Encouraging school foodservice operators to use more potatoes

As America’s Favorite Vegetable, potatoes can help provide students with the nutrients and energy they need to do their best during the school day. That’s why it’s important to remind school foodservice operators that potatoes are not only delicious, but also cost-effective and a nutritious addition to the school menu.

In partnership with the School Nutrition Association (SNA), two webinars featured potatoes.  The first webinar, “Maximize Your Menus and Minimize Labor Constraints with Potatoes”, showcased potatoes through on-trend, student-friendly menu innovations and solutions to ease labor strains. The second webinar, “Fun Summer Feeding with Potatoes”, showcased how putting potatoes at the center of the plate can enhance summer feeding programs in fresh and fun ways.

Both webinars included a live cooking demonstration with Potatoes USA Culinary Director Chef RJ Harvey, RD and Award-Winning Author Dayle Hayes, MS, RD. The demonstrations were pre-recorded in the Potatoes USA Spud Lab and were a big hit with the participants.

Webinars Key Takeaways:

• Nutritional benefits of potatoes at an affordable price
• How potatoes can limit food waste
• Ways potatoes can take over as the center of the plate
• How serving potatoes to children over the summer can be fun

Upon webinar completion, attendees were able to earn continuing education credits. All recipes and resources utilized in the webinar are available on the SNA website for future download.

Following are some quotes from the operators who were very engaged in the webinar chat.

“My favorite Webinar I’ve seen so far this year. VERY helpful and insightful. Well Done!” 

“Love Dayle and RJ as a team. Can they please start a cooking youtube series? ‘Dayle and RJ: Potatoes for All!’”

“Great webinar, gained new ideas for using potatoes. Thank you!”

SNA is recognized as the authority on school nutrition and utilizes weekly webinars to educate their 50,000+ members.

For more information on K-12 School Foodservice marketing activities, email potatoesraisethebar@potatoesusa.com.