Lakeview Students benefit from new Salad Bars

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In early April 2013 Lakeview Community Schools added salad bars, called fruit and vegetable bars because of their various offerings, at not only their junior and senior high schools, but also at some of their elementary schools.

These salad bars help increase the consumption of fruits and vegetable for young students. Without salad bars, students are only given a certain option for fruits and vegetables, resulting in many foods being wasted. Often times young students who do not like a food or cannot eat it due to lost teeth or lack of ability (example: young students often do not know how to peel oranges or other fruits that are prepped at homes by parents) will throw away foods, not getting any of the nutrients they need from those foods. “Fourth-grader Cassie Rathbone had applesauce and carrot sticks with her meal. She said getting to choose her own fruits and vegetables is the best part of the salad bar,” reports the Columbus Telegram in their coverage of these important changes.

Lakeview was able to bring these salad bars to schools because of a grant through the Let’s Move! Salad Bars 2 Schools initiative, which has granted over two thousand salad bars as of September 2013. The other funding for the fruit and vegetable bar comes from the district’s food budget, which is being monitored so they can measure the success of the healthy addition. Lunch prices at these schools has increased by only 25 cents in the past two years, but students feel they are getting more foods because they are eating more of what is on their plates.

By letting students choose which healthy fruit and vegetables to eat, the Lakeview Community District is now adhering to nutrition guidelines while giving students the foods they want!