July 2011 Highlights « Back

Fuel Up to Play 60 in Illinois

In Elgin U-46 schools, the school nutrition director has outlined a wellness program for 53 schools and more than 41,000 students, and Fuel Up to Play 60 is part of that plan.   A contest between the district schools is judged by the food service manager completing a binder that documents the promotions and activities carried out by the staff at each school. One of four criteria is Fuel Up to Play 60 activity in the cafeteria. Other criteria include National School Lunch week promotions, National Breakfast Week promotions and any extra activities, many which tie back to Fuel Up to Play 60. 

The Elgin district is also working with Midwest Dairy Council to increase breakfast participation in the middle and high schools by expanding the program beyond the cafeteria. One Elgin U-46 high school instituted a very successful program, moving 11,687 additional pounds of milk in seven months compared to the previous year. The other four high schools and six middle schools will be starting the expanded breakfast program this fall. Expectations are these 10 schools will move considerably more milk through increased participation in the expanded breakfast program.

The Rockford School District 205 school nutrition director, one year into her position, is ready to further change the food service program there. One of her goals is to increase participation in breakfast by expanding the offerings and location of food. Rockford School District is working with Midwest Dairy Council to complete the participation form for the four high schools and six middle schools to participate in Expanding Breakfast. Currently, there is an effort to supply single serve cheese to offer ala carte or possibly as a reimbursable meal for the elementary schools.

WGN’s 10th Annual Back to School Fair in Chicago provided a great backdrop for the more than 1,000 parents and kids in attendance to learn more about Fuel Up to Play 60, plus meet former Chicago Bears star tackle James “Big Cat” Williams at the Midwest Dairy Council booth. He relayed to kids the importance of fueling up with nutrient-rich foods, like low-fat chocolate milk, and being active for at least 60 minutes every day. He also reminded parents that as the kids head back to school, it is important to fuel them up with a nutritious breakfast either at home or school. Big Cat was interviewed by WGN-TV sportscaster Pat Tomasello. This segment had an audience reach of 148,852, and he did a great job delivering Fuel Up to Play 60 messages. He also signed autographs for the kids. Each family received a goodie bag that included Fuel Up to Play 60 and flavored milk information and a fueluptoplay60.com rubber bracelet in Bears colors, plus had the opportunity to sample cheese sticks and yogurt tubes.

Other Illinois Updates

Evaluation results from the June dairy farm tour and breakout session, called Farmers Fueling Up America, at the Bohnert Jersey farm in East Moline, were overwhelmingly positive. Both events were sponsored by Midwest Dairy and were part of the four-day state school nutrition association conference in Moline, where hundreds of thought leaders gathered.

The farm tour had an overall rating of 5.71 (on a 6-point scale): a 5.91 rating that they learned something new by attending; a 5.95 rating that the attendees found the information and speakers credible; a 5.86 rating that they would recommend the tour to a peer; a 5.88 rating that they felt confident that dairy farmers produce milk with the best interest of consumers in mind; and a 5.02 rating that they felt prepared to address questions about how milk is produced on the farm.

The Farmers Fueling Up America session had an overall rating of 5.72 (out of 6): 5.76 rating that they learned something new; 5.83 that they found the information credible; 5.66 that they’d recommend the session to a peer; and 5.63 that they better understood the topics in an effort to be prepared to discuss them.

We’ve just finished the State Fair and, WOW, what an accomplishment.  The live sculpting of the butter cow the first two days was of great interest and brought many people to the building.  We also had great media coverage.  Other successes included lots of participation inside our Dairy Building.  While the first weekend had great attendance, other days were slower, so we’re currently waiting for final numbers on the Fair of 2011.