Lunch is getting healthier at Southside School in Hollister.
Hollister – Lunch is getting healthier at Southside School in Hollister.
In an effort to get away from the fast-food type fare served at many schools, Southside installed a salad bar in its cafeteria this year. And students can’t get enough of the healthy greens and other vegetables.
“You can’t believe how many kids are getting the salad bar,” said Nowa Triolo, a member of the school’s parent club, which purchased the salad bar for the cafeteria.
Each day at lunch, students have a choice of organic lettuce which is provided to the school by Earthbound Farms at a discounted price – a variety of vegetables, fruit and protein, such as sunflower seeds, kidney beans and cheese.
The $1,000 salad bar was purchased by Southside’s Parent Club in April, which holds fundraisers throughout the year, such as selling pumpkins and catalogue sales.
Susanne Guthrie, a long-time cafeteria worker at Southside, has been trying to get a salad bar at the school for years. About three years ago she had a small salad bar for staff members. Soon the students wanted salads too. Demand for the small salad bar was just too high, and Gutherie had to shut it down.
So when she heard that the parent club was buying a salad bar for both staff and students to use, she already knew it would be a hit.
“I knew it was something that was really going to go,” Guthrie said.
Guthire enjoys serving salads.
“It is healthier,” she said. “It’s unfortunate that California schools have gone to fast-food type meals. Kids should be able to get healthy food at school.”
Because of health regulations students can’t prepare their own salads. But they get to pick what items they want on their salads, Triolo said.
“A lot of kids enjoy the salads,” said Southside Principal Eric Johnson. “It has been very successful with kids and staff alike.”
But Southside isn’t stopping at salads. The school is making the gradual transition to an overall healthier menu.
For example, the school now only serves chips that are baked instead of fried, and it is replacing sugary drinks with natural fruit juice.
“We have a lot of team work at Southside,” Triolo said. “We have a great cafeteria staff that is interested in preparing healthy food for students.”
in 2004, more than 42 percent of San Benito County’s seventh graders were overweight – almost 10 percent higher than the state average, according to the California Food Policy Advocates, a San Francisco based organization.
According to California Food Policy Advocates, overweight children are at increased risk for diseases that are not expect to occur during childhood, such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
“There is so much out there about obesity and other health issues, we want eliminate unhealthy foods,” Johnson said.
Luke Roney covers politics and agriculture for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or at [email protected]
