NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT NECESSARY. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.

Introduction

The Recipes for Healthy Kids Competition (the “Challenge”), is an initiative of Let’s Move! with the support of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”). The Challenge will bring together food service staff, chefs, students, and community members to develop creative, nutritious, tasty and kid-approved recipes that schools can easily incorporate into National School Lunch menus. Ultimately, this will help to increase the student’s intake of: 1) whole grains; 2) dark green and orange vegetables; and 3) dry beans and peas. The Challenge will provide an opportunity for Chefs, School Nutrition Professionals. Student(s) grades 4 –12, other community members (e.g., parents) to form a recipe challenge team. This team approach will help to bring about relationships that will ideally persist into other areas of the school menu and result in best practices on how chefs and schools can work together.

Summary* of How to Enter and Judging Criteria

Each Recipe must be entered in only one of three categories: 1) Whole Grains; 2) Dark Green / Orange Vegetables; 3) Dry Beans and Peas. See category requirements . Submissions must also meet additional requirements .

Recipes will initially be judged on the following five criteria: 1) Student Involvement; 2) Nutrition; 3) Creativity & Originality; 4) Ease of Use in Schools, and 5) Recipe Presentation.

*Review the sections below for a more detailed description and important requirements and restrictions.

1. Eligibility

The Challenge is open only to teams (a “Recipe Challenge Team”) from schools that are enrolled in the USDA National School Lunch Program (“NSLP”) at the time of entry (a “School”; jointly the School and Recipe Challenge Team will be referred to as “Contestant”). The Challenge is subject to all applicable federal laws and regulations. Participation constitutes Contestant’s full and unconditional agreement to these Official Rules and Sponsor and Administrator’s decisions, which are final and binding in all matters related to the Challenge. Eligibility for a prize award is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein.

2. Sponsor and Administrator

Sponsor: U.S. Department of Agriculture Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services, 3101 Park Center Drive, Alexandria, VA, 22302. Administrator: ChallengePost, Inc., 425 W. 13th Street, Suite #504, New York, NY 10014.

The Challenge Sponsor makes all decisions related to the development, management, and implementation of the Challenge. The role of the Administrator is to carry out the Challenge per the direction of the Sponsor.

3. Challenge Submission Period

The Challenge Submission Period begins on September 7, 2010, at 2:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time (“EDT”) and ends on December 30, 2010, at 5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (“EST”) (the “Challenge Submission Period”). Administrator’s computer, set to Eastern Time, is the official time-keeping device for this Challenge.

4. How to Enter and Submission Requirements

A. How to Register:

During the Challenge Submission Period visit www.RecipesForKidsChallenge.com to register. Registration is free. To register the School must establish a Recipe Challenge Team that has the following four (4) individuals as members: 1) a Chef; 2) a School Nutrition Professional (“SNP”); 3) at least one Student; and 4) a community member (e.g. a parent). Only the Chef, SNP, or community member is permitted to do the online registration. By registering, the individual is representing and warranting that he or she has permission from the School as well as the other members of the Recipe Challenge Team, including the consent of the Student member’s parent or legal guardian, to make the submission. After the Recipe Challenge Team registers either the Chef, SNP, or community member must verify an email address via the registration email sent to the email entered in the online registration form. Registered Recipe Challenge Teams will then be able to enter.

B. Requirements for the Recipe Challenge Team Members:

Eligibly requirements for each member of the Recipe Challenge Team are stated below.

1. Chef: A Chef is an individual who cooks food professionally and is employed outside the School that is participating in the Challenge. Chefs may participate on the team in person or off-site via electronic means. Each Recipe Challenge Team may only have one Chef. A Chef may be a part of more than one Recipe Challenge Team.
2. School Nutrition Professional: A SNP is an individual who is employed in the school food service, for example an employee of the school district or food service management company. The SNP could be a food service director, manager, cook*, or other school food service employee. The SNP must work in a local School Food Authority that participates in the NSLP. Each Recipe Challenge Team can only have one SNP. A SNP may be a part of more than one Recipe Challenge Team.
   • *Note: The Chef may not be the School cook. If the SNP member of the Recipe Challenge Team is the School cook, there must still be a separate Chef member of the team even though the School cook qualifies as someone who cooks food professionally.
3. Student: A Student is a child that is enrolled at the School between 4th and 12th grade at the time of entry. Each Recipe Challenge Team may have up to five Student members but each student must be between 4th and 12th grade at the time of entry. A Student may be a part of more than one Recipe Challenge Team. For each Student member of a Recipe Competition Team, the School is responsible for procuring the appropriate permission from the Student's parent or legal guardian for the Student's participation in the Competition, inclusive of the possible use of the Student's likeness and image in the event the Recipe Competition Team's submission is chosen as one of the thirty (30) recipes to be published in the Competition cookbook.
4. Community Member (e.g., parent): The Community Member is a member of the School’s local community with an interest in the recipe challenge. Examples of community members could include a parent, teacher, principal, coach, mayor, grandparent, local youth leader, nutritionist/dietitian, school nurse, cooperative extension agent, or other interested community member. Each Recipe Challenge Team must have at least one Community Member, and may have up to two Community Member as part of the Recipe Challenge Team.

Employees of the USDA, ChallengePost, Inc., and the judges (collectively the “Promotion Entities”) or any of the Promotion Entities’ respective affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising agencies, or any other company or individual involved with the design, production, execution, or distribution of the Challenge and their immediate family (spouse, parents and step-parents, siblings and step-siblings, and children and step-children) and household members (people who share the same residence at least three (3) months out of the year) of each Promotion Entity employee are not eligible to be part of a Recipe Challenge Team.

C. Online Submission Requirements:

Each Recipe Challenge Team will be required to provide the following as part of the submission:

1. A letter on School letterhead that attests to the fact the Recipe has been prepared and the food was served to a majority of the student body who eat in the cafeteria, and at least 30 students who are enrolled in the school have participated in an evaluative tasting of the food. If the School has less than 30 students, then the entirety of the School’s student population, minus any students who cannot participate due to allergies or dietary restrictions, will be required to participate in the evaluative tasting of the food.
2. A description of the evaluative tasting, including quotes from at least two students who participated.
3. A statement certifying that the Recipe is the Recipe Challenge Team’s original creation and has not been published or publicized and has not won a cooking contest.
4. A statement certifying that the appropriate permission has been received from the parent or legal guardian of each Student participating as part of the Recipe Competition Team.
5. One (1) digital photo of the food that was prepared with the Recipe. The photo must be a good quality digital picture (not less than 300 DPI).
6. A Nutrient Analysis of the Recipe, including calories, sodium, total fat, saturated fat, and sugar. See section 4(F)(3) below for additional requirements . Nutritional Analysis of Recipes selected for Semi-Finalist status will be verified for accuracy by USDA prior to announcement of the Semi-Finalists. If, in the sole discretion of the Sponsor, the Nutritional Analysis submitted with the Recipe is not found to be accurate the Recipe will not be eligible for further prize consideration.
7. A Recipe that meets the requirements stated below in sections 3D, 3E and 3F.

D. Three Recipe Categories

Each Recipe must be entered in only one of three categories:

1. Whole Grains,
2. Dark Green / Orange Vegetables, or
3. Dry Beans and Peas.

A Recipe Challenge Team may enter a Recipe in more than one of the categories, but may only enter one (1) Recipe in each category.

E. Recipe Category Requirements:

All Recipes must meet the requirements below for the category in which the Recipe is being submitted.

Whole Grains

• Recipe servings must provide at least one (1) Grains/Breads serving as defined in the USDA Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs. See http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/resources/foodbuyingguide.html
• Recipe must contain a whole grain(s) as the primary grain ingredient by weight. The total weight of the whole grain ingredients must be greater than the total weight of refined grains (non-whole grains). For a list of common whole grains, go to http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/healthierus/wholegrainresource.pdf .

Dark Green / Orange Vegetables

Recipes must include at least ¼ cup of one or more of the following vegetables* per serving:

• Acorn Squash
• Beet Greens
• Bok Choy
• Broccoli
• Butternut Squash
• Carrots
• Collard Greens
• Dark Green Leafy Lettuce
• Endive
• Escarole
• Hubbard Squash
• Kale
• Mesclun Lettuce
• Mustard Greens
• Pumpkin
• Romaine Lettuce
• Spinach
• Sweet Potatoes
• Swiss Chard
• Turnip Greens
• Watercress

*May be fresh, frozen or canned.

Dry Beans and Peas

Recipes must include at least ¼ cup of one or more of the following dry beans and peas* (legumes) per serving:

• Black Beans
• Black-Eyed Peas
• Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas)
• Great Northern Beans
• Kidney Beans
• Lentils
• Lima Beans
• mature Navy (Pea) Beans
• Pink Beans
• Pinto Beans
• Red Beans
• Soybeans
• mature Split Peas

*May be fresh, frozen or canned.

F. Additional Requirements for ALL Recipes:

1. Recipes must include standard U.S. weights and volume measures and include a complete list of ingredients, complete preparation directions, pan sizes, cooking times, temperature, and yield. Include food safety statements, as appropriate.
2. Recipes must be standardized to yield 6 servings and 50 servings.
3. Recipes must meet the following nutrient requirements per serving:
   • < 35% of total calories from fat;
   • < 10% of total calories from saturated fat;
   • < 35% of calories from sugar; and
   • < 480 mg sodium for side items; ≤ 600 mg sodium for entrees (main dish).
4. Recipes must include no more than fifteen (15) ingredients commonly available to school foodservice. The common availability of an ingredient will be determined by the Sponsor in its sole discretion.
5. Recipes must be replicable in a school cooking environment using conventional commercial equipment. The ability to replicate Recipes will be determined by the Sponsor in its sole discretion.
6. Recipes for dessert items are not eligible, including, but not limited to, cakes, cookies, pies, candies, ice cream, and brownies.
7. All materials must be submitted in English.

Once a Recipe is submitted, no changes or alterations to the Recipe can be made.

5. Recipe Judging

The Recipes will initially be screened to determine if they meet all the submission requirements by the Challenge Administrator. After the initial screening the Recipes will be judged by an expert judging panel determined by the Sponsor that will include internal USDA employees and volunteer professional chefs. Sponsor reserves the right to make substitutions to or to modify the judging panel at any time for any reason. Judges have the right to withdraw without advance notice in the event of extenuating circumstances beyond their control. Judges will serve as volunteers and will not be compensated for their voluntary service. Judges will be fair and impartial. A judge may elect to recuse him or herself from judging a Recipe, if in the judge’s sole discretion it is not appropriate for him or her to judge that particular Recipe because of a past or current relationship with that particular School or an individual on the Recipe Challenge Team. A Recipe will not be at a disadvantage if a judge(s) recuses him or herself.

Judging Criteria for the Top Ten (10) Recipes in Each Category and Determination of the 15 Semi-Finalists

The approximate dates for the judging are between January 1, 2011 and February 28, 2011. The judging panel will judge the Recipes on the following criteria:

The top ten (10) Contestants in each Category will have their Recipes published in a Recipes for Healthy Kids Cookbook, and will receive recognition in the cookbook for their Recipe. Since there are three (3) Categories, there will be thirty (30) total Recipes published in the cookbook. Each member of a top ten Recipe Challenge Team will be credited in the cookbook. The cookbook will be published by December 2011, and will available in print copy for ordering or downloading from the Team Nutrition website.

In the event of a tie for any top ten spot, the tie will be broken based on a vote by the judging panel at the sole discretion of the Sponsor.

From the top ten Recipes in each Category, the top five (5) will be declared Semi-Finalists. Since there are three (3) Categories there will be a total of fifteen (15) Semi-Finalists. The fifteen (15) Semi-Finalists will be announced on or about March 9, 2011.

In the event of a tie for any Semi-Finalist spot, the tie will be broken based on a vote by the judging panel at the sole discretion of the Sponsor.

Sponsor will visit the 15 Semi-Finalists to determine the Six Finalists.  The fifteen (15) Semi-Finalists will be announced on or about March 9, 2011. Between March 9, 2011 and May 31, 2011 the Sponsor, or its representatives, will visit the School to meet the Recipe Challenge Team and taste the Recipe prepared as part of the School’s lunch for that day. The judges will score each of the Semi-Finalists on the following four criteria: 1) taste/flavor profile; 2) appeal to students; 3) creativity/originality; and 4) appearance / presentation; each of the four criteria are of equal importance/value. The top two (2) Semi-Finalists in each Category will be declared Finalists. Since there are three (3) Categories there will be a total of six (6) Finalists – one First Place Finalist and one Second Place Finalist in each Category.

In the event of a tie for any Finalist spot, the tie will be broken based on a vote by the judging panel at the sole discretion of the Sponsor.

Each of the fifteen (15) Semi-Finalist Schools will receive $1,000 to reimburse the School to cover the cost of the recipe judging event. These monies will be deposited in the School’s nonprofit foodservice account and may only be used for allowable expenses under the account.

The top Finalist in each category (3 Finalists) will compete in a National Cook-Off. The three First Place Finalists Recipe Challenge Teams will be required to travel to a national cook-off at the 2011 American Culinary Federation National Convention. The three First Place Finalists will compete in the national cook-off to determine the Grand Prize winner. The Recipe Challenge Team members will be reimbursed for the travel expenses of up to five team members for travel to the national cook-off in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulation (41 C.F.R. Part 300). One of the five members whose travel expenses will be reimbursed may include a parent, legal guardian or other chaperone for the Student member of the Receipt Challenge Team. If any of the Recipe Challenge Teams members are located within the duty station area of the site chosen for the national cook-off, no travel expenses will be paid for those members.

A judging panel at the national cook-off event will judge each Recipe and will select one of the three First Place Finalists as the Grand Prize winner. The judges will score each of the Semi-Finalists on the following four criteria: 1) taste/flavor profile; 2) appeal to students; 3) creativity/originality; and 4) appearance / presentation; each of the four criteria are of equal importance/value. In the Category that the Grand Prize Winner is taken from, the Second Place Finalist will be moved into the First Place Finalist slot and the next highest rated Semi-Finalist in that Category will be moved into the Second Place Finalist slot.

In the event of a tie for the Grand Prize spot, the tie will be broken based on a vote by the judging panel at the sole discretion of the Sponsor.

6. Display for Public Voting

Starting on March 9, 2011 Recipes of the fifteen (15) Semi-Finalists will be posted at www.RecipesForKidsChallenge.com. Members of the public who are not competing on a Recipe Challenge Team and are interested in the Challenge are also encouraged to register on www.RecipesForKidsChallenge.com. Registration will be required in order to receive updates on the Challenge and vote for the Popular Choice Winners. The public voting will take place between March 9, 2011 at 8:00 AM EST and May 31, 2011 at 12:00 PM EDT. Public voting will determine the winner of the Popular Choice Award. Each registered visitor is able to vote for as many of their favorite Recipes as they want, but may only vote for each individual Recipe once during the voting period. Use of an automated process or similar device to submit an electronic vote is strictly prohibited. Any attempt to circumvent the one vote limit per Recipe or to use automated vote process will subject all votes from the person to disqualification. If a Contestant receives multiple and/or irregular votes from the same user or users, including but not limited to, votes generated by a robotic, programmed, script, macro, other automated means or other source, the Sponsor and/or Administrators reserves the right to disqualify Contestant in their sole discretion. If the voting process for the Popular Choice Award fails to operate properly or appears to be tampered with or tainted with errors, fraud or unfair practices, the Sponsor and/or Administrators in their sole discretion reserves the right to use another means to determine the winner of the Popular Choice Award, i.e. random selection or appointing a panel of judges. Contestants may not pay people or provide any other type of consideration in exchange for votes. Any Contestant who violates the ban on paying or providing consideration in exchange for votes will be disqualified. Public votes may be displayed on the Challenge website, on a real-time basis, before being verified for integrity. These unverified votes do not necessarily reflect accurately the winner of the Popular Choice Award. The winner of the Popular Choice Award will be the entrant(s) who are contacted directly by the Administrator or Sponsor after votes have been verified. Sponsor reserves the right to modify the voting period at anytime for any reason. In the event of a tie for the Popular Choice Award, the tie will be broken based on a vote by an internal panel of USDA employees at the sole discretion of the Sponsor.

7. Verification of Potential Winners

ALL POTENTIAL CHALLENGE WINNERS ARE SUBJECT TO VERIFICATION BY SPONSOR AND/OR ADMINISTRATOR WHOSE DECISIONS ARE FINAL AND BINDING IN ALL MATTERS RELATED TO THE CHALLENGE. Potential winners must continue to comply with all terms and conditions of these Official Rules, and winning is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements. The potential winners will be notified by email, telephone, or mail after the date of the judging. The potential winners will be required to sign and return to Sponsor, within Ten (10) days of the date notice is sent, an Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability/Publicity Release (except where prohibited) in order to claim its prize. If a potential winner of any prize cannot be contacted, fails to sign and return the Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability/Publicity Release within the required time period (if applicable), or if the prize or prize notification is returned as undeliverable, potential winner forfeits prize. In the event that a potential winner of a Challenge prize is disqualified for any reason, Sponsor may award the applicable prize to an alternate winner who had the highest score remaining of the eligible entries.

8. Prizes

*All monetary awards will be deposited in the School’s nonprofit foodservice account and used exclusively for allowable expenses under the account. Under no circumstance will a prize level be removed or reduced.

In addition, Schools that win a monetary prize will also receive a recognition plaque signed by the Secretary of Agriculture.

9. Submission Rights

All Contestants must agree to assign the copyright and all other property rights in and to the entry materials to the USDA. The entry materials will not be returned to you. All Contestants grant to the USDA an unlimited, worldwide, irrevocable, and perpetual and royalty free license to use the entry materials in any way it sees fit, without separate compensation to the School or the Recipe Challenge Team or any other person or entity. The Contestant grants to the USDA the right to use your entry materials in any way it chooses, in connection with the publicity, advertising, promotion and exhibition of the NSLP. If your Recipe wins any prize the Contestant agrees to the following: (1) you grant to the USDA the irrevocable right to use your entry materials in any way the USDA sees fit which may include, but not be limited to, your Recipe, photograph(s), acts, pictures, poses and statements throughout the world and in perpetuity, in all mediums, including print and electronic media (including, without limitation, the Internet or any other online medium) and via any other means of distribution, publication or exhibition, whether now known or hereinafter created, as part of any USDA publication without separate compensation to you or any other person or entity; (2) You grant to the USDA the right to use your Recipe, name, likeness, statements, actions, biographical data and voice (if applicable) in connection with the production, publicity, advertising, promotion, exhibition or other exploitation or use of any of the application materials or any production incorporating the application materials; and (3) You grant the USDA permission to conduct employment verification checks and NSLP Program status through their state agency (before any prize is awarded).

10. Entry Conditions and Release

By entering, each Contestant agrees to: (1) comply with and be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor, Administrator, and/or the Challenge judges which are binding and final in all matters relating to this Challenge; (2) release and hold harmless the Sponsor, Administrator, and their respective parent, subsidiary, and affiliated companies, the prize suppliers and any other organizations responsible for sponsoring, fulfilling, administering, advertising or promoting the Challenge, and all of their respective past and present officers, directors, employees, agents and representatives (collectively, the “Released Parties”) from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liability, including but not limited to negligence and damages of any kind to persons and property, including but not limited to invasion of privacy (under appropriation, intrusion, public disclosure of private facts, false light in the public eye or other legal theory), defamation, slander, libel, violation of right of publicity, infringement of trademark, copyright or other intellectual property rights, property damage, or death or personal injury arising out of or relating to a Contestant’s entry, creation of an entry or submission of an entry, participation in the Challenge, acceptance or use or misuse of prize (including any travel or activity related thereto) and/or the broadcast, transmission, performance, exploitation or use of entry; and (3) indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Sponsor and Administrator from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liabilities (including reasonable attorneys fees) arising out of or relating to a Contestant’s participation in the Challenge and/or Contestant’s acceptance, use or misuse of prize.

11. Publicity

Except where prohibited, participation in the Challenge constitutes winners’ consent to Sponsor’s and its agents’ use of winner’s name, likeness, photograph, voice, opinions, and/or hometown and state for promotional purposes in any media, worldwide, without further payment or consideration.

12. General Conditions

Sponsor and Administrator reserve the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Challenge, or any part of it, if any fraud, technical failures or any other factor beyond Sponsor and/or Administrator’s reasonable control impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Challenge, as determined by Sponsor and/or Administrator in their sole discretion. Sponsor and/or Administrator reserve the right in their sole discretion to disqualify any individual or Contestant it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Challenge or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or any other promotion or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Challenge may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, Sponsor and/or Administrator reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Sponsor and/or Administrator’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision. Sponsor and Administrator are not responsible for, nor are they required to count, incomplete, late, misdirected, damaged, unlawful or illicit votes, including those secured through payment, votes achieved through automated means or by registering more than one e-mail account and name, using another Contestant’s e-mail account and name, as well as those lost for technical reasons or otherwise.

13 Limitations of Liability

The Released Parties are not responsible for: (1) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by Contestants, printing errors or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Challenge; (2) technical failures of any kind, including, but not limited to malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines or network hardware or software; (3) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the entry process or the Challenge; (4) technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the Challenge or the processing of entries; or (5) any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from Contestant’s participation in the Challenge or receipt or use or misuse of any prize. If for any reason a Contestant’s entry is confirmed to have been erroneously deleted, lost, or otherwise destroyed or corrupted, Contestant’s sole remedy is another entry in the Challenge. No more than the stated number of prizes will be awarded.

14. Disputes

Contestant agrees that: (1) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Challenge, or any prizes awarded, other than those concerning the administration of the Challenge or the determination of winners, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action; (2) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Challenge, or any prizes awarded, shall be resolved exclusively in an appropriate judicial or administrative forum of the United States; and (3) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering this Challenge, but in no event attorneys’ fees. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of the Contestant and Sponsor in connection with the Challenge, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the United States Federal Government, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules, which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the United States Federal Government.

15. Privacy

If you choose to provide the Sponsor and Administrator with personal information by registering or filling out the submission form through the website, that information is used to respond to you in matters regarding your submission and/or the Challenge only — unless you choose to receive updates or notifications about other competitions from the Administrator on an opt-in basis. Information is not collected for commercial marketing.