Galt students eating up salad bar opportunities
New offerings now available in Galt elementary schools
GALT— Each day dozens of Galt Joint Union Elementary School District students visit their new salad bars in their respective school cafeterias.
They choose fresh fruits and vegetables from the six salad bars donated through United Fresh Produce back in late September. Earlier this week, three of the donors toured two of the sites and met its students.
“Visiting the schools, seeing students select fruits and vegetables from the salad bars and talking with students and school officials about how much the children enjoy eating fresh produce was a very rewarding and educational experience,” Adam Linder, strategic account manager for produce at CHEP USA, said in a press release.
Seeing the kids using the salad bars made Allen Satterlee’s day. He works as a customer service manager for vegetable seed sales at Sakata Seed America, Inc.
“It was nice to see the children so receptive to the fruits and vegetables,” Satterlee said.
A fourth donor is expected to visit next month, according to Nick Svoboda, the district’s food services supervisor.
Nutrition standards for the National School Lunch Program require schools to serve a colorful variety of fruits and veggies; however, without the salad bars, it would be difficult to offer as many fresh produce choices as the district does, he said.
“The salad bars add visual appeal to our cafeterias and encourage students to fill their plates with as much fruits and veggies as they will eat.”
It’s all a part of the national Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools initiative that aims to make produce the “want to” choice for million of children across the United States daily.
United Fresh Produce has said they are going to work on getting McCaffrey two new salad bars this year as well, Svoboda said.
In addition, Smarter Lunch Room Movement has granted the district money this year school for Valley Oaks and McCaffrey where the district is currently working on new signage and nutrition education for the sites. They will be doing some lunchtime nutrition assemblies, according to Svoboda.
The United Fresh Start Foundation is a founding partner of the national Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools initiative, which to date has donated salad bars to more 4,800 schools in all 50 states. The Foundation works with the produce industry, healthcare organizations, non-profits and allied businesses to support salad bars for schools as a way to increase children’s access to and consumption of fresh fruits and veggies every day at school.