Edna Batey Elementary School Elk Grove Unified School District, California
For the Fruit and Vegetable Challenge my class is counting the number of fruits and vegetable they eat at lunch. For each 200 they earn a fruit or vegetable celebration. For the first 200 the students made applesauce (apples and cinnamon). For the next 200 a parent brought in unusual fruits and vegetables and the students sampled them. When we reach 600, the students want to make fruit kabobs. Some of my students are bringing in fruit or vegetables when it is their turn to provide snacks. My class is excited about fruit and vegetables!
Turlock Unified School District Central Valley of CA
Turlock Unified School District is located in the heart of the Central Valley of California. We have an enrollment of 14,000 students, K-12, and serve approximately 6,000 students on the NSLP, and another 6, 000 through ala carte sales. Three years back I made the decision to replace all salad bars with “fruit stands.” These stands have a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables in pre-packed containers as well as whole fruits, salads and canned fruits. When I first saw Fruits and Vegetables Galore I was as much impressed with the contents as I was with the cover. I loved the brightness, as well as what it was promoting and just knew I wanted to use it to help promote more consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables by our students. Since my trucks make two deliveries to each school twice daily, I thought it was such a waste for them to remain plain white trucks. By putting the Fruits and Vegetables Galore banner on the trucks we now have children taking notice and saying, ”Here’s our fruit truck!” These trucks go to farmers’ market presentations and caterings while delivering a very positive message for our district. The response from parents, the school board and superintendent, and the students has been great!
Willard Middle School Berkeley, CA
The Food and Nutrition Service's regional office in California teamed up with The AIWF, the Berkeley Unified School District, and celebrity chef and best-selling cookbook author, Mollie Katzen, to bring "Days of Taste" to Willard Middle School. This fun-filled two day event took Ryan Chinn's sixth grade class on an exciting exploration of food from the ground to the joy of preparation to taste sensation.
On Day 1, Jered Lawson of the Berkeley Food Systems Project led a tour of the local Farmers' Market and assigned groups of students to purchase many of the ingredients for the next day's class. They thoughtfully picked out the best spinach, tomatoes, different varieties of lettuce, parsley, red bell peppers, carrots, and dill. The students also visited with Judith, a farmer from Full Belly Farms, who shared her experiences about working on a farm.
Day 2 found students preparing their own meal, which included recipes from
Mollie Katzen's cookbook "Honest Pretzels" (Hip Bean Dip, Pita Spirals, Tossed Green Salad, and Apple Pockets were all hits!). With Mollie's assistance, the students took charge of the slicing, rolling and chopping…demonstrating kitchen safety, how to double a recipe (math CAN be fun!), and above all, teamwork! As the wonderful aroma of Apple Pockets filled the classroom, the tables were decorated for a feast. The students eagerly sampled the food that they created, and thanked Mollie and her staff for the chance to be chefs for a day.
To emphasize the link between nutrition education in the classroom and school dining room, the food service staff prepared those very same dishes as part of the school lunch menu that day.
"Days of Taste" gave children an opportunity to discover the bounty of local produce and learn where food comes from, savor different tastes and flavors, prepare nutritious food, and share a delicious meal. We wish to thank Mariaelena Springsted of The AIWF, and Elsie Szeto, Child Nutrition Director for Berkeley U.S.D. for making this event so successful!
Sunnymead Middle School Moreno Valley, CA
To encourage students to try a variety of fruits and vegetables, the Home Economics classes at Sunnymead Middle School presented the school with a tasting party! They prepared cucumbers-on-a-stick wrapped with a wedge of lemon, and baggies of fresh strawberries, fresh pineapple and peeled mangoes. The servings were sold for fifty cents each at nutrition break during a Team Nutrition Week. The event was advertised in the daily school bulletin with an educational piece on how foods relate to health. By the end of the week, sales had tripled!
Sierra Elementary School Tollhouse, CA
The food service staff helped give students at Sierra Elementary School in Tollhouse, California a unique opportunity to learn about healthy eating during Team Nutrition Days. Both students and food service staff planned, weeded, and harvested a row of herbs in the school garden. Food service personnel helped children in the lunch line identify herbs, and first graders picked fresh vegetables and herbs from their garden to use in school lunch meals.
Turlock Unified School District is located in the heart of the Central Valley of California. We have an enrollment of 14,000 students, K-12, and serve approximately 6,000 students on the NSLP, and another 6, 000 through ala carte sales. Three years back I made the decision to replace all salad bars with “fruit stands.” These stands have a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables in pre-packed containers as well as whole fruits, salads and canned fruits. When I first saw 
On Day 1, Jered Lawson of the Berkeley Food Systems Project led a tour of the local Farmers' Market and assigned groups of students to purchase many of the ingredients for the next day's class. They thoughtfully picked out the best spinach, tomatoes, different varieties of lettuce, parsley, red bell peppers, carrots, and dill. The students also visited with Judith, a farmer from Full Belly Farms, who shared her experiences about working on a farm.
To emphasize the link between nutrition education in the classroom and school dining room, the food service staff prepared those very same dishes as part of the school lunch menu that day.
