TNG | LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
Notes Notes from
Nancy Trust. In his book, The Speed of Trust, Stephen M. R. Covey describes trust in this way, “There is one thing common to every individual, relationship, team, family, organization, nation, economy and civilization throughout the world – one thing which, if removed, will destroy the most powerful business, the most thriving economy, the most influential leadership, the greatest friendship and the strongest character. On the other hand, if developed and leveraged, that one thing has the potential to create unparalleled success and prosperity in every dimension of life. That one thing is TRUST”. At The Nutrition Group we agree.
NANCY KOHL President @TNGMadPres
Trust is built into our corporate Mission and Vision. It is the driving force ensuring that our clients have the highest confidence in our reliability and commitment to delivering high quality, nutritious meals and programs every day. Our TNG employees know that every Director, Regional Manager, Vice President and I, the President, are always available to make sure that we all succeed together. I believe trust is part of what sets us apart from other companies. It’s that firm belief that we are all in this together for the good of every customer that we proudly serve, from students at all grade levels to school board members. When trust thrives in an organization you can see it at work every day creating new opportunities to grow, new ideas to share, and new ways to serve our customers without hesitation because trust thrives here.
Annually, we set a company-wide theme for the year and encourage our employees to read the book from which that theme originated. This year, we focus on trust.
Throughout this publication you will see what an organization fueled by trust can do to bring wholesome, innovative meals that excite and provide outstanding service to your cafeteria.
The Nutrition Group | 580 Wendel Road, Suite 100, Irwin, PA 15642 | www.thenutritiongroup.biz | 1.888.272.8106
Winter 2020
Contents
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CULINARY EXPERTISE Transforming what’s on your tray. Meet the people who make fresh and innovative meals possible!
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HOLIDAY CELEBRATIONS Making sure bellies are filled and hearts are full, we make the most of every holiday!
MOBILE ORDERING Introducing convenient menu options for staff and faculty on the go.
THIS & THAT From new menu offerings to making #MomentsMatter, we do it all!
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TNG GETS SOCIAL Highlighting daily happenings and fun experiences in our schools.
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ENLIGHTENED WITH EXPERIENCE HOLIDAY SPIRIT Caring for our communities through acts of holiday kindness.
Forward-thinking to fill positions and give the chance to gain experience.
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TNG BY THE NUMBERS Our company at a glance. THENUTRITIONGROUP.BIZ
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TNG | CHEFS
expertise While you might think that the role of our Chefs is primarily to provide catered foods for special occasions, their involvement in school food service is more vital and far-reaching. Their culinary expertise, coupled with their kitchen savvy, has been a key element in our initiative to offer trendy, wholesome meals. Their collaborative work with our purchasing team and dietitians has delivered innovative concepts like Food Fusion and Wellness Wednesday with endless new recipes and taste combinations for students to explore. Our team of culinary experts and chefs, led by Myra Fink and Guy Quang, are always on the go! They spend time in schools working closely with cafeteria staff, helping to refine and streamline cooking processes and kitchen procedures. Hands-on training presented by our team of chefs includes food-preparation techniques, safe food handling, and service-line merchandising strategies. Come visit a cafeteria near you for some delicious chef-inspired creations and stay tuned for more exciting culinary delights coming soon! 2
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get to know our
CORPORATE CHEFS
As The Nutrition Group’s Corporate Chef, Myra is an innovator that is setting new progressive food trends for school food service every day. To Myra it is so much more than lunch. She is passionate in her quest to bring her school guests the best in nutrition, flavor and presentation. Her experience, knowledge and advanced techniques make all that possible while still ensuring she is controlling costs and meeting all National School Lunch Program guidelines.
2011
Chef Guy possesses a genuine taste for cooking with focus on product and recipe development. With 18 years of experience as a Chef in the Philadelphia and New Jersey food scenes, Guy is bringing trendy, fresh and global favorites to school cafeterias. His hunger to learn new flavors and techniques of cooking comes from his love of traveling and eating various cuisines. Cooking is an amazing journey. Bon Appétit!
2016
SCUBA DIVING
TRAVELING
DID YOU Our chefs are breaking barriers and rethinking how food can be presented. Our newest program, Food Fusion, takes inspiration from pop-up concepts combining street food and food truck styles right in your cafeteria. This program introduces creative dishes like Spaghetti Bolognese Grilled Cheese, Baja Fish Tacos, and so much more!
KNOW? Besides our Corporate Chefs, we have a team of chefs across our accounts that help with recipes, visualizing new concepts, and assist in training. (left to right) Trevor Mauk, Guy Quang, Myra Fink, Scott Hudak, Jason Piel
coming soon!
Our chef-created Bowl Program coming soon Fall 2020!
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TNG | HOLIDAY CELEBRATIONS
W
hat better way to begin the holidays than with a delightful Thanksgiving Feast? Many of our districts feature a carving station with delicious turkey with all the trimmings! The busy preparations of the staff and a mouth-watering aroma fills the halls of the schools, setting the tone for an exciting atmosphere. To the delight of the students, guest carvers make an already fun event that much more special. Thanks to the following districts for sharing the fun!
Jersey Shore
Okaloosa
Jeannette
Jim Thorpe
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Wyalusing
OUR FARM TO FORK PROGRAM ENDS WITH A BOUNTIFUL
HARVEST FEAST!
Huntingdon
Mount Carmel
Weatherly Area
Carroll County
Rochester Area
New Kensington-Arnold
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Lordstown
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Beaver Falls
Campbell City
Sayre
North Schuylkill
Bellwood-Antis
Moshannon
NATIONAL COOKIE DAY
CELEBRATED WITH DELICIOUS COOKIES THROUGH OUR SCHOOLS! 6
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C
hristmas countdowns, seasonal silliness and holiday hijinks are the themes students enjoy throughout the schools we serve in the month of December. From Santa and Mrs. Claus visits, to Elf on the Shelf promotions and ugly sweater competitions, there’s endless fun at breakfast and lunch! And of course we can’t forget to mention the delicious feasts with baked ham, roasted turkey and all the wonderful trimmings!
Hendersonville
Kiski Area
Canon McMillan
Sharon
Penn Hills
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Lackawanna Trail
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TNG | MOBILE ORDERING
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TNG | HOLIDAY SPIRIT
Regional Manager Kelly Patterson and Food Service Directors Ashley DeBerry (Penn Hills), Kayla Solomon (New KensingtonArnold) and Allison Brasile (Kiski Area), along with their families, volunteer with the Toys for Tots organization.
Caring for Our Communities As a company we take great pride in the towns where we work and live. We are honored to partner with you to volunteer our time and talents to enrich others’ lives and strengthen our communities by participating in programs such as Make-A-Wish Foundation, Toys for Tots, local animal shelters, regional and community food banks and other initiatives. We are committed to fostering the well-being of all of our children as we strive to make a positive impact. We feel this can be accomplished by leading by example as we share our kindness, our giving and our commitment to the communities we serve.
In place of exchanging gifts, our Ohio & Michigan Food Service Directors purchase gifts to donate to Toys for Tots at their annual holiday party.
+ During December, Cardinal Local School cafeterias collected contributions for their local animal shelter. Students who donated items were entered into a drawing to win a January pizza party. What great “Huskie Pride” was shown to help in our community!
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sharing fun finds across our schools!
PIZZA pizzazz Did you know? Unlike others, our pizza is made inhouse daily! We're not just classic cheese pizza either. Although you can expect a traditional pepperoni and cheese pizza on our soft and hand-tossed crust, our staff comes up with creative pizza recipes — from buffalo chicken pizza to taco pizza, we cater to every taste bud! Check out Midland Borough’s creative take on BBQ Chicken Pizza!
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ST
shining
RS
TNG | THIS AND THAT
The Carbondale School District recently decided to become a CEP school district. Regional Manager Melissa Hatala and her staff made it their mission to make this program successful and to be a positive influence on this district during this time. From menu planning, rearranging cafeterias, promotion and marketing of programs with students, parents and faculty, they covered all avenues to make sure this program was a success. Their actions increased participation in both breakfast and lunch. They’re truly the stars of Carbondale School District!
yum
! + +
welcoming
your BOARD
MEMBERS
E K O P G P RESENTI N
Starting off the new year, TNG set a goal to provide our clients with a clear understanding of our involvement in their programs. Our first initiative was focusing on the new and returning school board members. Each board member was presented with a packet full of information on how we make the nutrition portion of their job easy and various ways that we work with their district.
Students and administration members at Lower Moreland High School and Huntingdon Valley had a chance to taste poke bowls, the new and trendy dish from TNG! Filled with fresh diced mango, edamame, cucumber, chickpeas and cabbage slaw, this dish provides a fresh and innovative way to enjoy lunch! Poke bowls are offered with chicken, tofu or veggies and finished with fancy dressings like cucumber wasabi, sriracha ranch or sesame soy sauce. The rollout of this new menu item was such a hit that one administration member came back to purchase 3 more for dinner!
ABOVE & BEYOND
Henry at Liberty-Benton had been asking his mom for weeks to buy school lunch. Henry has Celiac Disease which made his mom hesitant about purchasing a school-made lunch. His mom approached Food Service Director Dustin Klopping about buying milk or an Ă la carte item, explaining their situation. Dustin designed an entire gluten free menu and safety procedure, enabling Henry to buy school lunch regularly. Great job Liberty-Benton staff for going above and beyond for our customers!
inspiring
KINDNESS World Kindness Day was celebrated on November 13. This year, we challenged our employees to do at least one good deed for someone else. Writing inspiring and positive messages on bananas and serving up fun, emoji smiley potatoes truly lightened up our students’ day. These small acts prove a little kindness goes a long way!
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SOCIAL MEDIA | #WEARETNG
We are excited to share all of the great happenings in our school cafeterias! Sneak a peek here and view various events, delectable foods, and fun memories that we create for students! Each district has its very own social media accounts on either Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Want to see more? Follow The Nutrition Group on social media for the latest events in your schools. Search @TNG_Corporate.
@CorrySD
CORRY
BLUE MOUNTAIN
“Pancake Station today at CAIS! #TNGFeedsKids #WeAreTNG”
“Long lines full of happy kiddos! #TNGFeedsKids #MomentsMatter”
@TNG_JimThorpe
JIM THORPE
“Lettuce feed you! Check out our fresh salads made daily at the high school. #TNGFeedsKids”
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@TBlueMountain
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@TNG_NewBrighton
NEW BRIGHTON “Kindness is sharing a parfait with a friend, especially when you make them together!”
@CafeLordstown
LORDSTOWN “Celebrating #WorldKindnessDay at lunch at @LordstownElem!”
@Canton_TNG
CANTON
“Today we served up delicious cookies & hot cocoa for kindergartners and their grandparents! #MomentsMatter”
@TMoshannon
@TNG_BeaverFalls
MOSHANNON
“Today was an exceptionally great day at work. A big thank you to my Ladies and Administrators for making this all possible! Another GREAT Santa Breakfast in the books!”
BEAVER FALLS
“Beaver Falls High School enjoyed a little Food Fusion today. Mandarin Chicken Fried Rice in a Waffle Cone!”
@IroquoisTNG
IROQUOIS
“Getting in the creative spirit to share some treats for the Administrative Staff. Happy Holidays to everyone from the TNG Staff at Iroquois School District!”
@TNGNilesDragons_
NILES
“Grinch Day at Niles Primary School! Thank you to everyone who made today possible. #TNGFeedsKids #MomentsMatter”
@TLowerMoreland
LOWER MORELAND “Happy Thanksgiving from Lower Moreland! #TNGFeedsKids”
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SOCIAL MEDIA | #WEARETNG
@ZrimsekSara
@TeamCassidy1
MIDLAND BOROUGH “TNG was honored to feed the Veterans, Police and First Responders at Midland Borough School District. #WeAreTNG”
CHARTIERS VALLEY
MCKEESPORT
“Serving a Zesty Steak Salad in a Tortilla Bowl at Chartiers Valley HS. #TNGFeedsKids”
“Food Fusion!! Featuring our Cheesy Piglet Sandwich today at the middle school!”
@tng_chefguy @TNG_Aliquippa
@TNGKiski
ALIQUIPPA
KISKI AREA “Our YAC at the Upper Elementary had a great time today making pizza and talking about their favorite menu items! #MomentsMater #TNGFeedsKids”
@TNG_PennCambria
PENN-CAMBRIA
“We celebrated World Kindness Day at all of our schools today. The elementary schools even had smiley potatoes to brighten their day! #MomentsMatter #TNGFoodFun”
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@TNG_McKeesport
@GuyQuang
ROSE TREE MEDIA
“Omelette station, pastries, French toast, breakfast potatoes, and bacon at Rose Tree Media SD Administration Brunch! #CateringTNG”
“JSHS Lunch! Pizza is always a tasty choice.”
@TNG_Montgomery
MONTGOMERY COUNTY “A very proud student at Harding Avenue Elementary brings his grandpa in for a Veterans Day Lunch! Thank you for your service, sir!”
@TNG_MaplewoodLocal
MAPLEWOOD LOCAL “Lots of choices today at Maplewood High School! Our current favorite, Protein Packs! #TNGFeedsKids”
@Susan_Veitchers
@TNG_CarrollCo
NEW KENSINGTON-ARNOLD “One of my FAVORITE nights of the year! Community Holiday Dinner served with love by the TNG team!”
CARROLL COUNTY “We do birthday parties, y’all! Simply place your order with us and the rest is taken care of! #WeAreTNG #MomentsMatter”
See more daily happenings! Simply take a photo of this code with your phone to view our corporate social media accounts! @TNGYellow
YELLOW SPRINGS
“NEW ITEM! Come get a delicious chicken alfredo meatball hoagie. It’s savory chicken meatballs baked in a creamy alfredo sauce topped with mozzarella cheese. Yummy!”
@TheBurg_Cafe
WHEELERSBURG “Wellness Wednesday Broccoli Salad sampled by elementary students at Wheelersburg!”
@TNG_Corporate
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TNG | STUDENT WORKERS
ENLIGHTENED
with experience
Providing Opportunities For Student Workers
Hanna (middle) is involved in the Yough Works Program. She enjoys making pizzas and joking with the ladies!
Tyler (left) and Michael (right) work with Food Service Director Jason Piel at AIU. Jason says they are amazing workers and he would “hire them both in a heartbeat”.
In the waking hours of a new school day, Yough School District’s High School cafeteria is buzzing with activity preparing for their daily lunch crowd. They make homemade pizzas that will fly off the line and fill drink coolers in anticipation of the lunch rush. The cafeteria at Yough is supported by workers that are gaining more than a paycheck. TNG hires special needs students to participate in an ever-growing and innovative partnership between TNG and their districts to help students gain work experience and life-skills. K12 food service doesn’t allow for the longer hours and shifts that traditional food service workers prefer. Several districts rely on substitute workers to fill the gaps, but also find it challenging to fill those spots. TNG’s forward-thinking approach to filling empty positions is focused on student workers. Along with special needs students, traditional students want to participate in workstudy programs, but many are unable to
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do so due to transportation needs. TNG offers flexibility to students with shifts that are short and tasks that are easy and achievable. Through the partnership, these schools work with the students to find job opportunities in the cafeteria that fit into their schedule. It’s a win-win — the students learn important life skills, job skills, and enjoy receiving payment for their effort while helping to fill voids in the K12 workforce. Yough School District and TNG focus on offering students with special needs a chance to build useable life skills to prepare them to enter the workforce after graduation if that is their goal, while others may use the opportunity to build their social skills through on-the-job interaction outside of the classroom. Food Service Director Brenda Wineland stated that the interaction builds positive relationships with the full-time staff too. “The students get to be around adults and socially interact with our employees”. She continued to say, “The other day the girls
were going to a Valentine’s Day dance and the ladies were showing them dance moves. They couldn’t wait to hear how the dance went when they came in the next day.” Andy Bergman, Regional Manager, shares this story of success from TNG’s Yough Works Program. “We hired our first student and we are about one month into her working in various schools throughout the district and she is doing a wonderful job. I got an email from a district representative who works closely with this student and they wanted us to know the huge impact us hiring this student had on the student’s academic and personal life. The representative stated that this student’s grades and attendance have done a total 360 since starting the new job. They stated they can now see a selfconfidence and motivational purpose in this student that was not there previously. I learned opportunities like this for these students mean so much more than we will ever realize!”
TNG by the NUMBERS
The Nutrition Group, a K12 food service management company, offers food, programs and services that are Fresh, Nutritious and Innovative. Our passionate people, culinary expertise and fiscal responsibility set us apart!
OUR COMPANY AT A GLANCE
our
3
DIVISIONS
MISSION To satisfy customers and form fulfilled, trusting relationships one meal and facility at a time.
SCHOOLS, COMMISSARY & FMS
6 STATES and
over
240
SCHOOL DISTRICTS
EST.
1975
PA
VA
OH
EMPLOYEES FL
NJ
MI
WE SERVE
MEALS
our
VALUES
PER DAY
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YOUR SUCCESS!
HIGH ETHICAL STANDARDS PLACE THE CUSTOMER FIRST ENRICH OTHERS ENCOURAGE TEAMWORK FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE
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HEADQUARTERS
IRWIN, PA
@TNG_Corporate www.TheNutritionGroup.biz THENUTRITIONGROUP.BIZ
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OFFERING SALADS, SUBS, WRAPs, PARFAITS, DRINKs and more!
