raw bulk USDA foods into more convenient, ready-to-use end products. The processing of USDA donated foods (commodities) provides many money saving and safety benefits for schools such as:
- Helping stretch food dollars by lowering costs
- Increasing food safety by eliminating handling of raw products
- Effectively reducing labor costs and cash outlays for complex food preparation
- Facilitating the reduction of storage and delivery costs
- The convenience of Bulk USDA Foods delivered directly from USDA vendors to the processors of their choice
At least 70 products are reprocessed. Products that are most often reprocessed are:
| Basic USDA Foods (commodities) |
Processed End Products (processed into) |
| Pork | Cooked crumbles, shredded pork |
| Beef | Charbroiled patties, crumbles, meatballs |
| Eggs | Egg patties, breakfast burritos |
| Chicken | Fajita strips, breast strips, nuggets, patties |
| Turkey | Turkey ham, breast deli slices, turkey crumbles |
| Flour, mozzarella, tomato paste | Pizza |
| Tomatoes | Salsa, marinara sauce, meat sauce, ketchup |
| Potatoes | Oven roasted, dehydrated potatoes |
| Apples | Fresh Slices, apple sauce |
If you would like to participate in the Region 7 Purchasing Co-op and Region 7 Commodity Processing, please contact Geri Barrett at (903) 988-6832 or Katie Chenoweth at (903) 988-6778.
Announcements/Resources
USDA Food and Nutrition Service’s (FNS) Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative, Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK) is awarding nearly $30 million in grants to celebrate School Food Authorities (SFA) that have made significant improvements to the nutritional quality of their school meals.
In Texas, 18 small and/or rural school food authorities (SFAs) have been awarded and will receive up to $150,000 in grant funds.
Congratulations to our ESC 7 CE - Winnsboro Independent School District ….. awarded $16,000!!!
Each small and/or rural SFA will use the funds to support them in improving the nutritional quality of their meals and modernizing their operations, through efforts which could include:
Innovative staff training programs.
* Kitchen updates and renovations.
* Redesigning food preparation and service spaces.
* Other school-district led efforts to support school meals and school nutrition professionals.
Award applications are OPEN, you are highly encouraged to apply. Here is the link with all the information you need:
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TASN Administrative Academy
October 3-4, 2024 & February 20-21, 2024
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» TXUNPS
» USDA CN Labeling (Authorized Manufacturers and Labels)
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Food Service TrainingNET Health:
ServSafe:
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ESC Calendar-Closure Dates
Upcoming Events/Workshops
| Date | Event/Workshop | Workshop |
| 10/4/2023 | Smart Snacks | 280376 |
| 10/11/2023 & 10/19/2023 | Eligibility & Verification Guidance(2-Day ~ 12 hrs) | 283536 |
| 10/17/2023 | Region 7 Annual Food Service Show | 258085 |
| 10/25/2023 | Procurement Review TX-UNPS, Procurement Thresholds, and Record Keeping (Including FSMC) | 283546 |
| 10/25/2023 | CACFP Live: Meal Patterns (Webinar) | 292505 |
| 10/26/2023 | CACFP-Meal Production Records for Child and Adult Centers and At-risk Afterschool Program and Emergency Shelters(Breakfast, Snack, Lunch, Supper) | 289289 |
| 10/26/2023 | CACFP Live: Whole-Grain Rich (Webinar) | 292506 |
| 11/1/2023 | RA 101- WBSCM Getting Started, RA 102- WBSCM Entitlement, RA 103- WBSCM Requisistions | 285114 |
| 11/1/2023 | RA 101- WBSCM Getting Started, RA 102- WBSCM Entitlement, RA 103- WBSCM Requisistions | 283561 |
| 11/2/2023 | RA 101- WBSCM Getting Started, RA 102- WBSCM Entitlement, RA 103- WBSCM Requisistions | 291183 |
| 11/2/2023 | RA 101- WBSCM Getting Started, RA 102- WBSCM Entitlement, RA 103- WBSCM Requisistions | 291184 |
| 11/7/2023 | RA 105- WBSCM Account Set Up, RA 106- WBSCM Reports | 291189 |
| 11/7/2023 | RA 105- WBSCM Account Set Up, RA 106- WBSCM Reports | 291194 |
| 11/8/2023 | CACFP Live: Planning Nutritious Meals & Snacks (Webinar) | 292510 |
| 11/8/2023 | Meal Counting & Claiming System | 283537 |
| 11/9/2023 | CACFP Live: Special Diets (Webinar) | 292513 |
| 11/10/2023 | CACFP Meal Pattern for All Ages/Meal Pattern-Whole Grain Rich | 289294 |
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11/14/2023
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RA 105- WBSCM Account Set Up, RA 106- WBSCM Reports | 284096 |
| 11/14/2023 | RA 105- WBSCM Account Set Up, RA 106- WBSCM Reports | 285116 |
| 11/30/2023 | CE Responsibilities in Managing an FSMC Contract | 283562 |
| 12/5/2023 | Fundamentals of USDA Foods for Schools, RA 001 entitlement, RA 002 Menu Planning, RA 003 Forecasting, DoD FFVP | 283549 |
| 12/5-7/2023 | Writing, Updating, and Revising a HACCP-Based Food Safety Plan for Schools | 283538 |
| 12/7/2023 | Food Safety in Child Care | 289340 |
| 1/9/2024 | Food Allergies for School Nutrition Managers and Staff/Accom. Special Dietary Needs | 283540 |
| 1/9/2024 | Local Wellness Policy | 283543 |
| 1/24/2024 | CACFP Live: Meal Production Records (Webinar) | 292520 |
| 1/25/2024 | Creditable Food for Infants | 289338 |
| 2/6/2024 | East Texas Food Service Directors Association Meeting | 274671 |
| 2/13/2024 | Meal Pattern (Breakfast, Lunch, Snack for Pre-K, K-5, 6-8, 9-12) | 283535 |
| 2/14/2024 | CACFP- Planning Nutritious Meals and Snacks | 289337 |
| 2/22/2024 | Menu Planning for Healthy School Meals | 283544 |
| 3/27/2024 | CACFP Live: Food Safety (Webinar) | 292515 |
| 3/28/2024 | CACFP Special Diets, Including Food Allergies | 289344 |
| 3/28/2024 | CACFP Live: Tiers, SD, NDL (Webinar) | 292518 |
| 4/3-4/2024 | Financial Management: A Course for SNP Directors | 283554 |
| 4/9/2024 | Food Production Records( Breakfast, Lunch, Snack) | 283533 |
| 4/10-11/2024 | Statewide SFSP Training (Webinar) | 291383 |
| 4/25/2024 | SFSP In Person | 289347 |
| 4/29/2024 | SPSP Open Lab | 289349 |
| 5/22/2024 | CACFP Live: Creditable Infant Foods (Webinar) | 292540 |
| 7/23/2024 | Tiering, Serious Deficiency, and the NDL | 289342 |
| 8/14/2024 | The Administrative Review (AR) Process | 283532 |
2023-2024 Cycle Menu Tool Kit
About Us
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Genny D'Souza
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Geri Barrett
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Valencia Watson
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Tracie Vineyard
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Lana Anderson
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Photo Gallery
In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.
Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDA-OASCR%20P-Complaint-Form-0508-0002-508-11-28-17Fax2Mail.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:
- mail:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or - fax:
(833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or - email:
[email protected]
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
