On Monday, March 28, the Sawtooth Elementary student council met with food service provider, Linda Bockovich, to talk about the new salad bar that will be coming to the school cafeteria. They also talked about the lunch menu and if students could bring in their favorite recipes to share with the cooks. They discussed the nutritional guidelines that those recipes would need to follow.
The Minnesota Statewide Health Improvement Program, or SHIP, is bringing some interesting ideas to Cook County Schools. One is the introduction of a salad bar in the school cafeteria. On May 9, a four-week trial will begin to determine if a salad bar is financially feasible for the school to maintain.
Students are encouraged to look for this healthy addition to the school lunch program. SHIP is also working to create a school “foodscape.” According to SHIP coordinator Margo Furcht, the foodscape will transform an existing, unused courtyard into an outdoor classroom, complete with raised garden beds and apple trees. Furcht said the purpose is to connect students with their food and natural environment.
A third SHIP initiative is a school composting program. The composting program will take food waste from the cafeteria and turn it into valuable nutrients for the school garden beds.
Furcht explained that the goal of SHIP is to help Minnesotans live longer, healthier lives through policy, system and environmental change to support active living and healthy eating.
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