“Norristown students learn about healthy food choices” |
| Norristown students learn about healthy food choices Posted: 09 Feb 2011 10:37 PM PST Students look over a line of fruits and vegetables for their lunches in the cafeteria of Paul V. Fly Elementary School. Photo by Gene Walsh And while for many Americans, old food habits die hard, children only know what they're taught. "When you start with younger students who don't really have established eating habits and you make it a part of the classroom educational experience, they're taking those messages home and asking their parents to buy these products," said Deborah Martin, director of the Food Service Department in Norristown Area School District (NASD). That's the message Martin is trying to push out to the greater community. Through partnerships with health-conscious organizations including The Food Trust, Penn State Cooperative Extension and Montgomery County Health Department, the Food Service Department and the Norristown Area School Health Council are "trying to do an enormous amount of nutrition and wellness education in the district." In order to communicate with the district community, the health council distributes a quarterly newsletter that includes healthy recipes, healthy happenings in the schools and healthy ideas. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced proposed guidelines to make school meals across the country healthier. If approved, the new federal standards could impose major changes on food service programs still serving children meals high in fat, salt and calories. The proposal applies to lunches subsidized by the federal government (under the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs) and would be the first major nutritional overhaul of school meals in 15 years. The guidelines would require schools to cut sodium in those meals by more than half, use more whole grains and serve low fat milk. They also would limit kids to only one cup of starchy vegetables (like French fries) a week. The NASD Food Service Department operates under the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), which provides nutritious meals that follow the recommendations of the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans. About 62 percent of the district's students receive free and reduced meals under the NSLP (www.nasd.k12.pa.us/FoodService.asp). "We serve about 5,000 (NSLP) meals a day," Martin said. "About 72 percent of students buy those lunches." When the USDA news was announced last month, it was no cause for alarm in the NASD. The district's kitchens are without deep fryers (only baked French fries are served, not daily but on a rotating five-week cycle); white bread is nowhere to be found (whole grain, whole wheat and multigrain breads have been introduced instead); and milk is available in only 1 percent or skim. Additionally, more has been done to makeover the a la carte options than just replacing fried chips with bags of baked chips (healthy snacks, fruits and vegetables supplementary to those served hot on the line have been added). "We've been going in the right direction for the past six years," Martin said. While some changes were required by the state for districts operating under the NSLP, other modifications were optional — but suggested as the "best practice." Continued... Students look over a line of fruits and vegetables for their lunches in the cafeteria of Paul V. Fly Elementary School. Photo by Gene Walsh Martin said the newly proposed guidelines will not pose a "significant change" for NASD. "We're ahead in some cases, like with fruits and vegetables and grains. Probably salt will affect us the most," she said. "The pre-prepared products are probably high in salt, and we'll have to address that. It might encourage us to cook from scratch again," Martin said, adding that practice tapered off in the 1990s. The Food Service Department's "true original mission is to feed these kids," she continued. And having the ability to offer students healthier options is crucial, which is why Food Service continues to go after grants each year. "Healthy eating and exercise go hand in hand in supporting a student's ability to learn, and I feel really strongly about that," Martin said. "You can't learn on an empty stomach and eating a lot of empty calories won't give you the same start to your day that it would if you had a balanced meal." Under the Pennsylvania Department of Education's Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, five of the district's six elementaries receive a fresh fruit or vegetable as an afternoon snack, three days a week for the entire school year. Paul V. Fly Elementary, the only school that doesn't qualify for that grant, now receives support from the Farm to School Program administered by Project PA (a collaboration between Penn State University's Department of Nutritional Sciences and the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Division of Food and Nutrition). This grant makes possible an afternoon snack (like red raspberries and purple peppers) and brief lesson for each class. All grades will take a field trip to a farm at the end of the school year. "It's allowing us to give them a lot of things they've never tasted," Martin said. During the 2009-2010 school year the NASD Food Service Department began purchasing fruits and vegetables from various farms in the Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative and incorporating the produce into the National School Lunch Program. The idea was inspired by partners at The Food Trust, who'd also presented the district with the Kindergarten Initiative, which teaches kindergartners nutrition education in the classroom and provides a healthy snack from a local farmer. Noting that some Norristown students have tasted kiwi, purple carrots, strawberries, pink lady apples and mango slices, Martin said, "We've made great strides in nutrition education and that's what will enable us to make the changes that will continue to come. We started with nothing at all as far as health and wellness and outreach, and we've come a long way." The Norristown Area School Health Council was formed in spring 2005 in response to the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004, which required each school district participating in the National School Lunch Program to implement a Local Wellness Policy by July 1, 2006. The council, comprised of NASD administrators, staff, parents and community members, created from scratch a wellness policy advocating for healthy behaviors and a healthy environment for students. Martin said each school has its own edge on nutrition and wellness and has initiated different activities and events that fall under the same common mission. "Everybody has picked up on it and is doing something," she said. "Six years ago we couldn't say that. We still had sugary snacks. We weren't thinking about fresh fruit and vegetables and exercise as much. Continued... Students look over a line of fruits and vegetables for their lunches in the cafeteria of Paul V. Fly Elementary School. Photo by Gene Walsh And while for many Americans, old food habits die hard, children only know what they're taught. "When you start with younger students who don't really have established eating habits and you make it a part of the classroom educational experience, they're taking those messages home and asking their parents to buy these products," said Deborah Martin, director of the Food Service Department in Norristown Area School District (NASD). That's the message Martin is trying to push out to the greater community. Through partnerships with health-conscious organizations including The Food Trust, Penn State Cooperative Extension and Montgomery County Health Department, the Food Service Department and the Norristown Area School Health Council are "trying to do an enormous amount of nutrition and wellness education in the district." In order to communicate with the district community, the health council distributes a quarterly newsletter that includes healthy recipes, healthy happenings in the schools and healthy ideas. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced proposed guidelines to make school meals across the country healthier. If approved, the new federal standards could impose major changes on food service programs still serving children meals high in fat, salt and calories. The proposal applies to lunches subsidized by the federal government (under the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs) and would be the first major nutritional overhaul of school meals in 15 years. The guidelines would require schools to cut sodium in those meals by more than half, use more whole grains and serve low fat milk. They also would limit kids to only one cup of starchy vegetables (like French fries) a week. The NASD Food Service Department operates under the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), which provides nutritious meals that follow the recommendations of the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans. About 62 percent of the district's students receive free and reduced meals under the NSLP (www.nasd.k12.pa.us/FoodService.asp). "We serve about 5,000 (NSLP) meals a day," Martin said. "About 72 percent of students buy those lunches." When the USDA news was announced last month, it was no cause for alarm in the NASD. The district's kitchens are without deep fryers (only baked French fries are served, not daily but on a rotating five-week cycle); white bread is nowhere to be found (whole grain, whole wheat and multigrain breads have been introduced instead); and milk is available in only 1 percent or skim. Additionally, more has been done to makeover the a la carte options than just replacing fried chips with bags of baked chips (healthy snacks, fruits and vegetables supplementary to those served hot on the line have been added). "We've been going in the right direction for the past six years," Martin said. While some changes were required by the state for districts operating under the NSLP, other modifications were optional — but suggested as the "best practice." "We began adopting the changes and just kept going (beyond what was required)," Martin said. "We just started ordering whole wheat bread (in the 2008-2009 school year), and last year we really began pushing fruits and vegetables. Now we're perfecting it." Martin said the newly proposed guidelines will not pose a "significant change" for NASD. "We're ahead in some cases, like with fruits and vegetables and grains. Probably salt will affect us the most," she said. "The pre-prepared products are probably high in salt, and we'll have to address that. It might encourage us to cook from scratch again," Martin said, adding that practice tapered off in the 1990s. The Food Service Department's "true original mission is to feed these kids," she continued. And having the ability to offer students healthier options is crucial, which is why Food Service continues to go after grants each year. "Healthy eating and exercise go hand in hand in supporting a student's ability to learn, and I feel really strongly about that," Martin said. "You can't learn on an empty stomach and eating a lot of empty calories won't give you the same start to your day that it would if you had a balanced meal." Under the Pennsylvania Department of Education's Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, five of the district's six elementaries receive a fresh fruit or vegetable as an afternoon snack, three days a week for the entire school year. Paul V. Fly Elementary, the only school that doesn't qualify for that grant, now receives support from the Farm to School Program administered by Project PA (a collaboration between Penn State University's Department of Nutritional Sciences and the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Division of Food and Nutrition). This grant makes possible an afternoon snack (like red raspberries and purple peppers) and brief lesson for each class. All grades will take a field trip to a farm at the end of the school year. "It's allowing us to give them a lot of things they've never tasted," Martin said. During the 2009-2010 school year the NASD Food Service Department began purchasing fruits and vegetables from various farms in the Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative and incorporating the produce into the National School Lunch Program. The idea was inspired by partners at The Food Trust, who'd also presented the district with the Kindergarten Initiative, which teaches kindergartners nutrition education in the classroom and provides a healthy snack from a local farmer. Noting that some Norristown students have tasted kiwi, purple carrots, strawberries, pink lady apples and mango slices, Martin said, "We've made great strides in nutrition education and that's what will enable us to make the changes that will continue to come. We started with nothing at all as far as health and wellness and outreach, and we've come a long way." The Norristown Area School Health Council was formed in spring 2005 in response to the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004, which required each school district participating in the National School Lunch Program to implement a Local Wellness Policy by July 1, 2006. The council, comprised of NASD administrators, staff, parents and community members, created from scratch a wellness policy advocating for healthy behaviors and a healthy environment for students. Martin said each school has its own edge on nutrition and wellness and has initiated different activities and events that fall under the same common mission. "Everybody has picked up on it and is doing something," she said. "Six years ago we couldn't say that. We still had sugary snacks. We weren't thinking about fresh fruit and vegetables and exercise as much. "We've reached out to students and staff and now we're looking to the greater community," Martin said. "The only way we'll really make a difference is if (the health consciousness) continues at home." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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