Smart Snacks

Details: Created on Wednesday, 13 November 2013 17:23; Written by Kevin Kelleher

apple BARNET- In America, childhood obesity has more than doubled in the past 30 years. Obesity can have both immediate, and long-term effects on a child's health and well being. Eating healthy is one of the ways that obesity can be prevented. The Barnet School is taking steps to encourage their students to eat healthier.

The School applied for, and received a Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Grant for their third year in a row. This year the school received $13,000 in order to be used for promoting a healthier diet amongst students.

Students are exposed to new foods that they might not know about in hopes that they will find healthier options for food preferences. In charge of writing this grant, and organizing how the money is dispersed, is the "wellness team" which consists of Food Service Manager, Annette Burrington, School Nurse, Nedra Willard, Physical Education Teacher, Eric Bogie, Principal Shawn Gonyaw, and a few other teachers who help to promote healthy lifestyle teachings in their classrooms.

The money from the grant does not go towards food for school lunches, but instead is used for providing the students with a healthy snack every single morning. Trays are made up and delivered around 10:00 a.m. "A student from each classroom comes and picks it up," said Burrington.

The wellness team has even started introducing a certain fried food that can be transitioned into a food that is a little bit healthier for students who may not have originally given it a chance. "Probably four years ago we started trying sweet potato fries before it actually became a rule, and now I'll bet you more than half the school likes sweet potatoes and when we started they wouldn't eat it."

Sometimes the students are unaware that some of the snacks they eat are the same ones they said they wouldn't. "We give them raw sweet potatoes for the healthy snacks and they think its carrots. They always say, Oh those carrots are so much sweeter than the last ones."

A few years ago before these healthy foods were given out at snack time, students had very little interest in vegetables and were choosing to only eat entrees; just chicken nuggets or just a hamburger. "Half the school wouldn't take vegetables and now I bet you 90% of the kids take vegetables," said Burrington. Students were also a lot more likely to bring in unhealthy snacks before the grant program started," they were bringing in Little Debbie snacks, Ring Dings, Devil Dogs. I mean little bags of Doritos. All this stuff!"

The school will continue to apply for the Fresh Fruits and Vegetables grant, and as long as they receive it they will keep providing those foods everyday. Even if the school does not receive the grant next year, at lunch the students will always be provided with at least two fruit and two vegetable options.