Course Description
In Salad Bars in Schools, we're going to look at one of the most exciting trends in school food — the salad bar.
If your school already has a salad bar that is in good working condition, we'd rather you use our grant to
implement salad bars in schools that don't already have one.
The USDA and Institute of Medicine (IOM) also encourage the use of
salad bars in school meal programs to increase the amount of fruits and vegetables that kids eat.
As a part of
SAFE Salad Bars in Schools, Seattle Food Empowerment Education and Sustainability Team (FEEST) students designed and developed an educational video, «Salad Warz», that promotes salad bars and provides a tutorial on salad bar etiquette for their peers.
All that being said, the questions about the practicality of
salad bars in schools still persist: are they safe, do they cost too much, how do you control portion sizes, how do you control waste, and how do they fit into the USDA guidelines?
Implementing
salad bars in schools gives students choice; allowing them to taste new flavors, expand their pallets, and begin to enjoy healthy food.
I've reported in the past on «The Great American Salad Bar Project,» Chef Ann Cooper's initiative, in conjunction with Whole Foods, to
place salad bars in schools around the country.
But we've also heard consensus about the challenges: Around funding, around how to procure locally grown food, around how to ensure food safety standards are met, and how to incorporate
better salad bars in schools in a way that counts for reimbursable meals.
She acknowledges some uncertainly around the question of how local health inspectors might
treat salad bars in schools scattered around the country.
We'll go in - depth into the planning and assessment needed for salad bar implementation, as well as the complex operational issues of recipe development, production records and procurement that are the cornerstone of
successful salad bars in schools.
Grant
for Salad Bars in Schools Seeking to increase children's consumption of fruits and vegetables, the Let's Move Salad Bars to Schools program plans to fund and grant 6,000 salad bars to schools across the nation by 2013.
The USDA encourages the use of
salad bars in the school meal programs stating: «Salad bars continue to be a great option for meeting the meal pattern requirements.»
In Washington State, as a statewide effort to provide guidance to encourage schools to offer salad bars that feature produce from school gardens and local farms, Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) published «
SAFE Salad Bars in Schools - A Guide to School Food Service» to minimize the risk of foodborn illnesses.
Over ten years ago, when I was the Director of Nutrition Services at Berkeley Unified School District, I
implemented Salad Bars in every school in the district for all of our K - 12 students.
School nurse and food services director of Iowa's United Community Schools, Lori Good, is a firm believer
in salad bars in schools.
All that being said, the questions about the practicality of
salad bars in schools still persist: are they safe, do they cost too much, how do you control portion sizes, how do you control waste, and how do they fit into the USDA guidelines?
Kathy Alexander, Food Service Director of the Addison Northeast Food Service Cooperative (ANFSC), has seven
salad bars in her school district — one in every cafeteria.
Implementing
salad bars in schools gives students choice; allowing them to taste new flavors, expand their pallets, and begin to enjoy healthy food.
Bellingham Public schools in WA made a commitment to serving better school food through Bellingham Good Food Promise, a comprehensive outline that articulates the district's key food values, and they are working to implement them through food education campaigns, by
placing salad bars in every schools, and purchasing whole muscle chicken, and they are building a central cooking kitchen scheduled to open in 2019.
The USDA and Institute of Medicine (IOM) also encourage the use
of salad bars in school meal programs to increase the amount of fruits and vegetables that kids eat.
In support of these benefits, the White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity endorses the use of
salad bars in schools and upgrading cafeteria equipment in order to provide healthy meals for kids.
Schools that do not participate in NSLP are encouraged to take advantage of the free resources throughout this site and at The Lunch Box to assist you in planning and implementing
a salad bar in your school.
In addition, an updated Let's Move Salad Bars to School site was recently launched to provide a portal for school districts to submit applications to receive a salad bar and for information on how to include
a salad bar in their school meal program.
These days, it's a lot harder to argue against using
a salad bar in a school program than it once was.
To maximize these benefits, the White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity endorses the use of
salad bars in schools and upgrading cafeteria equipment in order to provide healthy meals for kids.
Director Leu is in the process of applying for Salad Bar to Schools grants for the remainder of the district's elementary schools, and she looks forward to having
salad bars in all schools.
With this donation, Daily Greens ™ will help fund school gardens,
salad bars in schools and cooking and nutrition education programs for teachers and staff.
In support of these benefits, the White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity endorses the use of
salad bars in schools and upgrading cafeteria equipment in order to provide healthy meals for kids.
I hope you're inspired to implement
salad bars in your schools.
Schools that do not participate in NSLP are encouraged to take advantage of the free resources throughout this site and at The Lunch Box to assist you in planning and implementing
a salad bar in your school.