Natalie Ranelli

Diet 4470
February 27th, 2020

In-Service Education Project

Meal Production Record Refresher for Ellington Public Schools

Program Rationale:
The In-Service Education project was completed on February 23rd, 2021, at Ellington High
School in Ellington, Connecticut. When discussing with the Food Service Director of Ellington
Public Schools, she noted how some of the schools, specifically the high school food service
workers, have had difficulty keeping accurate production logs. A refresher would be helpful in
testing the knowledge of food service workers, to help them understand why production logs are
so important and to teach them how to use them correctly going forward. Part of this issue is
because production logs are so busy, and full of lists of food that they aren’t actually serving. So,
before the lesson, I had to edit all the logs using the DineCentral program to remove the items that
are not relevant and to clean them up so they are simpler to complete.
Production logs are a very important component in accurate record keeping and is
important for reimbursement of school meals. The main purpose is to plan and control food
production. It provides a place for the manager to plan the amount of food that will be prepared
and then record what was served. Because Child Nutrition Programs receive reimbursement for
breakfast, lunches, and snacks that conform to the meal pattern, there must be documentation sent
to the state and federal government about the food and the amounts that was served. The Menu
Production Record becomes this documentation, it can also be used by the state agency during a
review to determine compliance with nutrition standards so it extremely important that it is filled
out completely and accurately every day. Besides this, it is also a food planning and forecasting
tool which can be used to have a successful food service operation. It provides a written history of
everything that was served which can be used to evaluate and understand customer preferences
thus improving menu planning. A production log refresher was created to serve as an education
tool to refresh the basics of filling out production logs and highlighting their importance and role
they play.

Identification of Audience:
The target population for this lesson is food service workers who are primarily middle age and
older females. This presentation was done to three of the main food service employees. The
presentation will contain some technical terms pertaining to production records that food service
employees know but will be kept simple enough with terms understood by this population. The
staff has had prior training on food production logs, so this lesson will serve as a review, reinforce
and test their exiting knowledge while teaching staff how to fill out a production log correctly.
One area that most of the food service workers were not aware of is why production logs are so
important and that was the main purpose of the presentation besides practicing the proper way to
fill them out.
Goals:
1. Provide a brief, yet informative lesson on meal production records/logs.
2. Have Ellington High School food service workers practice filling out a production log.
3. An improvement from Pre-Post Score (at least 4/5 questions correct)
Measurable, learner-centered objectives:
1. By the end of the 30 minute lesson, all staff will be able to understand the importance of
production logs as measured by all staff getting at least 4/5 questions correct on the post test.
2. By the end to the 30 minute lesson, all staff will be able to correctly fill out a production log as
evidenced by accurately answering all components of the worksheet.

Overview of Content:
The content of this lesson includes describing what a meal production record is, why it is important,
how they are used, when they are used and how to accurately fill one out with practice examples
and worksheets.

Evaluation Tool for Learner:

This lesson will be evaluated with a verbal pre/posttest. A verbal method was used instead of a
paper test because this sparks conversation and discussion and can quickly identify areas where
the staff needs education. The Food Service Director and I both thought that a paper pre/posttest
would take too much of the staff’s time and because this is something the staff should already
know how to and the fact that they are “failing” to fill out the production logs correctly a written
test could add more stress and create a negative atmosphere. It will also be evaluated with an
interactive worksheet that mimics an actual production record in order to reinforce the verbal
instructions and to let the staff practice and see a guided example of what is expected of them. The
practice is a more effective way to test their learning.

Means of Implementation:
This lesson was conducted at 1:30-2:00pm (and was roughly 30 minutes. The lesson had to be as
efficient and quick as possible while still being effective because it was included in the labor hours
for that week. The Production Log Refresher was presented in PowerPoint format in a conference
room on a projector with a worksheet and handout as supplemental resources. Prior to the lesson,
a short verbal pretest was completed, about 5 minutes was allowed to assess the participants current
knowledge. The PowerPoint presentation and practice worksheet lasted about 20 minutes. After
the presentation, a post verbal test was completed to conclude the lesson and compared to
responses in the pretest. Any questions and comments were addressed and discussed at the end
and during the lesson.

Visual Aids/Hand-Outs:
*see attached
A PowerPoint presentation served a visual aid for the lesson. A handout was supplied to summarize
the main points of a production record with highlights similar to slide 7. And a worksheet with a
complete a day’s worth of production logs for all sections was used as an interactive teaching tool.

Cost Analysis:
The cost to complete this project was free. The only costs associated with the refresher was printing
of the handouts and worksheets which printing is free in the Food Service Director’s office. This
lesson took 30 minutes during labor hours, meaning the employees were paid while listening to
the lesson. This is important because it increases incentive to participate in programs like this as it
doesn’t take away time from the employee’s job or pay and makes it easy for them to attend.
Evaluation of Program:
Learner Evaluation: Employees were hesitant at first and found the in-service slightly
overwhelming. After reviewing the material and practicing using the example worksheet there
were able to understand and saw and increase score from pre and post verbal tests. Not recording
fruits and vegetables produced and served for the meal period was the main area of concern which
is why staff had confusion on question #3, asking if all items needed to be recorded. On the verbal
pretest they answered this correction incorrectly. The objectives were met as shown in the practice
worksheet as well. The goals out lined above were also achieved as the staff said and showed that
they understood the importance of production logs and how to fill them out. The staff now know
the important of production logs and how to complete them correctly, only time will tell to see if
the lesson was effective in the long term or not.

Self-Evaluation: This lesson would have been more impactful if there was a larger audience and
the impact could have been more widespread however, the high school was identified as the staff
who needed the most encouragement and refresher. My preceptor, the Food Service Director, had
to attend the meeting virtually. The meeting took place in a conference room with a projector and
technology I was not used to. So, because of these factors it stretched my ability to think on my
feet and be able to handle the stress of having inevitable technology difficulties and then give a
presentation. Making and practicing the presentation ahead of time and being fully comfortable
with the material I was presenting helped me feel more confident. Going forward I would like
work of slowing my pace, pausing and directly addressing the audience more. Presenting is not by
best skill overall, however doing smaller presentations like this has increased my confidence and
provided me good practice.

Professional Evaluation: Lindsay Steller observed the entire lesson. She complemented the
presentation and said she would love to use it for future in service, so I was happy I could create
that resource for her. Because she attended virtually, it was hard to get her immediate feedback,
but when we discussed it later, she was pleased with how it went and thought I did a good job
conveying information to the frontline staff who really needed it. And how important this topic is
to communicate in a larger presentation, instead of just passing conversations because there is so
many details. The food service workers also said that despite the technology hiccups that it went
well and they were happy that it was helpful and that it was finally being addressed.

Suggested future plan based on overall effectiveness of this program:

The program was a free, useful tool that served a gentle reminder of production logs, their
importance and how to accuracy fill them out. It may be beneficial if this program is done for all
food service worked during their paid time so all the staff has a cohesive idea of what is expected
of them. This PowerPoint and worksheet practice can also be used again whenever certain staff
needs a refresher on production logs. Having courses like this periodically helps the entire
department because there is less nagging and back and forth between the food service directors
and staff. Monitoring staff compliance to production records will be helpful going forward to see
if the lesson was actually effective in the long term or if further reinforcement is needed.
Bibliography

Daily Meal Production Records. Public Schools of North Carolina: State Board of Education.

https://childnutrition.ncpublicschools.gov/information-resources/menu-planning-

production/daily_mealprod_records

Food Production Records Whiston’s E Learning.

https://www.sistemlms.com/whitsons/user/activities/3966/320431/

Hiltwine, K., & Edmondson, J. Production Records in School Meals. School Nutrition Toolbox.

https://www.schoolnutritiontoolbox.org/snt-v3/files/Production-Records-Final-

092115.pdf

Menu Production Records. (n.d.). Michigan Department of Education.

https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/Menu_Production_Records_252696_7.pdf

Production Records for School Nutrition Programs.. CT.gov.

https://portal.ct.gov/SDE/Nutrition/Production-Records-for-School-Nutrition-Programs
Presentation Slides:
Daily Production Record Handout and Worksheet:
(These were printed full size)
 UCONN In-Service
Pre- Test for Menu Production Records Refresher

Name: Date:

Question 1:T/F: Do you feel comfortable and knowledgeable filling out Menu Production
Records daily?
TRUE/FALSE: _________

Question 2: What are the necessary components of a Menu Production Record?

a. Menu Item
b. Time/Temperature
c. Quantity of servings produced
d. Quantity of leftovers
e. All of the Above

Question 3: T/F: ALL menu items must be recorded in the Menu Production Record?
TRUE/FALSE: _________

Question 4: What is the purpose of Menu Production Records?

a. To document the amount of food that is actually produced, served, and leftover in order to
document meal patterns, reimbursable meals, and track customer preferences.
b. To make unnecessary work for staff
c. To be used as a communication tool and show participation
d. Both A and C

Question 5: When are production records used and when should they be filled out?
a. Weekly, three times a week
b. Weekly, Bi weekly
c. Daily, during the shift
d. Daily, all at once
 UCONN In-Service
Post- Test for Menu Production Records Refresher

Name: Date:

Question 1:T/F: Do you now feel more comfortable and knowledgeable filling out Menu
Production Records daily?
TRUE/FALSE: _________

Question 2: What are the necessary components of a Menu Production Record?

a. Menu Item
b. Time/Temperature
c. Quantity of servings produced
d. Quantity of leftovers
e. All of the Above

Question 3: T/F: ALL menu items must be recorded in the Menu Production Record?
TRUE/FALSE: _________

Question 4: What is the purpose of Menu Production Records?

a. To document the amount of food that is actually produced, served, and leftover in order to
document meal patterns, reimbursable meals, and track customer preferences.
b. To make unnecessary work for staff
c. To be used as a communication tool and show participation
d. Both A and C

Question 5: When are production records used and when should they be filled out?
a. Weekly, three times a week
b. Weekly, Bi weekly
c. Daily, during the shift
d. Daily, at the end of the shift