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Study Finds Kids Prefer Healthy School Meals
Posted Nov 23, 2009
Preliminary report
from the Harvard School of Public Health reveals students prefer healthy school
meals
Think your kids won't eat healthy foods? Think again. A preliminary report of
the Chefs in Schools Initiative by the Harvard School of Public Health, funded
by Project Bread, proves that kids not only like healthy school meals, but
actually eat more of the healthy foods than they would if they were eating a
traditional school meal.
The study sought to analyze the value of the Chefs in Schools Initiative, which
was launched by Project Bread in 2007 with the help of the Office of Mayor
Thomas M. Menino, Boston Public Schools, and the Boston Public Health
Commission. The concept behind the Initiative was simple: over 74% of the nearly
56,000 Boston public school children qualify for free or reduced-price school
meals, which include breakfast and lunch. Clearly, many of these children come
from families that struggle to put food on the table, making these children
especially vulnerable to hunger and under-nutrition. The Initiative sought to
make cutting-edge nutrition available to these children as an ordinary part of
their school day.
To accomplish this, the partnership hired Chef Kirk Conrad, a master chef and
graduate of The Culinary Institute of America, to work with the Lilla G.
Frederick Middle School in Dorchester and the Mario Umana Middle School in East
Boston. Chef Kirk, as Conrad is known by all, was charged with serving healthy,
cost-effective meals that kids love to eat and creating an environment that
signaled to kids, their teachers, and parents that school meals were crucial to
their overall health and learning. Chef Kirk's menus feature fresh fruits and
vegetables, whole grains, and lean meats -- and remove excess fat, sodium, and
sugar. These healthy meals are cooked from scratch, using fresh ingredients and
herbs to enhance taste, by Conrad, who has also trained a willing kitchen staff
in his techniques, who regularly test the palatability of new dishes with their
students as they would guests in a restaurant.
As the final step in the rollout of the Initiative, the Healthy Lunch Study
analyzed the results of this innovative program. The study compared Boston
middle schools receiving the district's traditional school lunch with the middle
schools participating in the Chefs in Schools Initiative who received the
healthy lunch. Results were collected from 3,188 trays and researchers at the
Harvard School of Public Health stated their preliminary findings as
significant:
-- Over three times as many students ate the vegetables at the Chefs
schools as compared with the control schools.
-- Among students who ate vegetables, students at the Chefs schools ate on average about 30% more of their vegetables.
-- When only 1% white milk was served instead of chocolate milk, students
still drank the same amount of milk.
-- Meals had over 50% more whole grains at the Chefs schools compared with
the control schools.
-- Food waste was significantly reduced in Chefs schools. The study
revealed that while 1/3 of the food from traditional lunches was thrown
out uneaten in the control schools, only 1/5 of the food was uneaten in
the Chefs schools.
-- Participation in the school lunch program was 17% higher in the Chefs
schools, meaning that more students ate lunch that was federally
reimbursed.
Preliminary findings of the Healthy Lunch Study concludes that serving
flavorful, appealing school meals can improve student nutrition while increasing
school lunch participation -- a factor that's also important both for
cash-strapped school districts. The program has been so successful that the
Chefs in Schools Initiative is expanding into eight Boston Public Schools --
including a high school where graduates from the Lilla Frederick and the Umana
Academy organized to demand better food.
"It's rewarding to see the benefits of the Chefs in Schools program in action,"
said Ellen Parker, executive director of Project Bread. "This Initiative is a
unique opportunity to provide low-income children with cutting-edge nutrition
that helps them succeed in the classroom while learning healthful lifelong
eating habits."
About Project Bread
As the state's leading antihunger organization, Project Bread is dedicated to
alleviating, preventing, and ultimately ending hunger in Massachusetts. Through
The Walk for Hunger, the oldest continual pledge walk in the country, Project
Bread provides millions of dollars each year in privately donated funds to over
400 emergency food programs in 135 communities statewide. Project Bread also
advocates systemic solutions that prevent hunger in children and that provide
food to families in natural, everyday settings. The organization has invested
millions of dollars in grants to community organizations that feed children
where they live, learn, and play. For more information, visit
www.projectbread.org.
SOURCE Project Bread - The Walk for Hunger
URL: http://www.projectbread.org
Copyright © 2009 PR Newswire. All Rights Reserved
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