Dairy + School Breakfast at a Glance: Online Resources

Whether you’re creating menus for the entire student body, or looking for solutions for your dairy-sensitive and intolerant customers, having a comprehensive list of dairy resources at your fingertips is essential for any school nutrition professional.

As school breakfast continues to expand in school districts across the country, so does the importance of dairy. Did you know that milk is the number one food source of calcium, Vitamin D, and potassium in a child’s diet? As a school nutrition professional, having a wide variety of resources at your fingertips will help you successfully menu dairy for your students in fun, creative, delicious ways.

National Dairy Council

Naturally when we’re talking about dairy, we have to begin with the National Dairy Council! Their website is a virtual treasure trove of dairy information. In addition to resources that help SN professionals create menus, they offer many other resources to help SN professionals manage the dairy requirements of school breakfast and lunch. Don’t miss their lactose intolerance resources that include educational materials, presentations, recipes, and more—including a section of Spanish language resources.

The National Dairy Council’s School Nutrition resource page includes links to the Share Our Strength No Kid Hungry School Calculator, sample menus, nutrient information, and recipes. And don’t forget to check out what your local dairy council has to offer; locate your local dairy council online.

We also encourage you to bookmark The Dairy Report blog—the National Dairy Council’s blog that focuses on news, analysis, and opinion on nutrition and health research. Written by health professionals, the Dairy Report is a terrific way to learn about trends in nutrition. We love this recent blog, “Breakfast: A Whole New Experience That Can’t Be Missed” by Kristin Schrieber.

Fuel Up to Play 60

Not only does the Fuel Up to Play 60 website offer up some incredible resources for menuing dairy, it also provides opportunities for you to apply for funds to implement or expand a school breakfast program. This year, Fuel Up to Play 60 added a student blog, allowing us to connect directly with students who are becoming Fuel Up to Play 60 leaders in their schools and communities.

The FUTP60 resource center is broken down into three sections: Parents, Community Supporters, and Health & Wellness. Parents will find information here that will help them reinforce the healthy lessons students are learning through FUTP60; school nutrition professionals will find helpful fact sheets, and information on earning CEUs, as well as wellness policy resources to benefit the whole school.

School Nutrition Association

Don’t forget to bookmark the SNA Resources page as well! The website has a new look, and you’ll find it easier and more intuitive to navigate, too.

• Nutrition, Nutrition Education & Physical Activity: This section will give you access to webinar highlights, articles from School Nutrition magazine, presentations, and more.
• SNA Research: Find information on the trends and issues that impact school nutrition, including the School Nutrition Operations Report 2014: The State of School Nutrition.

SNA Bookstore: Although not located under Resources on the SNA website, this is a great page to refer back to in order to stay current on industry news and trends.