Vegetarian Journal's Foodservice Update
Healthy Tips and Recipes for Institutions
Volume XII, Numbers 2 and 3 Summer 2006

Vegetarian and Vegan Foods in Schools

By Amie Hamlin

The School Nutrition Association (SNA) conducts surveys of foodservice directors around the country. For the first time they asked if the school offered vegetarian and vegan options. 25% of elementary, 30% of middle schools, and 36% of high schools offer daily vegetarian meals (includes eggs and dairy). 5% of elementary, 6% of middle, and 10% of high schools offer vegan options (defined as no meat, dairy, or animal products). What is not known is how many schools might have included peanut butter and jelly or salads as vegetarian or vegan options, since they are offered in so many schools. It would be interesting to know how many schools are offering vegetarian options other than PB&J/salad, and to find out what they are serving. That the SNA asked the question on its survey indicates that there is interest in the subject.

New York City schools hired a professional chef, Jorge Collazo, and one of their initiatives includes enhanced nutrition standards, to exceed USDA standards with an emphasis on more plant-based proteins, among other changes. In addition, the SchoolFood Plus initiative in New York City has as a main objective "Introducing newly developed plant-based recipes, in cafeterias city-wide, that utilize foods grown by New York farmers and procured by the NYC public school system." SchoolFood Plus is a partnership of New York City Department of Education; Office of SchoolFood; New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets; Teachers' College, Columbia University and FoodChange, and was initially funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in 2004. Its goal is to improve the eating habits, health, and academic performance of New York City public school children while strengthening the New York State agricultural economy through the procurement of local, regional produce. FoodChange is a non-profit that works to improve lives through education, nutrition, and financial empowerment, with recipes that are solely plant-based.

Grady High School in Atlanta has a separate vegetarian lunch line, with options like veggie burgers, eggrolls, pasta salad, vegetarian pizza, and sloppy joes made of tofu. The vegetarian service was originally designed for 30 students in a vegetarian club, and now up to one-third of the 1,200 students get on the vegetarian line each day. Tom Callahan, the senior vice president of Sodexho, a foodservice management company (contract management) which provides Grady's foodservice, noted that Eugene, OR, and other progressive cities in the Pacific Northwest, are beginning to look at vegetarian lines as well.

Appleton Central Schools in Appleton, Wisconsin made drastic changes to food available in their public schools. But first they started by making those changes in their high school for troubled youth. By eliminating all junk foods and artificial ingredients, offering plenty of fresh whole foods, and a plant-based option each day, they saw dramatic improvements in attendance, grades, and behavior.

The Bloomfield Central School District, in upstate New York, offers a farmers market line complete with locally grown vegetables and fruits, whole grain and bean salads, and two 5-gallon pots of soup each day, at least one of which is vegan. They can hardly keep the farmers market line stocked, and the soups always disappear by the end of the lunch periods.

Getting Kids to Like Oatmeal

One school was having a problem getting young children to eat oatmeal. The nutrition committee got involved, and suggested some changes to the oatmeal, including a change of name. The new oatmeal had chopped apples, cinnamon, and pure maple syrup (only 1 teaspoon per serving) and a new name, apple pie oatmeal. It was kicked off with two dozen balloons, flashing pins for the women serving the children, a volunteer at the beginning of the lunch line telling the children about the new apple pie oatmeal, and plain oatmeal to compare it to. The kids got a fancy pencil for trying both and telling the nutrition committee volunteers which one they liked most (and they could report if they didn't like it). Out of 50 students, 4 liked the plain better, and the rest really liked the apple pie oatmeal. The following week it was tried again, this time comparing peach pie oatmeal with apple pie oatmeal. The mylar balloons were still flying from the week before, and this week crazy straws were handed out as a reward for trying the oatmeals. The result was 50/50 for apple versus peach, and now the school will alternate the flavors each week. The total cost of the promotion was $56, well worth it to get 50 children to try a healthy breakfast and to find out that they like it.

Resources

• USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (More Please!)
  This USDA program which provided $9 million to 225 schools in eight states and three Indian Tribal Organizations in the 2005/2006 school year encourages increased consumption of fresh fruits (and dried) and vegetables. Participating schools are able to purchase locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables, which then are provided free to the children as snacks. These fruits and vegetables are explicitly made available as snack foods, to be served at any time of day other than during meals. They are not permitted to be part of the school meal program. The pilot program showed that fresh fruits and
  vegetables can be provided to children for $94/year per student, and that students will eat fresh fruits and vegetables when given the opportunity. Some schools reported lower sales of candy and other less nutritious foods, increased attention in class, fewer visits to the school nurse, and a reduced number of unhealthy snacks brought from home. They also felt that it increased students' desire for a variety of fruits and vegetables, including less familiar items such as kiwis and pears, and that it helped children who would otherwise be hungry get more food. In 2004, the Child Nutrition and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Reauthorization Act made the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program
  permanent. Participating states include: Washington, North Carolina, Idaho, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, Utah, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Texas, and Connecticut.
  
  
• Department of Defense (DOD) Protecting Our Children
  The USDA was exploring ways to provide more fresh fruits and vegetables to children. The Department of Defense, Defense Supply Center in Philadelphia (DSCP) operates a huge nationwide purchasing and distribution program of high quality American grown fresh fruits and vegetables. In 1995 they partnered to begin a pilot project to supply fresh fruits and vegetables directly to schools while also making deliveries to military and other sites.
  The program is open to all states, and is currently operating in 43 states, the District of Columbia, as well as several US territories and is funded at $50 million. Schools are also allowed to use other funds (federal and state reimbursements) to purchase additional produce from the DOD, and in 2005 spent an additional $20 million. The DOD works to procure as much produce as possible regionally. States have the ability to limit the types of produce their schools may order.
  
  
• Food is Elementary (www.foodstudies.org) is a wonderful multi-cultural, multi-disciplinary, food-based curriculum, which teaches children about food and other information from different cultures. Children cook the food in the classroom, and the hands-on experiences really turn them on to foods they wouldn't otherwise try. Food is Elementary won a USDA award for the most creative implementation of the US Dietary Guidelines. Antonia Demas, author of Food is Elementary, showed that if children can see, feel, smell, touch, prepare, and experience different foods, they will try them if offered in a cafeteria environment and even request them at home.
  
  
• FoodChange's Cookshop (www.foodchange.org) is a New York City program. It is similar to Food is Elementary, but it's focus is on locally grown foods and teaches children how to cook using 10 different fruits and vegetables grown in New York State, while teaching the children about the farmers who grew the food, how it grew, and more.
  
  
• New York Coalition for Healthy School Lunches (www.healthylunches.org) offers some activity sheets and instructions for activities that teach children about the fat and sugar in foods. In addition they offer a music CD by Jay Mankita with songs about healthy foods for elementary children, as well as activities/lessons to go along with each song. The CD will be available in the fall of 2006.
  
  
• Center for Science in the Public Interest (www.smartmouth.org) has a great children's computer game that teaches kids about the food industry.

Steps to Change

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Excerpts from the Summer 2006 Issue:
Adding Vegetarian Options into School Lunch Programs by Nancy Berkoff, EdD, RD, CCE
Food Service Hotline
Vegetarian and Vegan Foods in Schools by Amie Hamlin
School Foods 101 by Amie Hamlin
Vegetarian Quantity Recipes

Veggie Pita Delight
Chili "con soya" with Beans
Vegetable Chili
Vegan Pumpkin Pie
Apple Crisp with a Crunchy Granola Topping

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