This event is not open to the public!!!

Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) will host the Sixth Annual Student Food Show with a different twist this year…parent participation. Parents will join OCPS high school, middle school, and elementary school students putting their taste buds to work by sampling and voting for potential new menu items for the 2013-2014 school year. It’s a fun event!

“This will be an exciting opportunity for parents to experience the first step in the process we go through to consider food items for the OCPS menu. They will get to see for themselves our new items, and how our menu is student-chosen and tested,” said Lora Gilbert, senior director of OCPS Food and Nutrition Services. “OCPS is one of the few districts in the country to require student taste testing for every menu item. Their approval is working; we have now doubled participation in the program in the last 10 years.”

The show will be held Friday, Jan. 11, 2013 at First Baptist Church Orlando, Faith Hall (3000 S. John Young Avenue, Orlando) from 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. More than 30 vendors will serve more than 100 food items. The featured food items will include breakfast, lunch, and snack items which bring a unique spin to school meals.

OCPS will also showcase its new “Fresh Fruit and Vegetable” booth at the show. The fresh fruits and vegetables featured at the show go through the same process of testing as other menu items. This allows the district to make sure the selected produce is what students want to eat. In addition, OCPS also makes a concerted effort to have gluten-free and vegetarian food items represented at the show.

Nutrition standards will be put in place over the next three years to reflect current dietary science and to combat the epidemic of childhood obesity which is as pressing a problem nationally as childhood hunger.

The new standards include practical changes which many parents are already encouraging at home including:

• substantial increase of whole-grain rich foods;
• limiting calories based on the age of children being served to ensure proper portion size;
• increasing the focus on reduced amounts of saturated fat, trans-fat, and sodium;
• all foods offered to students during the school day must meet nutrient standards;
• all students will be required to take a fruit or vegetable serving at lunch.

OCPS has taken the new national requirements even further:

• all grains such as pasta, breads, and pizza crust will include at least 51 percent whole-grain;
• all beverages other than water are limited to a 12 oz. serving size;
• all a la carte sales will meet the nutrition standards;
• every school will have a salad bar; students can assemble their own fresh salads, which is part of the “Fresh to Schools” initiative and the “Offer vs. Serve” system;
• every student will be able to choose a fruit and vegetable from a large variety of fresh options.