New IFPA School Breakfast Recipes Highlight Fruits & Vegetables

October 3, 2023

Newark, DE and Washington, DC -- As part of its mission to boost appeal and improve access to more fruits and vegetables, the International Fresh Produce Association’s Foundation for Fresh Produce is releasing 10 new fruit and vegetable-forward breakfast recipes tailored specifically for the K-12 setting and school foodservice professionals.

The recipes, which were developed in partnership with Healthy School Recipes, are designed to assist school foodservice professionals in meeting new, proposed updates to school nutrition standards by USDA for added sugar limits. The recipes feature nutritional information as well as crediting information to align with meal pattern requirements, and guidance on serving these fruit- and vegetable-forward meals in a variety of school breakfast settings, including grab-and-go and breakfast in the classroom.

“The development of these recipes will allow school foodservice professionals to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into school breakfast while aligning with the proposed school nutrition standards for added sugars, which are expected to begin in school year 2025-2026,” says Mollie Van Lieu, Vice President, Nutrition and Health, IFPA. “The recipes are versatile, feature flavors that students love, and are easy to incorporate into school breakfast menus no matter the age group.”

This project is aligned with one of the commitments for the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health to produce and disseminate resources to improve nutrition. It also builds on the legacy work of the produce industry to support nutrition advancements for the K-12 school foodservice community, such as advocating for the passage of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act and other investments to support scratch-cooking and nutrition education at school.

Additionally, the foundation helped establish the national Salad Bars to Schools initiative, hosts a K-12 School Forum programming track at IFPA’s annual Foodservice Conference, and supports networking and education opportunities for school nutrition leaders, consumer-facing culinary professionals, and industry buyers through Have A Plant® programming.

“School meals have undergone tremendous change in recent years, with many now serving a greater variety of fruit and vegetable options in our breakfast and lunch programs,” said Bertrand Weber, Director, Culinary and Nutrition Services at Minneapolis Public Schools. “Additionally, with a growing number of schools looking to incorporate more scratch-cooked meals, using whole food ingredients like fruits and vegetables, these breakfast recipes are being made available at the right time, and with their lower added-sugar, they are aligned with what our district and many others are trying to achieve for our students.”

The recipe toolkit is available FREE for download in the Educational Resources section of fruitsandveggies.org here. The Foundation will be introducing the toolkit at the upcoming Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo (FNCE) during the School Nutrition Services Dietetic Practice Group reception on Saturday, October 7.

The Foundation also encourages schools and other foodservice establishments to start incorporating these recipes into their menus in preparation for National School Breakfast week, March 4-8, 2024.

New IFPA School Breakfast Recipes Highlight Fruits & Vegetables

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