Somerville Farm to School Project

Back at the beginning of March, we gave you a sneak peek about how Somerville planned on celebrating National Nutrition month. We focused on 5, which is 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day. This year, one of our goals for National Nutrition Month was to expose students to healthy and delicious ways to eat their veggies. We accomplished this goal by taste testing kale chips in 6 different cafeterias. The kale chips are a great snack because they are crunchy and a little bit salty, just like regular potato chips, but with a lot more nutritional value. Kale has tons of vitamin A, vitamin K and some calcium too! Some students compared the taste of kale chips to the taste of other vegetables they are more familiar with, including broccoli, spinach, and lettuce. Students were able to vote on whether they would try the kale chips again. Giving students the chance to decide whether or not they liked the chips encourages them to continue to try new foods: no one l...

March is National Nutrition Month! This year's theme is focus on 5 - that's 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. National Nutrition Month bulletin board, Winter Hill School It's a no brainer that most kids love fruit, but some might find vegetables harder to like, especially those dark leafy greens, like kale. We took on this challenge by introducing the students to kale chips. When baked with a little salt, kale becomes crunchy with a slight umami flavor. Check back with us for the full recipe. Bunches of curly kale Kale chips  David Heidkamp, Framingham Nutrition Intern, and Meghan Bodo, Food Literacy Educator, washed, ripped, massaged and baked the kale for our first tasting in the Winter Hill School cafeteria. After eating their lunch, students stopped by the tasting table for a sample. David and Meghan are ready to serve kale chips! Taste, then vote! What did the students think? This delicious and healthy sna...

"They have learned so much!" That's what one of the Transition to Kindergarten teachers said to me as I left her classroom for the last time. I had been visiting 6 different classrooms once a week for the past four weeks to teach the students about the plant parts we eat and what plants need to grow. Another teacher quipped, "I didn't know which plant parts I was eating until I went to college. It's great that they are learning about it now." That was our goal: to get students thinking about where food comes from and to get teachers thinking about how to incorporate food literacy into their lessons. Our first day started with Sunbutter and seed collections. Chef Guy Koppe from Project Bread led the kids in preparing Sunbutter, using this recipe. The students watch toasted sunflower seeds transform into creamy Sunbutter right before their eyes.    Preparing and tasting sunbutter   After reading Seeds, seeds, seeds! by Nancy Elizabeth Wal...

Our National Nutrition Month festivities continued last week at the Dr. Albert F. Argenziano School at Lincoln Park! Students continue to LOVE the veggie dip with 57% of the students trying the dip and 83% voting that they would eat the dip again! A special thank you to Argenziano parents for volunteering with us at this event and UMass Extension Team Nutrition for their continued collaboration. Results from previous taste tests can be found at the links below: Arthur D. Healey School East Somerville Community School Winter Hill Community Innovation School Contents provided by Karyn Novakowski, PEP Grant Nutrition Education Coordinator.

On Wednesday, April 1 the Winter Hill Community Innovation School was treated to a lunchtime visit by Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone and Superintendent of Schools Tony Pierantozzi. The Mayor and Superintendent were at the Winter Hill attending one of our National Nutrition Month Celebrations, which included joining students during lunch period and taking part in a taste test . In a speech to the students, both the Mayor and the Superintendent reminded students about the importance of eating fresh foods and whole grains. They emphasized that food is the fuel that gives our bodies energy to be physically active and stay fit. The Mayor challenged the students to be ambassadors for health in their own lives, encouraging friends and family members to "Bite into a Healthy Lifestyle."  Superintendent Tony Pierantozzi addressing Winter Hill students.   Mayor Joseph Curtatone reminding students to be ambassadors for health. The Mayor and Superintende...

We continue our celebration of National Nutrition Month with taste tests in our elementary schools around the city. Last week over 300 students at the East Somerville Community School tried our Vegetable Yogurt Dip . Eighty percent of them liked it and would eat it again!     Content provided by Karyn Novakowski, PEP Nutrition Education Coordinator.

A few weeks ago, Winter Hill Community Innovation School fourth grade students had the opportunity to taste test a modification of a popular menu item during their lunch period. Leslie Schmille, Framingham State University Dietetic Intern, invited students to sample Toasted Cheese with Trees, a grilled cheese sandwich with roasted broccoli. Grilled cheese with roasted broccoli Thirty-five students participated in the taste test as well as several staff members. Overall, the sandwich was well received by students with 77% voting that they ‘liked’ the sandwich.   Several students enthusiastically replied “Yes!” when asked if they would like to see the sandwich on the school lunch menu. Students stated they love the taste of broccoli and cheese together. Adding broccoli to the sandwich provides additional key nutrients for students, such as vitamin A and C as well as fiber. It also is a benefit to the department because it creates a complete menu item for a reimbursa...

On Wednesday, March 11 we kicked off our National Nutrition Month Celebration at the Arthur D. Healey School. During lunch, we held a tasting of a Veggie Yogurt Dip . Students tried the dip on green, yellow and red peppers. Each student who tried the dip received an "I tried a new food today" sticker! They also had a chance to vote whether they would eat it again. Almost 200 students tried the recipe with an amazing 81% of them voting to eat it again! Thank you to Caitlin Kelly, PEP Grant Director and Leslie Schmille, Framingham State Nutrition Intern for helping out with the event. Content and photos provided by Karyn Novakowski, PEP Nutrition Education Coordinator.

This week we begin a series of National Nutrition Month celebrations with an event at each of our bronze award winning  HealthierUS Schools Challenge  schools: Arthur D. Healey School Dr. Albert F. Argenziano School East Somerville Community School John F. Kennedy Elementary School West Somerville Neighborhood School Winter Hill Community Innovation School National Nutrition Month, celebrated annually in March, is a campaign brought to us by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics . The theme for 2015 is "Bite into a Healthy Lifestyle," which encourages students and families to make informed choices about food choices and daily exercise. Here in Somerville, our schools are celebrating with a cafeteria taste test! We will be sampling a "Go Snack & Salad." "Go Snacks and Salads" are snacks or salads that contain red, yellow and green (colors in a traffic light). When you see these three colors together on your plate, you know that you have...

Our goal for 2014 was to expose Somerville students to new foods and flavors. We accomplished that by hosting sensory taste tests in all seven of our elementary schools.  Approximately 520 students (23% or 523 out of 2280 students) from our elementary schools participated. We reached 30 first through sixth grade classrooms with yummy fruit and vegetable based recipes. In June, students at the Winter Hill Community Innovation School tried a Spinach Strawberry Salad , in September students at the East Somerville Community School tasted Baba Ganoush made with eggplant from their school garden, and in October students at the Argenziano School sampled Hummus with vegetables . In November, ~330 students at five elementary schools tried a Moroccan Carrot Salad.  This recipe was a mixture of familiar ingredients coupled with unique spices and herbs. The sweet and sour salad was a great choice for a sensory taste test because it exposed the ...

Last fall was a very busy time for the Somerville Farm to School Project. We conducted sensory taste tests , apple tastings in our cafeterias , garlic planting days, special events like Food Day , and farm to school in class lessons. In fact, we were so busy that we are just finding time to post about some of our Fall 2014 activities! We hope the next few posts inspire you to think about warmer weather and working in the garden - spring is only 2 months away! In October and November of last year, first graders at the Argenziano School participated in a 6 week pilot farm to school curriculum. These lessons will be available to all first grade teachers in the Somerville school district as one of our farm to school curriculum kits. Working with the first grade teachers, we developed a science based curriculum that uses content literacy skills, cooking demonstrations and science experiments to teach students about plant parts and what they need to grow. These lessons were...