Getting Kids to Eat Produce at School
Here’s an article from Science Daily: Kids Eat More Fruits, Vegetables When Schools Offer Salad Bar
The findings show that the frequency of students’ fruit and vegetable consumption increased significantly – from 2.97 to 4.09 times daily – after a salad bar was introduced.
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“The salad bar program showed us that children will indeed eat more fruits and vegetables if offered in an appetizing and accessible manner,” Slusser said. “Future studies should evaluate parent education with school lunch menu changes, as well as why boys are less likely to eat from the salad bar at lunch than girls.”
It certainly makes sense that simply providing access to fresh fruits and vegetables will increase consumption. There’s no mention of how accessible fruits and vegetables were before the salad bar was added, so it’s hard to know if anything else was changed other than giving them a salad bar and educating them on its use. I can say though that boys are less likely than girls probably because of the image of salad as being girly food, while burgers and fries are manly. The kids probably pick up on what they see and hear at home. But this is a step in the right direction of getting kids off of the pizza, burgers, and candy bars and getting them to eat real, whole foods.
About Scott
Scott Kustes loves to cook and loves to eat. He started Real Food University to help you get maximum enjoyment out of the meals that you eat. To find out more about how he has rebelled against the fast food culture and counting calories or carbs, join the Real Food Revolution.
3 Reader Comments
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My son doesn’t always eat the cut up veggies that I put in his lunch box, but I notice that if I leave the container open and out on the table after school (running them under some water if they look too dry – especially peel carrots, they get eaten then – the less I say about them the better
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Before dinner when he is ravenous, begging for food, etc., I try to have a container of cut up veggies ready to go in the fridge (I do a few days’s worth at a time). Even if he fills up too much on them, it is veggies so no harm done. But bread, milk, yogurt, etc., messes too much with his dinner appetite. Fruit is always out for snacking, but he is usually focussed on “right now, no work” sort of food and/or wanting to get back outside to play and I’m busy with my own pre-dinner activities and don’t want to switch gears. If I was a perfect parent, I would probably get him to scrape and cut his own carrots, or help with dinner, but … I did my best parenting before I had a kid
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At least he eats them! And from what you’ve talked about here, it sounds like you’re doing A-OK as a parent…sounds like things are pretty well spot-on in your household. Granted, that’s from a guy with no kids. =)
Cheers
Scott
I think the idea of being able to choose what they want….and avoid what they don’t want that also make it more attractive.
My kids were pretty easy. I cooked, they ate. A “no thank you” portion for new and “icky” foods. If they didn’t eat they waited until the next meal. They pretty much always ate a pretty good diet without being bugged. I also never forced foods that they tried and truly hated.
They also had soda, chips, candy, etc but much less than most kids even then (they’re 23 & 25 now). And I also tried to make as many of their treats as possible. Homemade cake isn’t as “bad” as store bought!