Montana Team Nutrition Stories and Current Projects
Montana School Meals Certificate Program
Montana Team Nutrition offered a 40-hour comprehensive professional development program called the Montana School Meals Certificate (MSMC) Program during the 2023-2024 school year. Funding was supported by a USDA Team Nutrition grant with the goal of supporting new school Food Service Directors.
Find feature stories celebrating nine of the MSMC schools' accomplishments and their stellar school meal programs here.
Somers Lakeside School District
Harvesting Montana Recipes Project
About
Montana Team Nutrition hosted a statewide recipe contest, Harvesting Montana Recipes, to collect recipes featuring local and indigenous Montana ingredients. These ingredients included barley, beets, bison, chokecherries, sweet cherries, lentils, and winter squash. Six winning recipes were selected. Students and school staff are actively engaged in the recipe development and testing through a sub-grant program to support nutrition education, student taste-testing, and meal service. Once the winning recipes have been verified and standardized, these Montana recipes will be featured at the state and national level for other schools to serve and enjoy.
Please note that the success story links on this page lead to accessible pdfs.
Harvesting Montana Recipes Success Stories
Harvesting Montana Recipes Project Expands Student Minds and Taste Buds
The Harvesting Montana Recipes Project wraps up with all 6 test schools completing the Nutrition Education and School Meal Service phase. Read this success story to learn about the impact of this project on students knowledge of local foods and willingness to try new foods.
Monforton School Serves Montana Cherries
Monforton school nutrition staff highlighted some of Montana’s local charms in a special meal featuring Sweet Cherry and Chocolate Overnight Oats in December of 2021.
Montana Schools Roll Out Local Recipes with Local Flair
The Harvesting Montana Recipes Project continues with recipes being served at Monforton, Gardiner, and Somers School Districts.
Philipsburg School District's Taste of Montana Meal
Learn more about the Taste of Montana Meal that Philipsburg served in December 2021!
Story Creek Elementary Serves Montana Bison and Barley Soup
Belgrade school nutrition staff served up a local meal featuring the new Montana Harvest of the Month food: bison!
Local Montana Recipes Served with a Smile in School Lunch Meals
Three Harvesting Montana Recipes were served in school lunch meal events!
Montana Cook Fresh Initiative Project
About
The Montana Cook Fresh Initiative is a comprehensive (one-year) training program to help schools serve high-quality meals through cooking from scratch that appeal to Montana students. This program builds the knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy of all school food service staff from management to front line staff through professional development and technical assistance.
Montana Cook Fresh Success Stories
The Montana Cook Fresh Initiative Leads to Increases in Scratch Cooking
Learn about the evaluation outcomes from the Montana Cook Fresh Initiative.
The Roadmap to Building Quality School Meals
Learn more about this new resource for quality school meals, including the Roadmap Pilot Project!
Mini Grants Awarded to Nine Montana Schools
Learn more about how these funds supported schools in purchasing equipment and training for quality school meals.
2021 Montana Cook Fresh Leadership Institute
Learn more about the hybrid culinary and school nutrition management training.
Cooking Up Comfort With Whole Grains
Learn more about our virtual whole-grain baking workshop.
On Demand School Nutrition Culinary Training
Learn more about our on demand culinary videos focused onusing legumes and wholegrains in school meals.
Virtual School Nutrition Leadership Institute
Learn more about the virtual 2020 Montana Cook Fresh Leadership Institute
Montana Farm to School
About
Farm to school enriches the connection communities have with fresh, healthy food and local food producers by changing food purchasing and education practices at schools and preschools. Students gain access to healthy, local foods as well as education opportunities such as school gardens, cooking lessons and farm field trips. Farm to school empowers children and their families to make informed food choices while strengthening the local economy and contributing to vibrant communities. Farm to school implementation differs by location but always includes one or more of the following core elements: Procurement, Education, and School Gardens.
Montana Farm to School Stories
Visit the Montana Farm to School Stories page to to learn about Farm to School projects around the state!