Spring is...finally in the air!   The record-setting rains of the past few months have stopped; the days are brighter and warmer, the California Cling Peach blossoms have long passed, the fruit's winter jackets have fallen away and growers have begun thinning their orchards to ensure the best crop.   It's an exciting time of year for us and we know that children, too, seem to blossom as they head into summertime. There's no better way capture this energy than with school nutrition programs that feature the bounty of agriculture in your cafeterias. This way, not only do kids learn why a peach cup is different from a pudding cup, but it also sets in motion healthy lifelong habits.  

Last month, the California Peach Board was pleased to present a break-out session at Florida's SNA meeting.   Here before you and many of your colleagues, we presented the importance of supporting our growers and "Buying American" peaches and other domestically grown food products for your schools.

 

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Setting the Standard for Healthful School Eating

As the second largest school district in Richland County and Mansfield Ohio, Food Service Director and member of the School Nutrition Advisory Panel (sponsored by the California Cling Peach Board) Diane Coleman is responsible for a lot of meals - 2,000 each day to be specific, or 10,000 each week (including breakfast and lunch). Coleman's district located in Central Ohio boasts 3,000 students and six schools, including two secondary schools and four elementary schools.

Last year Madison Local charted a new course for student nutrition by pulling all à la carte options from its schools. Students can now only buy a "class A lunch," which consists of a choice of five different main dish menu items daily in secondary schools, and two main dish items in the elementary schools. Also gone are high sugar "fruit" drinks and sports drinks, replaced with 100% juice drinks, water and flavored water, and milk and flavored milks.

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