Elementary eating

Children at some schools are learning to choose veggies and other local produce over junk food, getting their hands dirty in the process.

By Susan Snyder

Roasted squash and apple coleslaw for a kindergarten snack at a city school?

It may sound revolutionary, but that’s what students at Disston Elementary School in Northeast Philadelphia are having instead of milk and cookies these days, as part of a food and nutrition program that includes visiting farms where the food is grown.

At The School in Rose Valley, Delaware County, youngsters are even tending their own garden and making lunches such as roasted eggplant with the yield.

And at Edgewood Elementary in Pottstown, principal Angela Tuck believes good nutrition is so important that she dons an apron three times a week to deliver fresh offerings such as star fruit and cucumbers to each classroom.

All three local programs are part of a growing national effort to get schoolchildren to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables and instill healthful habits early on.

“The rapid attention to the childhood obesity issue has fueled the growth. It’s one thing to take bad stuff out of school, but then you need to give them an alternative,” says Anupama Joshi, director of the National Farm to School movement, which encourages schools to serve fresh, locally grown produce to their students.

The Food Trust, a local nutritional advocacy group, has brought its mission to thousands of schoolchildren in this region over the last nine years.

One of its initiatives is working with kindergartners – this year in 11 schools in Philadelphia and Norristown – providing local produce for snacks several times a week. The offerings include cantaloupe, blueberries and broccoli, along with the more interesting treats: pumpkin and blueberry butters and watermelon radishes. The program also includes inviting parents in for cooking demonstrations.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have taken note, and are conducting a study this year to determine whether students’ body mass index or school performance are affected, said Bonnie Hallam, director of the kindergarten program.

In Pottstown, Principal Tuck is receiving government funding to provide fruits, vegetables and nutrition lessons at her school, part of a federal program to encourage healthful eating among schoolchildren. One of eight states to receive the funding, Pennsylvania distributes $1.2 million among 25 schools.

“They need to see that I’m concerned about what goes into their bodies, as well as what goes into their minds,” Tuck says.

Her students have tried lots of new things: “Some they really enjoyed. Others, such as peppers, are growing on them,” she says.

At the Rose Valley school, set on an eight-acre campus that was formerly an apple orchard, students have planted herbs, zucchini, spinach, and lettuce, among other things.

Students from preschool to sixth grade do everything from seeding to reaping to drying herbs from the garden to use all winter long. And then they learn how to cook what they grow.

“The preschool made roasted eggplant and it became a hit,” says science teacher Eliza Pandosh. Students also cooked apple butter from apples picked from some of the remaining trees.

The private school also incorporates lessons in other subjects. Students measure rainwater, write poetry, study insects, and learn the history of agriculture in the area, Pandosh says.

“It’s really fun and cool,” says Derby Allman, 7, using a shovel to dig up old tomato plants one recent morning.

More and more schools have recognized the value of local produce and are paying a premium to put it into their cafeterias. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia, for instance, buys apples for its 95 schools from Bear Mountain Orchards near Pottstown.

But it isn’t always easy. Quantities tend to be smaller, and some farmers can’t afford to meet all the regulations required for school district food products, says Carolina Lobo, vice president of marketing for Aramark, which recently took over operation of many cafeterias in Philadelphia’s public schools.

“School districts have to stay within a certain budget,” she says. “It can be easier to go through a centralized facility because the volume they manage allows it to be cost-effective for the school district.”

Aramark, she says, is exploring buying more local produce for the 185,000-student system.

“They can ship in apples from China any time they want to. But until people understand where they came from and why it’s important to buy locally and how much safer and healthier our food might be, it’s hard for us to compete,” says farmer Bob Solly, whose family runs an 88-acre farm in Warminster.

Another bonus of working with local farmers is their enthusiasm for educating children.

As part of the Food Trust program, the Disston kindergartners visit Solly Farms, where they play “vegetable fear factor.”

“It might be a little slimy,” farmer Sue Kline tells a group of kindergartners who are lined up with their eyes closed, waiting to sample mystery fruits and vegetables.

One girl backs out after that comment, but the rest try what turns out to be a cucumber – and like it.

“I swallowed it,” Jared Smith says proudly, adding that he’d gladly do so again.

The fresh-foods approach appears to be working, say parents and educators, who report that youngsters are more willing to eat the produce and even request it.

“Up until this point, she has been a picky eater,” Disston parent Pamela Caldwell says of her daughter, Bria Bermudez, whom she accompanied to the farm. “This is introducing her to more foods. Then one day we went to the grocery store and she was pointing out stuff for me to get – broccoli, tomatoes, salad.”

Shaina Jasinski, the girl who snubbed the cucumber, says later that she likes lots of other fruit and vegetables. Her aunt, Stacy Widmaier, who admits a weakness for junk food, says the youngster also tries to get other family members to embrace healthier eating habits.

“When I eat something, she’ll say, ‘That’s not good for you,’ ” Widmaier says. “I say ‘Shaina, I don’t like apples.’ ”

But Widmaier is glad her niece does.