Food Systems Management Rotation
The Upper Dublin School District
I completed my food systems management rotation with Kristan Delle, Food Service Director of the Upper Dublin School District (UDSD) in Upper Dublin, PA. The UDSD food service department services seven schools and serves more than 4,300 students. Throughout the course of this rotation I was able to gain experience in many different areas of food service. These areas include ethics, professional development, food safety and sanitation, purchasing, receiving, storage and inventory, production and service systems, quality management and productivity, human resources, and financial management and employee scheduling. To read more about the UDSD, please refer to Module 1, the introduction.
Module 1 - Introduction
Upper Dublin School District
The UDSD food service department services seven schools and serves more than 4,300 students. Kristan described the other faculty that work in the food service department. There is one manager that runs the high school, another that runs the middle school, and four managers that manage the elementary schools. Some managers manage two schools at a time. Each manager has a kitchen staff that can vary in size depending on the size of the school. There is one high school, one middle school, and five elementary schools in the district. This includes Fairwold Academy. Fairwold Academy is a part of the Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) that provides high-quality, comprehensive academics within a therapeutic framework. They are an Approved Private School (APS) that serve students facing a wide range of emotional, behavioral, and intellectual challenges.
UDSD’s mission statement is as follows, “The mission of the Upper Dublin School District is to provide a safe environment in which all students are respected, encouraged, and challenged to become life-long learners within a global society.” The UDSD offers a nutritious breakfast and lunch to UDSD students each day in every building. They provide a variety of menu choices for students and staff. The UDSD food service department strives to be self-supporting. The department expects employees to be committed to helping food service achieve its goal of serving nutritious, delicious, attractive, and economical meals to students and staff. The employee’s performance is vital to achieving this goal.
Following is more information about UDSD in the orientation outline. Also included is a kitchen equipment list of all the items discussed in the outline. This would include the make and model, etc. of each item.
Below are the remaining modules that were included in my food systems management rotation. Module 2 will cover the topics of ethics and professional development. Module 3 will cover the topics of food safety and sanitation. Module 4 will cover the topics of purchasing, receiving, storage, and inventory. Module 5 covers the topics of production and service systems. Module 6 will cover the topics of quality management and productivity. Module 7 will cover the topics of human resources. Finally, Module 8 will cover financial management and employee scheduling. Please use the modules below to reference my work completed during this rotation.
Module 2: Ethics & Professional Development
Professional Development Plan
I completed a student professional development plan (previously known as "Goal Wizard") by going through the CDR's 2021 Essential Practice Competencies PDF. My plan includes three goals that are associated with a competency. For each competency there are three performance indicators. Over the course of my dietetic internship I will be working on completing these goals and competencies.
Module 3: Food Safety & Sanitation
Food Safety Audit
The Montgomery County Office of Public Health (MCOPH) completes the inspections and surveys each of the Upper Dublin School District's (UDSD) facilities. The health inspector comes twice a year. If there is an issue (ex: flood, power failure) they would make a determination to come back out to inspect the site again. There is a hood and fire check that happens biannually. There is an internal audit that happens twice a year. Any issues with any of the kitchens are reported and reported on the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services website. Results are also shared with the administration of USDS. Below is the most recent audit done at the Upper Dublin high school in September 2021. This points out critical items, major items, and minor items that need to be addressed related to food safety.
UDSD Compliance Checklist
Below is an example of the UDSD's Compliance Checklist. I completed my own audit for the Upper Dublin high school (UDHS) after the inspection from the MCOPH was complete. Therefore there were no items in need of improvement. This was due to the UDHS needing to have these areas corrected by the re-opening date of September 27th, 2021. Therefore, I did my correction plan based off of the critical items from the September 23rd MCOPH inspection.
Correction Plan
After reviewing the food safety audit from the MCOPH for September 2021, I created a correction plan with the appropriate steps below.
Time & Temperature Study
At the UDSD, the temperatures of food items are taken and recorded at various times throughout the lunch line. This will ensure that the food stays the proper temperature during service. I completed a time and temperature study for one of the lunches at Sandy Run middle school. During this time I recorded the temperatures of various ingredients for the meal. On this particular day the middle school was serving a grilled cheese and tomato soup and a cereal fun lunch meal.
Test Tray Evaluation
Test tray evaluations are not completed at the UDSD. Therefore I conducted my own test tray for grilled cheese and tomato soup day (view below). Also included below is UDSD's "What's in a Meal". This document explains what items make up a breakfast and which items make up a lunch according to the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) standards. The UDSD follows the NSLP to a tee. Every time I observed the line, the trays were always up to the NSLP standards. To read more about those standards please refer to the "Test Tray Policy & Procedure" section below.
Test Tray Policy & Procedure
The UDSD does not follow a medical model as a skilled nursing facility or hospital would. They instead follow the regulations of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) which is administered at a federal level by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The NSLP is administered by the state agencies and is able to operate their program through agreements with the school food authorities. The NSLP is a federally assisted meal program. This program operates in both public and nonprofit private schools as well as residential child care institutions. Participating school districts receive cash subsidies and USDA Foods for each reimbursable meal they serve. In exchange, the NSLP must serve lunches that meet the Federal meal pattern requirements. For example, the minimum requirement for grades K-5 and 6-8 for fruit is 1/2 a cup per lunch meal pattern. For grades 9-12 it is 1 cup. The minimum, daily amount of calories for grades K-5 is 550-650 kcals/ day. For grades 6-8 it is 600-700 kcals/ day and for grades 9-12 it is 730-850 kcals/ day. They must also offer lunches at free or reduced prices each day. The goal is to provide nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to children each school day. Below is the USDA's 'National School Lunch Program Meal Pattern Chart' that I have used to reference this information.
Food Temperature Log
A food temperature log is completed by staff for lunches. The food temperature log includes a log for all three lunches at Sandy Run Middle School with an 'at prep' and 'at serve' for each of the three lunches. One this particular day, the middle school was serving a chicken tender meal, a cereal fun lunch, and a turkey sandwich meal. Counts for the meals in each of the lunches as well as milks are also listed.
In Service Training
I completed my inservice-training on Food Allergies, in specifics, "How to Check for Allergens on a Food Label". Food allergies are very common at the UDSD. Cross-contamination is highly emphasized at the schools, yet cross contact is often forgotten about. This ensures that no students have an allergic reaction at lunch. I presented my training to the managers and my preceptor via a screen cast which included a pre and post test as well as a PowerPoint presentation. Below is the recording of my in service training.
In Service Lesson Plan
My inservice lesson plan on "How to Check for Allergens on a Food Label" includes the target population, audience characteristics, duration, objectives, goals, lesson format, learning experience, method of evaluation, materials needed, information included in the training, and references. Below is the complete lesson plan with the pre and post test included.
In Service Evaluation
Below is my evaluation from my preceptor for my in service training.
HACCP Knowledge & Understanding
The Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) is a system used to promote food safety and prevent biological, chemical, and physical contamination or hazards from happening throughout food production. My preceptor referred me to the UDSD's "Food Safety Plan Using HACCP Principals" for an in depth explanation of how the UDSD food service department uses HACCP principals. This program was developed by Kristan Delle MDA, RD, LDN, CLC, Director of Food Services for the Upper Dublin School District and is also intended for use at Fairwold Academy. The program follows the USDA guidance on developing a food safety program based on the Process Approach. The Director of Food Services will review the school food safety program at the beginning of the school year and when any significant changes occur in the operation. Changes to the plan will be made at the end-of year planning meeting, or as needed.
MSDS Material
The Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) are documents that list chemicals and substances with corresponding information on safety and health at work. This helps ensure that all products are being used in a safe manner to avoid any negative health consequences. Kristan explained in detail how to use the MSDS and where it was located in each of the schools. The MSDS binder I examined was located at the high school. I found this binder in the manager's office. It is located in this area to make kitchen staff and other personnel aware of safety precautions and procedures. The MSDS binder contained several pages of information, therefore I was not able to get pictures from every page. Below you will find the MSDS Manual cover and its contents.
Food Safety Questions
The food safety and sanitation questions are answered in detail below. I reviewed this information with the Director of Food Services at the UDSD. These questions cover the topics of safe working conditions, safety training, plans for disasters, etc.
Module 3 Checklist
Module 4: Purchasing, Receiving, Storage, & Inventory
UDSD District and School Physical Inventory
USDS has a Google Sheets spreadsheet where the inventory is plugged in and ordering is facilitated. Perpetual Inventories are done weekly because each week the managers put in a new order, therefore they need to know what they have in stock and on hand. The managers need to know what they have before ordering. At the end of each month, the managers will put in the ‘end of the month’ physical inventory on the corresponding Google Sheets page. Once inventory has been taken, it is then inputted into the corresponding Google Sheets page. Inventory records are kept on file to compute monthly statements. Inventory records are set up in different categories of food to facilitate the ordering processes. Produce is one category of inventory and other categories consist of beverages, meat/ poultry, frozen items, paper supplies, etc. This will help to facilitate ordering because all of the items are well organized. Below is the physical inventory spreadsheet for the month of September for all of the schools in the district.
Disposable Chemical Inventory
Below is UDSD's chemical inventory spreadsheet for the month of September. This inventory includes all of the schools in the district.
Monthly Inventory Codes & Price List
Below you will find UDSD's monthly inventory codes and price list. The PDF includes vendor name, US Foods Number, Pack Size, Label/ Brand, Product Description, Current Stock, Total Bid Cost, Markup, and Sell Price.
Monthly Inventory Codes
Below you will find the UDSD's monthly inventory codes and the stock at each of the schools. Inventory is done monthly and the information is recorded on this spreadsheet.
Chemical Inventory Order
Any chemicals are ordered by the Administration Team and are delivered to Sandy Run middle school where the district inventory is kept. This is done once a month or so. Orders will be placed for items that are not located in the district inventory. An example of what a Crystal Chemical order would look like can be seen below.
Food/ Supply Order
The Assistant Director of Food Services, Kelly Boyd, talked through how to create a US Foods order with me. She discussed the steps each manager takes when placing an order with their main supplier, US Foods. Each week the managers place a food order with US Foods. The UDSD receives a delivery from US Foods on Wednesday (for all elementary schools) and Mondays (for Sandy Run Middle School and Upper Dublin High School). The managers of the elementary schools must order by Monday at noon for a Wednesday delivery and the managers of the middle and high school must order by Thursday for a Monday delivery. Below is an order placed by the high school's manager on September 27, 2021.
Purchasing, Receiving, Storage, & Inventory Questions
Below is a completed set of questions providing further detail into the areas of: purchasing, receiving, storage, and inventory at UDSD. Kristan explained this topic in detail and Kelly explained how each order is placed, received, and stored at the UDSD. We also went through the inventory process in great detail.
Module 4 Checklist
Module 5: Production and Service Systems
Menu Analysis & Modification
I completed my analysis on the regular diet that was provided. In specifics, I analyzed the carbohydrates, protein, fat, cholesterol, and sodium. After analyzing the regular diet, I edited it to meet the needs of the other three diets, which included low sodium, low carbohydrate, and low cholesterol. The low sodium diet was a 3 gram sodium restriction. The carbohydrate controlled diet was 300 grams of carbohydrates. This included 6, 6, 6, 2 carbohydrate choices. The low cholesterol diet was 200 milligrams of cholesterol. I had a difficult time finding items that fit the 2300 regular calorie diet to a tee. Because of this my total kcals for the regular diet are significantly higher than I would like. Below you will find a PDF of my menu modification chart for all four diets.
Diet Analysis (Regular, Low Sodium, Carb Controlled, and Low Cholesterol)
Below you will find a nutrient analysis excel spreadsheet for all four diets along with their individual breakdowns using excel. Please use the tabs at the bottom of the excel spreadsheet to navigate the various diets and their corresponding analysis. There are four pages in total.
Diet Manual
A diet manual is a manual of guidance in meal planning, for different ages, conditions, and needs. Dietitians may use it as a general guide for providing nutritional care for their patients. There is no diet manual at UDSD. The USDA National School Lunch Meal Pattern is what the UDSD follows to meet national guidelines. The UDSD follows a two week menu cycle. Each regular menu for the elementary and secondary school is modified to fit certain dietary needs. Menus for gluten free, dairy free, egg free, peanut/treenut free, and soy free dietary needs are available for staff, students, and parents. The kitchen staff is very familiar with these diets, as they prepare these meals for students on a daily basis. Kelly reviewed all of the various allergy menus in depth with me as well as all the products at the sites that contain major allergens to prevent cross contact. Below is the National School Lunch Program Meal Pattern Chart via the USDA for preschool through grade 12. This includes the amount of food per week (and minimum per day) for various food components.
Waste Reduction
The Upper Dublin School District aims to be sustainable whenever they can. Due to the pandemic, the food service department has not been as environmentally friendly as they would like. Yet, they have made some changes in the new school year. Last school year the food service team served lunches on styrofoam trays and plastic clam shells that could easily be thrown away at the end of the lunch period. This school year the students are given lunches on plastic trays that are cleaned and santized after every lunch period. The food service staff takes the meal counts before and after every meal. Below you will see an example of a meal tally sheet from Sandy Run Middle School on chicken tender day. This gives the managers an idea of how many meals they served and how many they have left over at the end of all the lunch period. On most occasions the staff will make more food than they need so that they do not run out. An area of improvement could be to have a better estimate of how much food they are distributing each day and prepare accordingly. This can be done by taking an average of the meal count each day and planning accordingly. I am confident this situation will resolve itself as the school year goes on and the staff has a better estimate of how much food to make on certain days. In the example below, the middle school only made two extra chicken tender platters. Though it is important to note that this may be different depending on the day and the meal. If the food is not used, the food service staff will try to save any extra food. For example, if they overestimate the amount needed for the first lunch, they will keep the food in the warmers and distribute it in the second lunch. If they have leftover food after the third and final lunch the team will do their best to save what they can and either refrigerate or freeze the leftovers. For example, it is very easy to store the “Cereal Fun Lunch” cold option in the fridge because of its contents; cereal, cheese stick, yogurt, fruit, and belly bears. This is also true for the “Turkey Sandwich” option. If that is not possible, they will have to throw that food away. For example, several cartons of milk expired one of the days I was at Sandy Run Middle School and had to be thrown away per the USDA’s regulations. In this scenario there was no way of salvaging the milk and it was put to waste because you cannot serve expired products to students.
Theme Meal
Below are the documents for my recipes, productional schedules, and budget for my themed meal.
Production Schedule
Below is the production schedule with HACCP Critical Control Points used for my themed meal.
Budget
Below is the budget used for my theme meal. The budget includes areas such as unit cost, price for recipe, price per serving, and so much more!
Taste Panel/ Sensory Evaluations
I conducted a sensory evaluation/ taste panel on students during their lunch period. The sensory evaluation form included a rating scale of "delicious", "it's okay", and "not for me" for the appearance, taste/flavor, texture/ consistency, aroma/ smell, and overall acceptability for various items in my themed meal. Below is the spreadsheet for the sensory evaluation/ taste panel. In the first tab you will find all of the answers from students in grades 6 to 8. In the second tab you will find the averages for each item rated in each of the grades.
Blank Taste Panel/ Sensory Evaluation Survey
Below you will find a blank Taste Panel/ Sensory Evaluation sheet used for the students during my themed meal.
Completed Taste Panel/ Sensory Evaluation Sheets
Below you will find completed examples of the Taste Panel/ Sensory Evaluation sheets used for the students during my themed meal.
Taste Panel/ Sensory Evaluation Analysis
Below you will see a taste panel/ sensory evaluation analysis for my theme meal.
Pictures
Below are various pictures from my themed meal on a document with an explanation of each. Here, you will see a picture of the theme meal, the menu, and the survey cart that was used to take the taste panel sensory evaluations.
Theme Meal Promotion
Below you will find the decorated menu and flyer used to promote my themed meal.
Theme Meal Report/ Questions
Below is a completed set of questions providing further detail into my themed meal.
Module 5 Checklist
Module 6: Quality Management / Productivity
Committee Meetings
I attended two managers meetings during my time at the Upper Dublin School District. These meetings were virtual and held every Friday at 7:15am. Below are my meeting minutes from both meetings.
PI Studies
Performance improvement is a large part of food service and is extremely important to continue to improve in all aspects of performance. This is to ensure safety and satisfaction of the students at the UDSD. PI studies are done monthly at the UDSD. Examples include the Key Performance Indicators (KPI). I created the new 21/22 KPI spreadsheet for the UDSD. This new spreadsheet included more data than the 20/21 spreadsheet did as well as new and improved chart displaying the information for the managers to use and compare their data with other schools in the district. Examples of the researched data includes breakfast and lunch totals compared to the meal equivalents for breakfasts and lunches, total meal equivalents, which are then broken down to total meal equivalents per hour as well as other areas such as total labor, total supplies costs, and total expenditures. Below you will find an excel spreadsheet with information that pertains to my KPI productivity study. Please refer to the first, yellow tab on excel for this information. Please also be sure to locate the month of August, for that is the month I did my research on.
UDSD Monthly Food Service Report
Below you will see the UDSD Monthly Food Service Report. This report is a summary of various food service KPIs for August 2021. Information was gathered from the KPI spreadsheet for August 2021 data. I made this report via Canva as a visual for the managers. This monthly report is a great way for managers to visualize their progress and areas for improvement at their schools to increase student satisfaction.
Research Project
Performance measurements are an essential component of managerial function. They help us see the gaps between current and desired performance. They also provide evidence if progress has been made towards closing the gaps. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are measures that focus on the most critical aspects of an organization’s performance. I completed my research project on KPIs with a specific focus on meal equivalents, average daily participation, and number of meals or meal equivalents per number of paid hours. Overall the purpose of this study was for the managers to be able to compare their schools to others to see how they are doing. It was an important goal of mine for each of the schools to have background knowledge of what makes each school successful in their service. Below is my research paper for my KPI productivity study.
Microsoft Excel Projects
Though I did not use Microsoft Excel, I did utilize Google Sheets for my rotation. The two are very similar. The USDS uses Google Sheets to share data with various staff members, departments, etc. In Google Sheets I made the KPI spreadsheets, edited the inventory spreadsheets, as well as allergy related spreadsheets. These various projects and tasks allowed me to familiarize myself with spreadsheets and all of their many capabilities.
Productivity Studies
After talking to Kristan I was able to calculate various measures of productivity. I calculated meals per labor hour, food cost percentage, cost per meal equivalent, and labor cost percentage. The math equations, calculations, and results can be seen below.
Quality Assurance Part 1
Quality assurance is very important at UDSD. Below are blank charts that the managers of each school must fill out during the school day. They include freezer/ refrigerator temperature logs, three compartment sink logs, dish machine temperature logs, dry storage logs, thermometer calibration log, and a pest log. Managing food temperatures, food safety, and crises is a very important step in quality management and performance improvement.
Quality Assurance Part 2
Below is a continuation of part 1 and includes step by step instructions on how to test the temperature of the dishwashing machine. These are very important measures in ensuring safety and at the UDSD.
QM/PI Questions
Below are my questions related to productivity at the UDSD. I reviewed the various topics with Kristan and Kelly in detail. Above you may view various temperature logs for equipment and three compartment sinks, pest logs, and various food safety training sheets that pertain to the quality assurances at the UDSD.
Module 6 Checklist
Module 7: Human Resources
Policy & Procedure Manual
The policy and procedure, otherwise known as the 'Food Service Employee Handbook' is available to every employee at the UDSD and contains a plethora of information. This handbook includes information related to, but limited to uniform and dress code, timekeeping policy, job responsibilities, reporting absences, and safety. Upon hire, each employee needs to review the handbook. Job classifications and recognitions can be found in the 'Food Service Staff Compensation Plan'. Job descriptions can also be found on the Human Resources website as well.
Employee Descriptions - General Worker
Below are the employee descriptions for the general worker and cook positions.
Employee Descriptions - Cook
Below is the employee description for the cook position
Orientation
UDSD does not have a formal orientation for employees to attend. Therefore, Kristan went through the process of a typical first day of an employee with me. After this I spent a day in the kitchen to experience what the new hires do. Upon hire the new employee will receive the employee handbook and the compensation plan. It is important to keep in mind that every site is different and involves different duties. Although I was unable to attend an 'orientation' I was present for two different interviews that occurred during my time at the UDSD. Both interviews were for the General Worker position. I found this experience to be very beneficial and taught me some excellent interviewing skills. Below you will find the employee compensation plan. In this plan areas such as job recognition, food service salaries, and payment schedules are explained in great detail.
Employee Evaluation - General Worker and Cook
Once a year the managers will meet with their staff and conduct a review of how each employee has done and any areas needed to work on. If any specific areas need improvement outside of this yearly meeting, they will be scheduled and conducted as soon as possible. I was not able to attend an employee evaluation due the UDSD not having any to conduct during my rotation. It is important to note that Kristan walked me through the process of a typical employee evaluation and what to expect during this meeting. Below you will find an employee evaluation form for a general worker and cook.
Employee Evaluation - Manager
Once a year manager evaluations are done by Kristan and Kelly. Please refer to to the paragraph above for more details on this process. Below you will find an employee evaluation form for a site manager.
Human Resources Questions
Below are questions that cover numerous topics related to human resources including recruitment, job description, performance appraisals, grievances, personal actions, and professional training. This information is the same for the food service staff at every UDSD site. Both Kristan and Kelly went over this information with me in detail.
Module 7 Checklist
Module 8: Financial Management & Employee Scheduling
Facility Operating Budget
I sat down with my preceptor, UDSD’s food service director and discussed the food service operation budget. During this time she explained that each year she is to create a document that breaks down all expenses to prepare and request a new budget for each new fiscal year. These fiscal years end on June 30th and start on July 1st. The overall yearly budget for the food service department is a part of Kristan’s responsibility. She begins working on the annual budget in January for the following July. The budget is created by Kristan. Kristan will then send the budget over to the Chief Financial Officer who will then present it to the finance committee. They make a recommendation to approve or disapprove the budget. The goal is for the finance committee to approve. If they disapprove then Kristan needs to rework the budget. The budget will summarize in dollars and cents. This includes the anticipated expense of resources, people, supplies, contracted services, and equipment. The planning process will establish how the UD food service department fits into the larger picture at UDSD. A budget will serve as a roadmap that helps depict goals of the department, pathways to achieving those goals, and possible benchmarks to measure year-end success. District size can determine the extent of a Director of Food Services fiscal management responsibilities. In a large district like the UDSD, Kristan is more involved in the processes. It is her responsibility to make decisions regarding UDSD’s fund’s operation, like payroll and food expenditure. View the documents below to see the UDSD facilities operating budget.
Master Schedule
Kristan reviewed how she develops the schedule with me. The schedules are created for one week at a time, yet every employee has a 'Fall Base Schedule'. This schedule is a base schedule for all of the employees to follow. It includes each site and the names of the managers and employees located at each site. Some employees are part time and others are full time. In order for the schedule to be completed Kristan must assess each employee's time off requests and schedule accordingly. It is uncommon for the employees to switch sites from week to week, unless of an emergency. That is why a base schedule was created. It is very rare that the schedule changes from week to week. Below is the schedule Kristan and I made together along for October 4th- 8th with the 'Fall Based Schedule' attached.