Stories from the lunch line - kids like healthy food

A decade ago, Whitley County schools in Kentucky began improving the nutritional quality of its school meals in response to rising obesity rate – the state is currently the seventh most obese state in the U.S. USDA’s Smart Snacks in Schools standards helped the school system further improve its meals, writes the district’s food service director, Sharon Foley, in this blog post. Talking to students about their food preferences has helped make healthier foods a success. For example, the district found that students were more likely to select fruit on the cafeteria line if it was sliced and placed in small cups. Staff and parents were also more critical of the move to whole grain versions of bread and pasta than were the students.

Source:
Lessons Learned from a Food Service Director: Kids Like Healthy Foods – USDA Blog, May 12, 2015