Midwest Dairy recently brought Smart Swaps to school nutrition professionals across the region, highlighting practical ways dairy foods can remain part of nutritious, student-friendly school meals.
At the South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota School Nutrition Association conferences, Wellness Warrior and Registered Dietitian Haley Miskowiec led breakout sessions focused on incorporating nutrient-rich dairy foods, including higher-fat milk options, into school meal programs.
Approximately 196 school nutrition professionals attended the sessions, representing schools that serve more than 195,000 students. The opportunity allows Midwest Dairy to connect directly with the professionals making daily decisions about the foods served to students.
Smart Swaps is a nationwide, farmer-funded initiative that provides school nutrition professionals with recipes, menu ideas, and training to help navigate evolving USDA school meal standards while keeping milk, cheese, and yogurt at the center of nutritious meals.
As schools adapt to new nutrition standards, Smart Swaps gives foodservice professionals practical tools and ideas they can use in their own programs. During the sessions, attendees also had the chance to sample frozen yogurt bark, a simple dairy-based recipe featured through the program.
The outreach will continue this fall, with Haley scheduled to present at the Missouri School Nutrition Association Conference in November.
Through programs like Smart Swaps, dairy farmers are helping school nutrition professionals find practical ways to serve nutritious dairy foods while creating meals students enjoy.