SNAC Culinary Academy event teaches healthy eating amid national, statewide changes to school meals

With opposing national and statewide policy changes recently enacted regarding the food served in public school cafeterias and the drinks served with kids’ meals at restaurants, a local program is holding an event to teach students about healthy eating habits.

About 40 students from five 4-H Student Nutrition Advisory Council (SNAC) clubs—four from the Santa Maria-Bonita School District and one from the Lucia Mar School District—will learn different low-cost recipes at the clubs’ fourth annual Culinary Academy on April 24 at Rice Elementary School.

click to enlarge SNAC Culinary Academy event teaches healthy eating amid national, statewide changes to school meals
PHOTO COURTESY OF UC CALFRESH PROGRAM
CHOPPING VEGETABLES: An instructor with the University of California CalFresh Program teaches students how to slice green onions and green peppers.

The SNAC clubs program was created through partnerships between the University of California’s 4-H Youth development program, UC CalFresh Healthy Living, and the participating school districts.

Shannon Klisch, community education manager for the UC CalFresh Nutrition Education Program, said the clubs are made up of fifth and sixth graders from low-income communities who are interested in healthy eating and being leaders in the community.

“We’re really focused on preventing obesity on low-income populations,” Klisch said. “Kids that grow their own food, get physical activity, and learn about food are less likely to become obese later.”

During the event, students will learn how to make French toast, omelets, banana oat muffins, and ceviche—all of which were recipes chosen by students, Klisch said.

Toward the end of the event, students will share new skills they learned during the academy—such as the different ways to measure dry and wet ingredients—and present information with parents who attend.

“The students will be in charge of picking a topic on something they learned and give a little presentation,” Klisch said. “The goal is so they immediately feel comfortable with what they just learned.”

The SNAC event is taking place four months after the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it was rolling back some restrictions set during President Barack Obama’s administration on the food served in public schools.

According to the USDA, public schools can again offer flavored, low-fat milk and reduce the amount of whole-grain rich foods they offer by half. The USDA also extended how long school districts have to reach sodium reduction goals.

Maggie White, Santa Maria-Bonita School District public information officer, said the district has not made any changes since the new directive was announced because the district’s menu for the rest of the school year is set and the ingredients have already been ordered.

However, White said, the district could look into making some changes next year.

The district is contemplating replacing some of the whole grain items students don’t like to eat, such as whole grain pasta and whole wheat tortillas. White said although the district would rather serve whole grains because they’re healthier, it’s also important that students eat and don’t skip meals because they don’t like the food served.

White said the district may consider occasionally offering flavored milk, but it doesn’t plan to make permanent changes to milk it regularly offers because of the flavored beverage’s high sugar content.

While school districts now have more flexibility on what children can drink, restaurants in the state of California have less flexibility after Senate Bill 1192 went into effect on Jan. 1. The law requires restaurants to serve water, unflavored milk, or a nondairy milk alternative with kids’ meals to reduce children’s consumption of sugary drinks, according to the bill’s text.

At the local level, the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department’s Environmental Health Services division is tasked with enforcing the law. Division Director Larry Fay said that during routine health inspections, health inspectors are checking whether restaurants are complying with this change.

Throughout this year, Fay said, inspectors are informing restaurant owners of the change during inspections, because many are unaware. During inspections in 2020, officials will impose fines on restaurant owners who’ve been educated on the change but remain noncompliant.

“You have to give people a chance to learn about it before we get too heavy handed,” Fay said. “We think it’s good public health policy—we support the policy—we just want to ease the transition for the folks that we regulate.”

Staff Writer Zac Ezzone wrote this week’s School Scene. Information can be sent to the Sun via mail, fax, or email at [email protected]

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