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Administrative Services » Child Nutrition

Child Nutrition

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!
Region 7 ESC Child Nutrition provides a range of technical assistance and training for schools participating in many federal nutrition assistance programs:
 
  • NSLP (National School Lunch Program)
  • CACFP (Child and Adult Care Food Program)
  • SBP (School Breakfast Program)
  • SMP (Special Milk Program)
  • SFSP & SSO (Summer Feeding Programs)
  • FFVP (Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Program)
  • FDP (Food Distribution Program) and Commodity Processing
  • DoD Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Program
  • FTS (Farm To School) Program

Technical Assistance is provided by phone, fax, email, and in-person - either on-site at the school or in person at the ESC.  Participants can contact us for guidance and assistance with any issue or question pertaining to the operation of their program, federal regulations, administrative reviews, and corrective actions, etc.
 
Training Services are available on a regular basis in both group sessions and one-on-one as needed.  Various classes are held monthly to meet the training needs of participants.  Additionally, during the summer months, Region 7 Child Nutrition hosts a Summer Workshop.  Summer Workshop is a valuable opportunity for those who are unable to attend training during the busy workdays of the school year.
 
Common training classes offered are:
  • Meal Appeal
  • HAACP
  • Food Safety and Sanitation
  • Financial Management
  • Counting and Claiming
  • USDA Foods
  • Procurement
  • Food Production Records
  • Menu Planning
  • Eligibility
  • Menu Module
  • Verification
 
Many other training classes are offered at various times.  Participants can view available classes in the "Workshops" section of "Region 7's webpage" or call us for more information at (903) 988-6802.  
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.
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:
 
 
 

Food Service Training

NET Health:
 
 
ServSafe:
 
 
 
 
ESC Calendar
2023-2024 ESC Calendar-Closure Dates
Date Event/Workshop Workshop 
4/29/2024 SFSP Open Lab 289349
5/2/2024 Procurement of Foods: Coop. Purchasing Groups 283559
5/8/2024 ESC 7 Child Nutrition News (CNN@7) 318516
5/22/2024 CACFP Live: Creditable Infant Foods (Webinar) 292540
7/30-8/1/2024
Child Nutrition Summer Workshop!    
 Workshop Descriptions: SW 2024
 166849
8/14/2024 The Administrative Review (AR) and Procurement Review (PR) Process 283532
 
Lana Anderson
  • Administrative Review (AR)
  • National School Lunch Program (NSLP)
  • School Breakfast Program (SBP)
 
Dameon Eaton
Geri Barrett
  • USDA Foods
  • USDA Commodity Processing
  • Technical Assistance: NSLP, SBP, and SSO
  • Administrative Review (AR)
  • National School Lunch Program (NSLP)
  • Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)
Tracie Vineyard
  • General Information
  • Workshop Registration
  • Training Certificate Assistance
 
  
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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:

  1. mail:
    U.S. Department of Agriculture
    Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
    1400 Independence Avenue, SW
    Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or
  2. fax:
    (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
  3. email:
    [email protected]

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

ESC 7 Mission/Vision
ESC 7 Mission/Vision