Challenge

Develop new market opportunities for Washington red raspberries in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).

Solution

Develop relevant content and educate school foodservice professionals and decision makers, including:

  • K-12 School Foodservice Toolkit: Working with K-12 school foodservice chefs, created foodservice recipes, menu inspiration, nutrition information, flavor pairings, year-round ideas, a Washington red raspberry format guide and USDA food buying guide to assist school foodservice directors in utilizing frozen red raspberries.
  • Healthy School Recipes Partnership: Launched two virtual culinary trainings (Core…and More! Minimize Ingredients and Maximize the Menu and Flavor Burst for School Food), to educate school foodservice professionals and offer CEUs from the School Nutrition Association.
  • School Foodservice Harvest Tour: Brought school foodservice directors to Lynden, Washington for a raspberry harvest tour and raspberry format education and tasting experience.
  • Washington School Nutrition Association Conference: Educate and engage Washington-based school foodservice professionals and decision makers at annual conference.
  • Washington Department of Agriculture Farm to School Training Materials: Developed training and education materials, which were utilized during virtual and in-person training sessions and at conferences and trade shows.

Results

  • Introduced K-12 school foodservice to an otherwise unknown U.S. commodity.
  • Educated school foodservice decision makers on raspberry formats and innovative techniques for ingredient usage in school foodservice.
  • Established critical relationships between Washington red raspberry growers/processors and the Washington State Department of Agriculture, Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and Washington growers.