PRESS
January 24, 2005
Section: Page 1
Page: 1A
SCOTT MACDONALD/THE SALINAS CALIFORNIAN
Victor Calderon
Staff
Fourth-graders Marlen Ibarra, left, and Betsy Cervantes get served lunch Thursday at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Academy in Salinas. The Alisal Union School District will receive an award for its nutritional policies.Alisal students eating right
School district will receive first Salad Bowl award for nutrition program
VICTOR CALDERON
The Salinas Californian
Teachers and students in the Alisal Union School District will be honored this week for cutting back on fat and sugar in school lunches.
The district will receive the first Salad Bowl of the World Award on Thursday at the Growing Healthy Communities Summit at California State University, Monterey Bay.
"The steering committee voted on this award and found that Alisal Union is head and shoulders above all other Monterey County school districts when it comes to nutritional education," said Mike Pippi, executive director for Healthy Eating Lifestyle Principles, the conference's host organization. "The Alisal school district serves as a model for the rest of the county's districts to emulate."
Suzanne Du Verrier, director for the district's 5-a-Day nutrition program, said the district introduced new nutritional guidelines that seek to eliminate junk food in school lunches and to do away with candy-bar fund-raisers. The 5-A-Day program advises that people eat five fruits or vegetables a day to improve health.
Du Verrier said the district also has introduced healthier menu choices, including cereal and eggs for breakfast and breaded chicken and salads for lunch. She also said fund-raisers have moved away from food items.
DETAILS
For information about the Alisal Union School District's 5-A-Day nutritional program and to see monthly breakfast and lunch menus, visit www.alisal.org/ dept/foodsrvc/index.htm.
"Many teachers and parents have embraced the program because they understand sugar is not good for the kids," she said.
"Students are also saying they like the program because it gives them a healthy option. They like the menu choices."
Lenore Green, one of three nutrition teachers in the district, said the district has started an after-school health and fitness club and publishes a bilingual monthly newsletter to educate parents about healthy choices for their children.
Contact Victor Calderón at vcalderon@salinas.gannett.com.
Students at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Academy in Salinas get lunch items from the salad bar Thursday. The Alisal Union School District is receiving an award for its nutritional policies.
SCOTT MACDONALD/THE SALINAS CALIFORNIAN