California Schools Take the HealthierUS School Challenge
Posted on 10/28/2011
On
October 17, 2011, school nutrition professionals and administrators
from El Monte City School District, California, were honored to join
First Lady Michelle Obama at a special White House reception honoring HealthierUS School Challenge winnersfrom
across the country. Fourteen El Monte schools have earned the Silver
award by meeting rigorous standards for healthy school meals, nutrition
education and physical activity. These schools join more than 1,600
schools nationwide that have become HealthierUS Schools.
El
Monte school cafeterias only serve whole grains, and much of the bread
is baked from scratch using whole wheat flour, including this month’s
special Sweet Potato Bread. At lunch, students can choose from at least
four different fruits and vegetables (more than half of these choices
are fresh) and fruit is served with every school breakfast. Salads are
offered each day, ranging from the “Iron Man” spinach salad to the
Chinese Chicken Salad. Nothing on El Monte’s menus is fried, and El
Monte has
switched to lean meats and low-fat dairy products.
El
Monte schools are encouraging students to try these healthier choices
too. The school nutrition department works with teachers to weave
nutrition education into the curriculum – from language arts to math and
art.
A blurb from Dr. Lewis who is the Nutrition Services Director with Network for a Healthy California:
In
El Monte, we involve students in a number of healthful activities
including Veggie Fear Factor, Healthy Grocery Store Scavenger Hunt,
Fruit and Veggie District Art Contest,
Superintendent’s Helathy Essay Contest, Nutrition EXPO, Bring your
Parent to Breakfast, Pumkin Decorating Contest, and Kids Get Cooking
Camp. We work with a cadre of teachers to integrate wellness and
nutrition education into existing curricula including math, science, and
language arts. Lastly, our kids get to sample a variety of fresh fruits
and vegetables everyday from the USDA’s Fresh Fruit and Vegetable
Program.
Sites:
http://network.emcsd.org/
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