Federally funded fresh fruit and vegetable snacks
This federal food program has been a health game-changer for our school. All students receive a fresh fruit or vegetable snack on school days. Sugary, fatty and salty snacks that families often consider snacks can be avoided.
The most important aspect of this program is that children are exposed to a wide variety of fruits and vegetables thereby widening their taste pallet and setting them up for an adulthood of healthy food choices. We know this program works because the Bellows Free Academy high school food staff can generally tell which students come from our school simply by looking at whats on a given student's tray. The students who most often select fresh fruits and vegetables for lunch acknowledge growing up eating those items at St. Albans City School.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This free program of food snacks is only possible because more than 40% of our students qualify financially for free or reduced cost meals. Indeed, 60-70% of our students do. All our families are asked to complete paperwork listing income levels and our administration works extremely hard to make this happen. An additional benefit of demonstrating financial need within in our school is that our students qualify for free breakfasts, lunches and after-school meals. Now we are more confident that our students are not hungry and that their minds can be focused on the academic and social learning that takes place at St. Albans City School.
The most important aspect of this program is that children are exposed to a wide variety of fruits and vegetables thereby widening their taste pallet and setting them up for an adulthood of healthy food choices. We know this program works because the Bellows Free Academy high school food staff can generally tell which students come from our school simply by looking at whats on a given student's tray. The students who most often select fresh fruits and vegetables for lunch acknowledge growing up eating those items at St. Albans City School.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This free program of food snacks is only possible because more than 40% of our students qualify financially for free or reduced cost meals. Indeed, 60-70% of our students do. All our families are asked to complete paperwork listing income levels and our administration works extremely hard to make this happen. An additional benefit of demonstrating financial need within in our school is that our students qualify for free breakfasts, lunches and after-school meals. Now we are more confident that our students are not hungry and that their minds can be focused on the academic and social learning that takes place at St. Albans City School.
Eating snacks
Fruit and vegetable processing and storage room
An important component of our fruit and vegetable snack program is our room for processing and storing the food. We converted it from a large storage closet to an extremely functional room adjacent to the cafeteria kitchen. Plumbing was added and grant funds were used to purchase multiple food storage fridges.
Share fridge
With freely supplied fruits and vegetables there is sometimes unwanted food. Rather than landfill or compost the food, our school has purchased two "share fridges". Any clean food leftover from snacks or meals can be placed in these fridges (one in the cafeteria and one in a classroom wing) for other students to eat. Any item in these fridges is available for students to eat at appropriate times during or after school. By the end of each school day most foods are gone. Quite a few kids take snacks home.
Note: There are times when certain foods are leftover in abundance. When that happens, we know to avoid serving that food in the future or to prepare it a different way.
Note: There are times when certain foods are leftover in abundance. When that happens, we know to avoid serving that food in the future or to prepare it a different way.