PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING PROGRAM

Provides a practical application for your school meals program including meal requirements, federal and state regulations, and hands-on group activities.

Overview of school food service, nutrition facts, and dietary guidelines.

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This course provides basic principles of sanitation and safety in the school nutrition department by introducing the participant to the current Michigan Food Law, foodborne illnesses, and requirements for providing safe and sanitary equipment, pest prevention, and personal hygiene along with Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points and other related topics. Required for School Nutrition Association (SNA) Certification.

ServSafe® is a food safety certification program sponsored by the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation. It meets local, state, and national certification requirements and provides the participant with content and understanding of food safety basics designed to ensure food safety.  This course will help prepare the participant to successfully pass the ServSafe exam.  Topics covered include the importance of a food safety plan that monitors receiving, storage, proper thawing, cooking and cooling foods, cleaning and sanitizing, cross-contamination and HACCP Procedures, and more. 

The ServSafe® food safety and certification program is recognized by more jurisdictions than any other manager food safety program.  ServSafe® Review is recommended before the examination.

Prepare to take the ServSafe® examination.

This course concentrates on resolving conflict as a practical skill that can be developed using strategic techniques and resolving conflict in a positive manner.   At the end of this course, participants will be able to demonstrate appropriate responses to conflict, increase communication skills by practicing the art of listening effectively, identify their style in managing conflict and learn how life experiences affect how people react to conflict.  The end result is a win–win for everyone involved and a positive relationship builder.

This hands-on course is designed to help participants understand kitchen math principles, portion control, and correct measuring and how to demonstrate that knowledge and apply it to their daily routine.  Participants will also learn the importance of the production record in child nutrition programs and how to accurately complete the production record that is required to meet national, state, and local regulations.

This course introduces the student to the basic principles of cooking, baking, and kitchen operations in school food service. Topics include preparation methods with an emphasis on quality and consistency.  Learn how to plan, review, organize and deliver a quality and consistent school meal. Upon completion, participants should be able to demonstrate a broad range of basic cooking/baking skills as they apply to different stations in food service operations.

This course emphasizes the importance of using standardized recipes and how they enhance the overall structure of school food service. It is important for child nutrition employees to become familiar with how to use standardized recipes and the nutritional impact they have.

This Culinary technique class is designed to help school staff with fundamental skills and techniques to correctly store, prepare, and serve quality fruit, vegetable, and legume components and flavorful seasonings in school meals.  Upon completion of this course, participants should be able to demonstrate basic skills used in the preparation of these key meal components.

This Culinary Techniques II course concentrates on the fundamental skills and techniques in basic cookery, and moist, dry, and combination heat when preparing entrees for school meals. Emphasis is placed on appropriate cooking methods for main entrees and sandwiches, adding appropriate spices and seasonings to enhance student acceptance, and preparing scratch soups.  Upon completion of this course, participants should be able to demonstrate effective skills used in the preparation of these essential meal components.

This hands-on learning course provides participants with training on correctly receiving, storing, and preparing Michigan Farm Fresh Produce. This course provides a laboratory experience for enhancing student skills in the fundamental concepts, skills, and techniques in basic cooking with an emphasis on practical experiences including terminology, classical knife cuts, safe food/equipment handling, enhancing flavor through spices and seasonings, and related topics. Get hands-on training and culinary techniques using recipes that have been tested and successfully approved by students across Michigan! This class was created by MSU Extension Educators and sponsored by a Specialty Crop Block Grant through the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Become acquainted and adept with the most classic and essential of chef's tools, and your time in the kitchen will be transformed. In this hands-on class, you'll hone basic knife skills and practice fundamental cuts like dice and julienne. Plus, our instructor will teach you a few advanced techniques and offer tips for keeping all your knives maintained and sharp. You'll use these knife skills every time you cook.

This course is designed to provide an overview of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans with a focus on school nutrition programs. This course provides a variety of activities to engage participants throughout the learning objectives. At the completion of this class, participants will be able to effectively understand these nutrition basics: how nutrition impacts the students that we serve as well as the impact on Americans overall, tips on encouraging and influencing good food choices, the role of vitamins and minerals in the diet and how the media plays a role in how school nutrition programs are perceived. Required for SNA certification.

Food Allergies and Special Diets are a growing occurrence in child nutrition programs.  The participant will learn effective and practical measures to meet the needs of these children through diet management and food safety while understanding the laws and regulations for these accommodations.  Discover the difference between a food allergy and food intolerance, the top food allergens, and the symptoms an allergic reaction might exhibit.

Participants in this course will learn the basics of marketing to school children, reflecting a positive outcome in long-term changes that affect children’s long-term health.  An effective marketing plan is designed to create influence behaviors where children learn to make choices that will enhance good nutrition and physical activity to create a healthy lifestyle.  Come learn how to evaluate your customers and competition and develop a marketing plan for your school's nutrition program.

Participants in this course will leave with a marketing plan designed specifically for your school.  This fun and interactive session will rejuvenate your passion and provide the principles to implement your plan and how to collaborate with other members of your school family and community to enhance the health and well-being of the children in your care.

This hour course provides the participant with an overview of sound financial principles for child nutrition programs to gain an understanding of the financial outcomes of your operational decisions. Learn how to interpret financial data in your operation while increasing improved financial accountability to sustain the child nutrition program, through evaluation and decision-making.

This class is an overview of the fundamentals of Menu Planning. It will include: what is menu planning; the federal rules and regulations affecting Menu Planning, including the meal patterns for breakfast and lunch; factors both internal and external that affect menu development; different types of menus that can be used, how to use the Food Buying Guide, and looking at the labor when preparing menus. The participant will be expected to create a 1-week lunch menu at the end of the class which will meet the meal requirements and will determine the average cost for the week. Recommend prerequisite: 180 or 280.