The USDA has reported that schools in the United States serve 7 billion meals per year. With this is mind, the Blueberry Council acted on the opportunity to increase consumption by inviting 16 school foodservice professionals to the Culinary Institute of America in Napa for its first-ever School Boot Camp.

The three-day retreat helped attendees navigate USDA regulations, discover ways to use blueberries in both sweet and savory dishes, and understand how to please picky eaters. And what better way to know if the recipes developed during the sessions were kid-approved than to have them rated by a panel of kid judges? On the final day of the program, seven kid judges visited the CIA to judge dishes from eight teams. Although they didn’t turn their noses up at any of the dishes, the kids did have a favorite: the French toast sandwich filled with blueberries, ham and cheese – known as “The Blueberry Sensational Slider!”

With increased emphasis on healthful options and a lot of little mouths to feed each day, we hope school foodservice professionals will think of the easy-to-use, versatile and delicious blueberry for future menu development! Watch the video recap to learn more.

10/15/2015

Source: ridethebluewave.com