About 19 percent of children in the U.S. are obese and the fare usually served in cafeterias: macaroni and cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches and pizza isn't helping. One school in West New York, N.J. has a pilot program to help the 600 kids at the school eat healthier.
Each week, Chef Fred Rothschild, comes into classrooms to teach students about new foods and have them taste them and even prepare them. The students have learned about baked ziti, sweet potatoes and healthy ways to make pizza.
Sal Valenza, food director of Nu-Way Concessionaires in Kearney, N.J., says that changing student's eating habits is "not about cookies, it's about community." The mostly Hispanic population at the school has a higher obesity rate than in wealthier communities, there are fewer grocery stores with fresh foods and there tends to be less fresh food in their diets.
But teaching students about fresh food has worked in Public School 4 where students are eating twice as many fresh fruits and vegetables. See http://www.campbellfoodservice.com/LatestTrendsDetail.aspx?Page=2555§ion=23 and http://www.healthiergeneration.org/search.aspx?search=West%20New%20York,%20N.J. for more information.
The school was named the healthiest school in New Jersey last year by livinghealth.com. http://living.health.com/2008/08/20/americas-healthiest-schools-state-by-state/
Other schools, like the Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, N.J., are focusing on bringing New Jersey farm food to cafeterias. By recycling all food waste from the cafeteria and getting rid of trays to make sure students only take as much food as they can eat, Gary Giberson, the food services director and president of Sustainable Fare, is able to serve fresh, locally grown food without huge budget increases. While Lawrenceville is a private school, Giberson hopes it can serve as a model for public schools. http://www.whitedogcafefoundation.org/FTI/cost_cutting.php
Both were guests at a panel discussion at the Princeton Environmental Film Festival at the Princeton Public Library which sadly is closing on Sunday. http://www.princeton.lib.nj.us/peff/
Friday, January 9, 2009
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