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Recipe for Success: Part 2 in the Berkeley Series
By Ann Cooper —
A strong school-lunch program eliminates processed foods and puts a high emphasis on fresh whole foods cooked from scratch.
Here are some things we embraced as part of our program in Berkeley:
• Cooking from scratch absolutely must be the focus of any healthy school lunch program. Schools across the nation need to say goodbye to chicken nuggets and hello to roast chicken. They need to toss out the French fries and get busy roasting potatoes and other colorful root vegetables. Canned fruits and vegetables should move over and make room for fresh ones.
• Tastings are a great way to get students to try unfamiliar foods. Even something as simple as tasting different varieties of the same type of fruit can be a palate-widening experience for children. Perhaps their parents or caregivers only buy Red Delicious apples, and the first time they’ve had a chance to try a green or yellow apple is at school. If a child doesn’t like Red Delicious apples, he might assume that he simply doesn’t like apples — and now he can’t get enough green apples. Also, when children see friends eating something that they have never even considered trying, it gives them the confidence to branch out and take a little risk. Often, they discover they like it.
• Child-sized salad bars are a must for a healthy school lunch program. Giving children a variety of fresh vegetables, fruits, grains, and proteins is a great way to help them try unfamiliar foods and make healthy choices. One of the things that encourages children to try new foods is repeated exposure. If they see green beans on the salad bar every week for six or seven weeks, eventually they’ll get curious about them. One day they’ll put a few green beans on their salad, and whether or not they like them, they’ve taken a risk and expanded their palates, and perhaps have realized that trying something new can be good. The next time they see something new on the salad bar, they’re even more likely to give it a try.
• 40-minute lunch periods and Recess before lunch are mandatory parts of a healthy school-lunch program. No one likes to be rushed through a meal — we like to savor what we eat and take our time to chew, swallow and digest. Shoving it down in a mad dash to get somewhere else can give us indigestion or force us to eat less to avoid stomach upset. Children are no different. They need time to enjoy their food and the company of their friends in a calm atmosphere. Holding recess before lunch helps ensure that children are hungry when it’s time to sit down and eat. It also means they’ll return to class ready to learn, since they’ll have that burst of energy that comes after eating a good, healthy meal.
• Gardening classes offer hands-on experiential learning that is an extremely effective tool in connecting children with food. They learn that carrots and potatoes grow underground and that a freshly picked ripe tomato tastes remarkably different from one bought in a store. Classroom teamwork helps create an atmosphere of shared personal growth as children learn to make wellness choices that will last a lifetime.
• Cooking classes can be amazing experiences for children. Not only do they learn a valuable life skill, they expand their palates while taking ownership of their creations. And sitting down to eat with their classmates is also an important part of the learning experience.
May 7th, 2009 at 12:43 am
Gunn High School in Palo Alto NEEDS something like this! Is this feasible in a public high school? Is it realistic?