In Saratoga Springs, students across the district are eating roasted red potatoes, grown locally, in place of frozen French fries when they buy a school lunch. They’re eating herb crusted chicken instead of processed chicken nuggets or patties, and their salads are made up of kale or other lettuces from farms right in their backyards.
The district’s conscious effort to eliminate unhealthy food choices and replace them with fresh, organic and locally grown produce is why Agriculture Deputy Under Secretary Janey Thornton of the USDA sat down to lunch with kindergartners and first graders at Geyser Road Elementary School on Thursday, Oct. 21, to see the whole food initiatives first hand and share the Obama administration’s approach to spreading this change nationwide.
Improving school lunches is a priority for the Obama administration in its efforts to combat childhood obesity, said Thornton in a statement. `It was great to see the efforts made by the Saratoga Springs City School District in moving from processed food to fresh, whole foods made from scratch.`
Margaret Sullivan, the district’s school lunch program director, said the district began the restructuring effort several years ago by eliminating what they identified as the worst food, like French fries, hot dogs, cheese sauce and chicken nuggets, chicken patties and mozzarella sticks, foods that were `big number` items on the days they were served.
To secure the freshest produce and food, the school bought items from Sheldon Farms and recently forged a partnership with Saratoga Farmer’s Market; in return for using a district building for the winter market, the district receives payment in the form of fresh food every Monday, to be divvied up among all schools.
`When we come in on Monday, we don’t know what we will get, so it’s a surprise. It could be beets, squash, last week we had quite a bit of bok choy and yesterday it was kale, so we made greens and beans at the high school,` said Sullivan.
Sullivan said each year, the district tries to implement another healthy initiatives. So far they’ve worked on increasing fruit and vegetable consumption by changing the menu to offer additional choices. They’ve also introduced more whole grains like quinoa served in a whole grain salad, or tabouli. One year saw an emphasis on legumes. To go along with each new food change, the district brings in outside sources to interact with students and food service staff to add an educational component.
`We’ve been fortunate to have help from outside sources. The Governor’s chef came in and did program training with our staff. We did sampling and groups like the Cornell Cooperative Extension come in and we worked with dietetic interns at Russell Sage College to promote healthier foods through educational programs in the cafeteria.`
Sullivan said it takes time to win over students to the changes, but she said she already sees progress.
`We went around to classrooms and educated students as to why its important to eat fresh whole foods instead of processed. Sometimes I take a label off a processed item and show them the difference between what’s in processed food versus the number of ingredients in fresh food,` said Sullivan. `It’s a cultural thing we’re up against. Children are marketed too heavily to bad food items. It’s been slow, the students when I meet with them they ask, ‘why did you take off these good foods, can we have them back?’ So I explain why and once they understand, they’re much more accepting of it.`
Sullivan said the switch to fresher foods hasn’t cost the district any more money, but has required an increase in labor by the current staff.
`Those are the people who make it all happen because they have taken on the extra work involved, which can be substantial in producing fresh whole foods instead of processed foods,` said Sullivan.
When Thornton paid a visit to the area, she discussed opportunities for improving the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs through reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, which would affect almost 32 million kids around the country. Strengthening these programs is the legislative centerpiece of Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Campaign, according to information from the USDA. She also mentioned Saratoga Springs School District at a conference with the School Nutrition Association, which was made up of directors from across the state who came to town for training and workshops.
`It was a great opportunity and we’re very honored to be recognized by the USDA and it also let parents know what we’re doing because many times it’s difficult to get the word out. Hopefully parents will see how good the school lunch program is and encourage children to buy meals or feel confident knowing hteir children are getting the best food possible,` said Sullivan.
Currently, roughly 2,600 students buy full meals on an average school day and others buy single pieces of fruit or milk to accompany their bag lunch.
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