{"id":1423,"date":"2019-06-12T13:43:13","date_gmt":"2019-06-12T21:43:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/TalesFromTheField\/?p=1423"},"modified":"2019-06-25T12:04:29","modified_gmt":"2019-06-25T20:04:29","slug":"usda-pilot-project-success-story-napa-valley-unified","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/TalesFromTheField\/?p=1423","title":{"rendered":"USDA Pilot Project Success Story — Napa Valley Unified"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“We need to feed kids the highest quality food at school because it’s tied to so many different things — mental cognition, behavioral issues, academic performance, athletic performance, just everything.” — Brandy Dreibelbis, Director of Nutrition Services for Napa Valley Unified School District<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The most recent USDA\nFarm to School Census<\/a> found that 54% of California schools want to purchase\nmore local food in the future. With the great agricultural bounty of our state,\nfresh fruits and vegetables are an ideal way for California schools to increase\ntheir local purchases. With the help of the USDA Pilot Project for the\nProcurement of Unprocessed Fruits and Vegetables, many participating California\nschool districts have been able to do just that. (Read more about the Pilot\nProject in our earlier post here<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of these Pilot Project success stories is Napa Valley Unified\nSchool District<\/a> (NVUSD). Brandy Dreibelbis joined the NVUSD team as Director\nof Nutrition Services just over a year and a half ago and, in that brief time, has\nmanaged to dramatically improve the quality of food served to the district\u2019s\nstudents. Participating in the Pilot Project has empowered Dreibelbis to shift\naway from the processed foods offered under the previous food service\nmanagement contract in favor of freshly prepared foods and California-grown\nfruits and vegetables. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Serving the California Bay Area communities of American\nCanyon, Napa City and Yountville, NVUSD has over 17,000 K-12 students in 28\nschools. NVUSD\u2019s food service program, branded Napa\u2019s Operative for School Food\nHealth or NOSH<\/a>,\nis currently serving an average of 8,000 meals per day. Although NVUSD has been\nexperiencing declining enrollment, the number of students who qualify for free\nand reduced price meals continues to grow and is currently over 50%. Because\nmany NVUSD students come from food insecure households, Dreibelbis believes it\nis particularly important for her program to offer students the best foods\npossible while they are at school. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the ways NVUSD has accomplished this is by installing\na salad bar stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables in each school. Students\nare required to take at least one item from the salad bar to meet reimbursable\nmeal requirements. Offerings change seasonally, and the majority are California\ngrown and sourced through the Pilot Project. According to Dreibelbis, school salad\nbars may be the only exposure students from food insecure households get to\nfresh fruits and vegetables. By ensuring students have access to fresh fruits\nand vegetables at school, Dreibelbis hopes to build healthy eating habits that\nstudents will carry with them into adulthood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dreibelbis said participating in the Pilot Project has been\nbeneficial for her district. NVUSD continues to spend more of its USDA\nentitlement through the Pilot Project each year, allocating $125,000 for\n2018\/2019 \u2013 an increase of $10,000 over the current school year. By using the\nPilot Project as a way to purchase locally, Dreibelbis feels she is benefiting\nher community while providing the highest quality food for NVUSD students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n