Champaign, illinois, USA
June 12, 2014
To help encourage healthy eating habits throughout summer, approximately 180 Jefferson Middle School students recently competed in a hands-on contest to create unique and healthy salads.
The “Salad Bar MY Way” contest incorporated lessons from Jefferson health education classes in a fun activity that reinforced the importance of healthy eating every day, even during the carefree summer months. The contest was held courtesy of Bayer CropScience, which donated a salad bar to the school last year.
The contest was a two-day event where groups of three students put together a creative and well-balanced salad of their choosing. On the second day, students presented pictures of their salads and were judged on healthfulness, ingredient variety, creativity, presentation skills and “theme.” Winners received prizes, such as local waterpark passes and healthy snack gift cards, to encourage healthy summer eating and increased physical activity.
“We’re thrilled to have had the opportunity to allow our students a hands-on experience with nutrition before the kick off to summer,” Principal Angelica Franklin said. “Our students have been able to select from a wide variety of fruit and vegetable options each day. It’s our hope that by helping to encourage healthy eating habits in school, we’re preparing our students for a lifetime of healthy snack and meal choices.”
Salad bars in schools
With more than 32 million American children participating in the National School Lunch Program, providing salad bars to schools can expose kids to a variety of fruits and vegetables and help teach a large number of children about healthy eating. Since last year, Bayer CropScience has donated salad bars to 11 schools nationwide through Let’s Move Salad Bars to SchoolsTM, a public health initiative developed to increase children’s fruit and vegetable consumption by providing salad bars to schools across the United States. Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools is supported by the United Fresh Produce Association Foundation.
For additional information and background on Bayer CropScience and their sustainability initiatives, please visit http://www.bayercropscience.us/our-commitment/bayer-initiatives.
Topics
Species
