Tuesday, November 23, 2021

Our Winter Paper Buy is Open!

Our winter 2022 paper buy is OPEN!
 

AEA Purchasing has partnered with The Paper Corporation out of Des Moines to bring Iowa schools and AEAs competitive pricing on cut paper and envelopes.

Complete information is available online. Go to: "Paper Buy-AEA Purchasing".

***Order forms are available for download within the AEA Purchasing Marketplace. Click here for step-by-step instructions on how to access the order form.

Order forms are available online only! There will be no printed order forms delivered to schools via AEA van mail.  

Bid features include:
  • Wide variety of paper weights, colors and sizes
  • Additional discounts for orders of 840 cartons of white or greater
  • Letter and catalog envelopes
Orders are due Jan. 14, 2022. Early ordering is encouraged.

For specific questions on how to order under this bid, please contact Laurie Hoing

Happy saving!

Monday, November 22, 2021

Oodles and Oodles of Lunchroom Noodles

As everyone finds themselves preparing holiday meals, often centered around traditional foods and recipes passed down for years, why not start planning to kick off the new year with something fresh and new in 2022? Start planning to celebrate National Spaghetti Day on January 4th introducing new concepts and flavors that will excite the customers!

There are literally oodles and oodles of noodles available to everyone on our Market Basket, but the question is what do you do with your noodles? Some answers are below. Thank you to our market basket brokers for providing the following information below (including recipes that use your market basket items)!
                                

Land O’ Lakes shares this quick 1 ½ minute video walking us through Simple Speed Scratch with Land O Lakes® Ultimate White Cheese Sauce! Chef Suzie helps to shake things up with 6 simple stir in recipes for the new year -- buffalo, Mediterranean, sweet chili, Sriracha, green chili, dill, parmesan, and MORE to top your pasta, vegetables, sandwiches, salads, etc.

Pizza Casserole is a terrific standardized pasta dish blending the student's favorites - PIZZA and SPAGHETTI! Using favorite Market Basket items and commodity offerings this recipe is sure to be a WIN-WIN for staff and students alike! 

“Buffalo Style” seems to only be growing in popularity for all grade level customers! Tyson shares great tips to quickly spice up mac & cheese and top with the favorite roasted drum in their Let's Eat! Roasted Drum with Buffalo Mac & Ranch - American Flavor Trends video, easily packed for grab ‘n go or converted to a plated lunch tray option. 

Knowing how popular mac & cheese can be, Land O’Lakes shares a great variety of bowl recipes!  These options would be a hit for menu rotations or as “build your own” noodle bar options.
  • Mac & Cheese - Caribbean Bowl: Using your customer's favorite mac & cheese as the base, build the Caribbean Bowl by adding black eyed peas, sweet potato cubes, chicken, pineapple and garnish coconut flakes and a lime wedge
  • All-Day Breakfast Mac & Cheese Bowl: Breakfast for lunch? Why not? Kids will love having their favorites paired with mac and cheese! This bowl option is completed by topping the noodles with shredded hash browns, turkey bacon pieces, chopped hard boiled eggs, sliced pepper, onions and salsa or pico garnished with green onions
  • Mac & Cheese - Korean Bowl: Start the bowl with your favorite mac & cheese and then top with Korean seasoned beef crumbles, possibly  a little Kimchi, sliced radishes, and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds
Complete with grains, fruit, veggie, and protein options, these mac & cheese bowl menu ideas will resemble what your customers are ordering at local build your own noodle bowl restaurants!
  
Let us know if you try any of these new ideas to bring “oodles and oodles of lunchroom noodles” to your cafeteria. We would love to spotlight you and your staff creating new masterpieces and your students' reactions to FUN NEW flavors you on the AEA Purchasing Twitter feed and Facebook page!

Not an AEA Purchasing food member? We would love the opportunity to talk! Email megan@aeapurchasing.org.

Tuesday, November 9, 2021

Get Your Students Reading This Holiday Season with Mackin and AEA Purchasing!

The holidays are right around the corner! What will your students be reading while they are not in school?
 

Audiobooks, eBooks, and Read-Along eBooks are excellent choices as students can download several options at school and read them on any device offline with the MackinVIA App.

The Iowa AEAs have purchased hundreds of eBooks and audiobooks to provide popular fiction for a wide range of interests, reading levels, and resources that align with your curriculum that Iowa students can read for FREE! In addition to the free offerings, contracted discounts on other materials are also available through AEA Purchasing (contract #020-C).

Call to action:
+Share this quick video about reading books in MackinVIA with your students and staff to show them how easy their resources are to use.

+Create student backpack accounts or set up an authentication that will make accessing books easy for everyone.

+Give students the opportunity to try out multiple genres, reading levels, interests and never lose a book.


+Use eBooks and audiobooks throughout the rest of the school year and add titles of your own to your school’s MackinVIA, or use short term licenses when you need multiple copies for a classroom read.

Contact Mindy Romero with questions about optimizing the use of these free resources or adding to your already excellent collection of digital resources in MackinVIA!

Mackin
Mindy Romero
Cell: 319.899.9717
Toll-Free: 800.245.9540
AEA Purchasing contract #020-C

Monday, November 8, 2021

Today is National STEM/STEAM Day and NBF wants to Celebrate with You!

National Business Furniture (NBF) can help you create an environment that fosters collaborative learning on the fly. Their diverse offering of STEAM furniture helps you do just that with modular seating options, mobile storage carts, a variety of tabletops options and much more!

On that note - we all know that school furniture is not all created equally. Whether your library needs updating or a classroom needs a few more desks, NBF has the furniture you need. They've got your entire classroom covered with options for both teachers and learners alike. They also offer lockers, AV furniture and lunch tables to keep your school running smoothly. With health and safety being a top concern of all schools right now, NBF can even supply products like sneeze guards, sanitizing stations and signage to help keep your students and teachers comfortable in the building.

Despite the name, NBF is not just business furniture. Let NBF staff help outfit your classroom with creative new furniture options and save money using the AEA Purchasing contract (AEA Purchasing/AEPA Bid #018-D). Contact:

National Business Furniture
Jesse Ambos-Kleckley
414-615-3591


Wednesday, November 3, 2021

Contract Feature: Rosen Digital

Rosen Digital offers eBooks, interactive eBooks, and online databases. Digital Learning solutions support the Iowa Core, as well as 1:1 learning, digital citizenship, financial literacy, STEM, reading and language arts, and anti-bullying efforts. Empower all students to explore, learn, create!

AEA Purchasing contract pricing includes:
  • 10% discount on all new orders
  • PowerKnowledge Science
  • Core Concepts Science
  • Digital Literacy, and Financial Literacy databases
  • CyberSmarts and Teen CyberSmarts Interactive eBooks 
For contract quotes and pricing, contact:

Rosen Digital
Miriam Gilbert
303.818.7187
Reference "AEA Purchasing" on all communication

November Vendor Promos!


Have you checked out the latest info and specials from our vendor partners?

What are you waiting for? 

Check out our November promotions today! New content is added daily.