Note: With pix/video from Nick
School kids really did eat their vegetables, and the spinach muffins, too.
Their taste buds turned on to such healthy snacks, organizers of an area school nutrition program cheered and celebrated their months-long effort Friday morning.
Health and education officials and MPP Teresa Piruzza (Windsor West-Lib) gathered for a reception at Riverside’s St. John Vianney Catholic Elementary School, one of six participating separate and public elementary schools.
They talked about the value of such local, healthy food programs in the fight against childhood obesity. They watched Windsor chef Robert Catherine demonstrate a scrambled-egg dish with vegetables with students in Mary Ann Langlois-Smith’s Grade 5 class.
They also tasted food samples and learned about growing fresh strawberries from Cottam-area grower Brad Raymont who brought along both berries to taste and plants to grow at home and pick in only six weeks.
“We had kids eating raw asparagus,” said Stephanie Segave, with the area’s Victorian Order of Nurses that coordinated and operated the school nutrition effort.
“Nothing is as powerful as delivering fresh vegetables to the classroom,” Segave told the reception. There are many reasons kids may arrive school hungry and are not eating fresh, nutritious foods, she said. And there’s a need for innovative solutions from such projects, Segave said.
The pilot program provided nutritious snacks daily for several months to 2,700 children in 112 classrooms, Segave said. Chef Catherine directs the Community Kitchen at Unemployed Help Centre that supplied thousands of snacks daily, many from local food donations and made by public high school students in culinary classes at the centre.
Childhood obesity rates alone here reinforce the community need, said Gary Kirk, associate medical officer of health and CEO of the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit.
Obesity rates among youth are 15 per cent higher than average, he said. Kirk added in an interview one in four obese children become obese adults.
Many agencies are working on student nutrition programs and they’re aiming to at least stem the rise of obesity if not reduce obesity rates by 20 per cent over five years, Kirk said.
School nutrition programs remain a provincial priority, said Piruzza, minister of children and youth services. “It’s something we truly believe in.” She said Ontario spends $17 million in all for school nutrition programs that serve 690,000 students.
Whatever the need or reason for nutritious food in class, bring it on, say the Grade 5 students. “I think it’s really good,” said 10-year-old Adam McDonald. “Local tastes better,” he said of items full of flavour and ripen better.
With the program, healthy snacks served five days a week made a positive impact, said Elise Daragon, principal. She noticed improved attendance, less junk food and a general more involved and happier school community.
Ten-year-old Isabella Galluci liked the variety of food, especially vegetable sushi. “I liked the rice in it.” She enjoyed fresh-made granola bars most of all. “They were really good.”
twhipp@windsorstar.com
