Team Nutrition is an initiative of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service. Its mission is to promote lifelong healthy food choices and physical activity by improving the nutrition practices of the USDA child nutrition programs. Team Nutrition work to provide resources to schools, childcare settings, and summer meal sites that participate in these programs.
Team Nutrition uses three strategies to change behavior:
- Provide training and technical assistance to child nutrition professionals to enable them to prepare and serve nutritious meals that appeal to children.
- Increase nutrition education through multiple communication channels to help children have the knowledge, skills, and motivation to make healthy food and physical activity choices as part of a healthy lifestyle.
- Build support for healthy school and childcare environments that encourage nutritious food choices and physically active lifestyles.
Team Nutrition Training Grants have been a cornerstone of the Team Nutrition initiative since its inception in 1995, and play an important role in helping state agencies deliver training and nutrition education that supports the USDA child nutrition programs.
FY22 Team Nutrition Master the Menu
The greatest success of the North Dakota FY22 Team Nutrition ‘Master the Menu’ training program was the opportunity to provide extensive training on the transitional meal pattern. This was a historic opportunity for the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction to provide a robust multi-location and multi-format training program to its customers. Our sincere appreciation goes to USDA for the funding of our project, as well as our collaboration and partnership with NDSU Extension. Our successes would not be possible without these opportunities.
In a typical year, NDDPI’s reach for in-person annual training includes five (5) one-day Back To School Workshops, a one-day New Cook training and a one-day Sanitation training. Beyond these in-person all hands-on-deck-type trainings, NDDPI provides training and technical assistance in virtual outlets and while onsite conducting reviews. With the limited in-person exposure for the NDDPI staff and its customers, it is difficult to obtain the level of learning necessary for program success. This training program allowed for more touch points and decreased the burden of our customers to attend.
We held 19 in-person Meal Pattern Breakdown single-day training events in 12 locations throughout the state, as well as offering an online module-based virtual option. Our typical training locations are in 3 of the major cities in the state, Fargo, Bismarck and Minot. This program allowed us to bring the training to our customers with the assistance of North Dakota State University Extension Agents as our presenters.
There were seven NDSU Extension Agents that provided the training at various locations throughout the state. Additionally, the state contracted with two individuals to provide district specific training to expand our reach. There was positive feedback from the School Nutrition Professional’s experience.
This map indicates the various locations where the Meal Pattern Breakdown course was held. The number next to the name of the city or town indicates the number of attendees. If there are multiple stars or an asterisk, that indicates multiple trainings were held in that location. The blue stars indicate the locations where NDSU Extension Agents were the primary trainer, the purple stars indicate the locations where Team Nutrition Staff were the primary trainer and gold indicates the Tribal community trainings.
Our goal was to reach 50 managers or directors for ‘A Manger’s View program. We had 65 applicants for the program and accepted 60. Of those, 42 individuals complete all requirements. The completion rate compared to our goal was 84%.
Additionally, we had a goal of 650 School Nutrition Professionals to complete the ‘Meal Pattern Breakdown’ program. We had 567 registrants with 383 individuals completing all requirements. The completion rate was 59%.
The Team Nutrition goals would not have been met without this valuable partnership. Although there were many lessons learned this training program was a positive experience for NDDPI, NDSU Extension and most importantly the North Dakota School Nutrition Professionals. Thank you to all that participated.
If you have questions about this training program, please reach out to Amy Nelson, Project Director, at amylnelson@nd.gov or Emily Karel, Project Coordinator, at ekarel@nd.gov
This project has been funded at least in part with Federal funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the view or policies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
USDA FNS Non-Discrimination Statement
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 based on 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-Compl…, 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: program.intake@usda.gov
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
FY24 Team Nutrition Meal Pattern Modernization for the Dakotas
North Dakota Team Nutrition is back to provide professional development to you and your kitchen!
We received the FY24 USDA Team Nutrition Training Grant for Meal Pattern Modernization. Here is a summary of our plans and the other states that received this funding.
The program we are planning for you will involve an in-person culinary experience along with all of the background information and education for you to successfully implement the new USDA Meal Pattern Requirements.
We will start our sessions in the summer or early fall of 2025 looking at reducing added sugars in our menus including the product specific limitations and scratch cooking recipes. Then, for the 2026 school year we will focus on reducing sodium through various recipes and other cooking tips. Each of these sessions will include some traditional indigenous foods or recipes.
We are so excited to get the ball rolling on this project and bring a well-designed program to you!
If you have questions about this training program, please reach out to Amy Nelson, Project Director, at amylnelson@nd.gov or Emily Karel, Project Coordinator, at ekarel@nd.gov
This project has been funded at least in part with Federal funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the view or policies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
USDA FNS Non-Discrimination Statement
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 based on 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-Compl…, 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: program.intake@usda.gov
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.