In honor of National Nutrition Month, U.S. Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) visited Adam Elementary School on March 14 to witness first-hand what the Santa Maria-Bonita School District is doing to make school meals healthier.
The district has teamed up with local growers and the federal government to implement menu changes aimed at reducing childhood obesity by replacing unhealthy food items with healthier alternatives.
One such improvement, according to an e-mail from Jeanie Steller, food services supervisor for Santa Maria-Bonita School District, is an effort being made to ensure that all bread served to students is at least 51 percent whole grain.
“We also went the extra step with the milk this year by taking out chocolate milk completely and serving 90 percent fat free milk with a 10 percent choice of 1 percent milk. The children seem to go for the pretty pink packaging on the fat free milk carton and don’t seem to notice a difference,” Steller wrote.
She also said they have taken out foods such as French fries, tater tots, sugary cereals, and breakfast Danishes; substituting them with brown rice, homemade beans, and baked breakfast breads.
The district is also working with local farmers to serve kids fresh produce, such as persimmons, kiwis, and jicama sticks.
The district participates in the Universal Feeding Program, part of the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act passed by Congress in 2010, which feeds all children in the district free of charge, according to Steller.
The district hopes that these healthier options will cut down on the obesity rate of young children in the area.
This article appears in Mar 22-29, 2012.