California Walnuts | Essential Food for Health

Current California Walnut Foodservice Programs

We are currently working with two partners to promote the use of walnuts in foodservice – the Culinary Institute of America and school foodservice professionals.

CIA Partnership

California Walnuts is a proud sponsor of “Flavor, Quality & American Menus”, an annual invitation-only foodservice leadership retreat hosted by the University of California Davis and the Culinary Institute of America Greystone. Learn more about this unique educational opportunity for chefs and menu decisions makers from top foodservice establishments by visiting www.ciaprochef.com.

School Foodservice Programs

In September 2005 we launched a school foodservice program in the El Monte City School District in Southern California. El Monte is a Los Angeles suburb. The El Monte City School District encompasses 18 schools that serve 12,000 students in K-8.

Program Goals

Working in conjunction with the child nutrition department, our goal was to develop and test the effectiveness of a nutrition education and marketing program designed to promote walnut-containing foods in elementary school cafeterias, and to create a case study that can be shared with other school districts to promote increased use of walnuts.

Program Overview

Our project began with pre-testing. In late September 180 fourth and fifth grade students in the El Monte schools completed surveys that assessed their knowledge and attitudes towards walnuts.

On October 3, 2005, a four-week intervention began. Every Tuesday the “Fruity California Walnut Salad” was offered at lunch. Menus promoting the new menu item were sent home with all students. Posters promoting the salad were hung in all 18 cafeterias. Students who selected the salad each week received one of four collectible Cal Walnut bookmarks.

Guest Nutritionists Program

Students enjoying samples of the salad

Throughout the month fourth and fifth grade teachers had the opportunity to invite “Guest Nutritionists” into their classrooms. These trained nutrition professionals conducted nutrition education lessons on apples and walnuts, and then showed the students how to make the “Fruity California Walnut Salad.” Students also got to taste raw walnuts, and every student received an in-shell walnut, the salad recipe, and Cal Walnut activity sheets. Students were encouraged to take the materials home and share with their families.

Changes in Attitudes and Awareness

At the end of the month the same group of students who completed the surveys in late September was asked to complete a second set of surveys. Results from the surveys showed significant increases in awareness of walnuts and attitudes towards walnuts. Before the intervention 29% of respondents indicated they did not know what a walnut was. After the intervention this number dropped to 1%. The numbers of students who stated they liked walnuts increased from 57% to 84%.

Feedback from the Experts

Jill Lancaster, RD, Assistant Food Service Director states, "It's always fun to introduce new menu items to the students. The lunch program provides an opportunity for the kids to taste products they normally would not get to such as the Fruity California Walnut Salad. The success of the salad is due to the unique blend of flavors and texture of the bite size apples and crunchy walnuts."

The biggest impact of this project was the decision to permanently offer this item on the school menu. “The salad is very popular with our students,” says Wanda Grant, RD, Child Nutrition Director. “We like to conduct these types of promotions that not only promote healthy foods but also educate our students about good nutrition. We appreciate all the hard work the Walnut Marketing Board put into this program. They put together a very comprehensive program that can work in other districts.”

The program also received praise from the USDA. Steven N. Christensen, the Deputy Administrator for Special Nutrition Programs at Food and Nutrition Services stated, “It’s great to see industry partnering with our schools to promote good nutrition for our nation’s students. I commend the California walnut industry on their efforts in this area.”

Watch a movie about this program (3 minutes, 10 seconds : 20.4Mb) - opens in a new window