Can You Teach Kids To Eat Healthy?

Yes, you can teach kids to eat cauliflower. That’s what is happening at Jefferson Elementary School, where a movement to bring healthy foods into public schools was first introduced in New Jersey.

“This place will get a lot of attention,” said Judy LoBianco, the district’s supervisor of physical education, nursing services and health, who told student journalists at Jefferson how CATCH (an acronym for Coordinated Approach To Child Health) is now catching on as a model throughout the nation for schools teaching kids to mind their peas and carrots.

Similar programs are already in place at Seth Boyden and Clinton elementary schools.

The young reporters said LoBianco was especially excited about the project because kids as young as preschool will be introduced to CATCH characters like Flash Fitness and Hardy Heart.

Throughout the country, CATCH schools are credited with lowering absences and discipline problems, and with increasing academic success. It’s really as easy as ABC: “Healthy, active students learn better,” LoBianco said.

The elementary school is creating an environment in the school cafeteria and classrooms where students try new and healthy foods. “When I think of healthy food I think of green peas. I love green peas,” LoBianco told the young reporters.

Parents are learning right along with their children. “After growing up on canned and frozen peas and Green Giant green beans, I was happy to share something fresh and yummy,” said Jefferson parent Virginia Doherty, who last month introduced roasted cauliflower sprinkled with lemon juice to fourth-grade students.

“I was surprised that almost everyone in the class tried it and liked it,” Doherty said. “One boy told me he had never tried cauliflower and he was not very excited about it. But he told me he really liked it and asked for more.” Many of the students took second helpings and before Doherty knew it, all of the cauliflower was eaten.

“My son only tried a small piece and said he did not love it,” Doherty said. “At least he tried something new.   

And isn’t that the whole idea?

The students are learning how to make better choices when they are choosing lunches in the school cafeteria and after-school snacks. They know the difference between WHOA (French fries, candy, ice cream, chips) foods, SLOW (pancakes, baked chicken nuggets, white bread) foods, and GO! (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, broiled fish, baked chicken and lean meats) foods.

The school is seeing the fruits of those efforts pay off. Ava, one of the student journalists at Jefferson, was eating pasta still warm in her thermos for an after-school snack while working on this article.

Nationally, 31 percent of children ages 2 to 19 are overweight or obese, and 80 percent of children who were overweight between ages 10 and 15 were obese by age 25, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

CATCH helps kids in New Jersey stay healthy with nutrition and physical fitness activities -- bringing some big-name stars to schools to inspire the kids. At Jefferson, students watched their mentor, Giants defensive end Justin Tuck, go all the way to the Super Bowl.

The Jefferson program also includes collaborating with on an initiative to combat childhood obesity. The school is working with public relations students on a dance marathon called “Jefferson Moves like Jagger.” The event featured an expert nutritionist and project director of United Way of Passaic County, who gave parents the inside scoop on nutritional value and how they too, can make the “EZ” choice when making lifestyle decisions in the home.

This story was reported by students at a Jefferson after-school journalism enrichment program. Marilyn Joyce Lehren is their teacher.