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Windsor students buying into healthy food
by NATHAN WRIGHT, Staff Writer
Sarah Lemmon knows exactly why she eats salad every day at school.
"It's good vitamin C," said the Windsor Creek Elementary School third grader. "It will make me strong, and healthy, and smart."
Lemmon and her classmates have a good selection of vegetables every day during their lunch break. Five of six schools in the Windsor Unified School District offer students a salad bar during lunch. Students at Mattie Washburn Elementary School, the only campus that lacks a salad bar, are thought to be too young to handle a salad bar, and are given individual portions of vegetables every day.
The district's elementary school students get an entrée with their salad, and the high school sells custom deli sandwiches. Every meal also includes a carton of milk.
Salad is an important part of healthy eating, according to district Director of Child Nutrition Lisa Herberg. Her goal is to offer students diverse, delicious breakfast and lunch menus that parents can afford.
"There's nothing worse than being trapped on campus with no options for good food," Herberg said. "Healthy eating is very important in this age of obesity." Herberg believes that being overweight hurts a child's self-esteem and sets the foundation for an unhealthy adult lifestyle.
District Superintendent Steve Herrington says that healthy eating is essential for learning and physical development. "It's important that we have children actively engaged so they need good diets," he said.
Students seem to be buying into the nutrition program. Herberg estimates that 3,000 of the district's 4,800 students purchase food from her menus every day. Lunch costs $2.20; breakfast is $1.
"If you went into a 7-Eleven you couldn't get that price," Herrington said.
The district also participates in the federal free and reduced lunch program. A total of 1,086 students qualified for free lunches last year, and 394 qualified for reduced prices (40 cent lunches, 30 cent breakfasts). A family of four with an income of less than $24,505 qualifies for free lunches; a family of four that earns less than $34,873 qualifies for the reduced lunch price.
The district gives students special lunch cards that work like an ATM card. Parents can deposit money on the card, allowing children to purchase meals. Students on the free and reduced meal programs also use the cards, which allows them to participate discretely.
The district's meal program wasn't always as desirable for students. When Herberg joined the district in November of 2000, Windsor schools were buying school lunches from Santa Rosa City Schools. The meals, according to Herberg, were similar to TV dinners.
"I was shocked," she said. "I had never seen anything like it."
Herberg had previously worked for school districts in Arizona. "In Arizona when they build a school, they build a kitchen," she said. Some of the Windsor schools didn't even have a sink where she could wash dishes.
The district was also losing money on its lunch program. "We went into a deficit with every meal we purchased from Santa Rosa," Herberg said. "We had to buy the meal, buy the milk, and then pay for labor to give out the food. If you're not making it (the meal) yourself, you're paying someone else to do it for you."
Herberg asked the district's Board of Trustees for $10,000 to purchase equipment and install sinks, and within three and a half months the district was making its own food, and was turning a profit.
Herberg has continued to improve the program, adding menu choices and improving facilities. She is currently working on a nutrient analysis program.
According to Herberg, the federal government requires that a school district meet certain nutritional guidelines to receive funding. The easiest way to meet the guidelines is to offer a certain portion of each food group in every meal. A district may free itself of the portion requirement if it can show that its meals meet nutritional criteria. By using a nutrient analysis program, Herberg can show that her ingredients meet the criteria, and can then create meals with different portions of meat, breads and dairy.
Herberg is also asking the district to build a kitchen for Cali Calmécac Charter School, which would free storage space at the high school kitchen currently used for Cali food, and would give her staff the opportunity to make meals from scratch at the Cali campus.
Herberg gave a presentation on her program at last week's school board meeting, and was congratulated by district leaders. "We're absolutely lucky," said board President Sandy Dobbins, "to have you and your staff out there."
"It's good vitamin C," said the Windsor Creek Elementary School third grader. "It will make me strong, and healthy, and smart."
Lemmon and her classmates have a good selection of vegetables every day during their lunch break. Five of six schools in the Windsor Unified School District offer students a salad bar during lunch. Students at Mattie Washburn Elementary School, the only campus that lacks a salad bar, are thought to be too young to handle a salad bar, and are given individual portions of vegetables every day.
The district's elementary school students get an entrée with their salad, and the high school sells custom deli sandwiches. Every meal also includes a carton of milk.
Salad is an important part of healthy eating, according to district Director of Child Nutrition Lisa Herberg. Her goal is to offer students diverse, delicious breakfast and lunch menus that parents can afford.
"There's nothing worse than being trapped on campus with no options for good food," Herberg said. "Healthy eating is very important in this age of obesity." Herberg believes that being overweight hurts a child's self-esteem and sets the foundation for an unhealthy adult lifestyle.
District Superintendent Steve Herrington says that healthy eating is essential for learning and physical development. "It's important that we have children actively engaged so they need good diets," he said.
Students seem to be buying into the nutrition program. Herberg estimates that 3,000 of the district's 4,800 students purchase food from her menus every day. Lunch costs $2.20; breakfast is $1.
"If you went into a 7-Eleven you couldn't get that price," Herrington said.
The district also participates in the federal free and reduced lunch program. A total of 1,086 students qualified for free lunches last year, and 394 qualified for reduced prices (40 cent lunches, 30 cent breakfasts). A family of four with an income of less than $24,505 qualifies for free lunches; a family of four that earns less than $34,873 qualifies for the reduced lunch price.
The district gives students special lunch cards that work like an ATM card. Parents can deposit money on the card, allowing children to purchase meals. Students on the free and reduced meal programs also use the cards, which allows them to participate discretely.
The district's meal program wasn't always as desirable for students. When Herberg joined the district in November of 2000, Windsor schools were buying school lunches from Santa Rosa City Schools. The meals, according to Herberg, were similar to TV dinners.
"I was shocked," she said. "I had never seen anything like it."
Herberg had previously worked for school districts in Arizona. "In Arizona when they build a school, they build a kitchen," she said. Some of the Windsor schools didn't even have a sink where she could wash dishes.
The district was also losing money on its lunch program. "We went into a deficit with every meal we purchased from Santa Rosa," Herberg said. "We had to buy the meal, buy the milk, and then pay for labor to give out the food. If you're not making it (the meal) yourself, you're paying someone else to do it for you."
Herberg asked the district's Board of Trustees for $10,000 to purchase equipment and install sinks, and within three and a half months the district was making its own food, and was turning a profit.
Herberg has continued to improve the program, adding menu choices and improving facilities. She is currently working on a nutrient analysis program.
According to Herberg, the federal government requires that a school district meet certain nutritional guidelines to receive funding. The easiest way to meet the guidelines is to offer a certain portion of each food group in every meal. A district may free itself of the portion requirement if it can show that its meals meet nutritional criteria. By using a nutrient analysis program, Herberg can show that her ingredients meet the criteria, and can then create meals with different portions of meat, breads and dairy.
Herberg is also asking the district to build a kitchen for Cali Calmécac Charter School, which would free storage space at the high school kitchen currently used for Cali food, and would give her staff the opportunity to make meals from scratch at the Cali campus.
Herberg gave a presentation on her program at last week's school board meeting, and was congratulated by district leaders. "We're absolutely lucky," said board President Sandy Dobbins, "to have you and your staff out there."
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