An Apple A Day Is Marylin Avenue’s Way

From LVJUSD:When one kindergartner starts jumping up and down with excitement for oranges in line at a school cafeteria, you think: healthy kid. When an entire table of kindergartners start shouting over each other about how much they love broccoli and strawberries and apples, you think: healthy school. Marylin Avenue Elementary School, in recognition of this success, received a Silver Healthier U.S. School Challenge: Smarter Lunchroom (HUSSC: SL) Award for its commitment to promote a healthy school environment. The award, sponsored by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, recognizes schools that emphasize good nutrition and physical activity.

As a Team Nutrition School – a network within the National School Lunch program under the USDA – Marylin Avenue has demonstrated that it is committed to providing nutritional changes as needed, conducting nutrition education activities and events, and implementing materials from the USDA Food and Nutrition Service. To qualify for the Silver award, Marylin Avenue had to meet numerous criteria, including daily student participation levels in their healthy breakfast and lunch cafeteria offerings, and physical activity throughout the day.

“The community at Marylin Avenue School strives to help students develop healthy eating and living habits,” said Principal Denise Nathanson. These habits go beyond food served during lunchtime – though the cafeteria has certainly enriched its offerings with a cornucopia of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat milk. To qualify for an award, the entire school had to come together to develop a culture geared toward a healthy relationship to food and exercise. “We incorporate exercise into the school day, including Workout Wednesdays, when classes participate in a school-wide workout session to music,” said Nathanson.

Debra Jones and Paula Swadener are the food service assistants at Marylin Avenue’s “Roadrunner Café,” and they have implemented a variety of changes to enhance the cafeteria experience for students with the help of colleagues and the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District’s (LVJUSD) Campus Catering department. “Presentation is maybe the biggest thing,” said Jones. “It needs to be inviting. If it looks nice and colorful, and there’s a variety, the kids are more interested. Kindergartners prefer the slices of oranges or apples, and baby carrots. But the older kids take the whole fruits, and they like having a salad.”

Not only are the fruits and veggies arranged neatly and enticingly, the entire room is bursting with color. As students filter in to pick out their lunches, they are surrounded by vibrant murals designed and painted by Debbie Anderson, a kindergarten teacher at Marylin. The murals depict a farm and orchards - showing where their food comes from - populated with smiling children who love their fruits and veggies. A screen outside displays the day’s menu and loops a video of a cartoon fruit or vegetable singing a catchy song about itself.

The new look has been successful. Students are loading their plates with more fruits and vegetables, and the cafeteria staff are ensuring that everyone has the correct amount of components for a balanced meal on their trays. Even with the standby of hamburgers and tater-tots available, more students opted for the strawberry and yogurt parfait with granola.

“The cafeteria is a great place to promote curiosity about nutrition,” said Barbara Lee, Director of Campus Catering at LVJUSD. That the curiosity and focus on health does not fade once they leave the table is a testament to the good work put forth by the entire staff at Marylin Avenue to promote a healthy environment. With kids jumping out of their seats to sing the praises of broccoli, the award seems well deserved.

Image Via LVJUSD