Children seem to be ready to go organic. At Lincoln & Pioneer Elementary in Olympia Washington, more students buy school meals now than before the switch to organic, and the extra cost is a manageable five cents per meal, Flock, Olympia School District’s Child Nutrition Supervisor said.
Interest in fruits and vegetables is up 29 percent at Lincoln Elementary and 25 percent at Pioneer Elementary.
"Those are great, great, promising numbers," he observed.
The organic salad bar was added as a third complete meal option. It features organic fruit and vegetable choices, whole grain breads, vegetarian meat alternatives, eggs and organic soymilk.
Dixie Havlak, a registered dietitian and consultant to the district, said the School Food Service Advisory Committee is turning its attention to the hot lunch program, which depends on cheap commodities that aren't always nutritious, after having tackled district-operated snack bars. The goal is to increase vegetarian choices and to reduce fat and salt content. They are looking at simple ideas such as rice and bean casserole, lentil soup, and pasta tuna salad.
The Food Service Advisory Committee, composed of dietitians, parents and nutrition experts, has banished desserts from school lunch menus, traded fruitlike sugar drinks for the real thing and halved the size of flavored milk drinks, a notorious source of sugar.
The idea for a menu featuring organic foods came from a concerned parent, Vanessa Ruddy, who arranged meetings with school parents, teachers, community members and Lincoln’s principal at Flock’s office. Flock embraced the idea and the rest is history. The food service department also went to the local farmers who practice organic farming and agreements were made with a few farmers to provide organic potatoes, squash and salad greens.
