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CREC Offers Students a Chance to Sample Healthy Food


(South Windsor, CT) When you think of school cafeteria options, you usually don't think of spicy roasted chickpeas. Yet, that’s just what students at the CREC International Magnet School for Global Citizenship sampled at lunch today.


The goal at CREC International Magnet School is to get students to try new, healthy foods, and the school is able to do so through a series of taste-testing events that are funded by part of a U.S. Department of Agriculture $5,000 Smarter Lunchroom Makeover grant. In addition to the federal agency, the grant is in collaboration with the Connecticut State Department of Education, the State Education Resource Center, the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, and the Cornell Center For Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs.


The grant is designed to help implement new U.S. Department of Agriculture meal regulations, especially the regulations that require an increase in the consumption of fruits and vegetables. For example, new regulations require a student to select a fruit or vegetable as part of their reimbursable lunch. They must also choose at least one fruit serving at breakfast.


This is a challenging task for many food service programs throughout the country. Some students are dissatisfied with healthy food options and mandated portion sizes. The cost of students eating healthier means an increase in food costs for providers, and there is a demanding timeline for implementing the new regulations.


The grant helps CREC International Magnet School by using Cornell University research data and evidence-based strategies, and an assessment of the cafeteria environment at CREC International Magnet School began last winter.


Based on the data collected, the school made a few changes to its cafeteria this fall. For example, it rearranged the assortment of milk, added additional fruit and vegetable options along the serving line, and added signs that encourage fruit and vegetable selection. It also now holds the monthly test-tasting events, offering items made by CREC's food services team, such as the spicy roasted chickpeas.


"I believe offering choices is the most important improvement we can make," said CREC International Magnet School Principal Cindy Rigling. "Part of teaching children to eat healthy is to offer them choices."


The School Nutrition Association of Connecticut (SNACT) also believes that the grant and the taste-testing events will help everyone, especially the students, better embrace the new meal regulations.

“It is important to engage students in their meal choices, and taste tests are a fantastic way to do that,” said Abby Kassman-Harned, President of SNACT. “Connecticut school food service directors have made dramatic progress in improving the quality of meals served to children each and every day, and we continue to lead the way in providing healthier meals. We applaud CREC’s commitment to provide new and exciting food options to students.”


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