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A healthy snack helps my brain stay on track
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WEST UNION -- As the Child Nutrition director for the Adams County/Ohio Valley School, Vicki Kratzer visits the schools in her district on a regular basis.
While at the schools, especially the elementary schools, she says she would often notice long lines of children lined up to see the school nurse.
She began asking questions.
The students often told her they had a stomach ache or headache. Yet when they reached the nurse, they had no fever or other symptoms.
"It hit me one day," she said. "A lot of these children are hungry."
She began quizzing the students again.
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| Photos by Laura Rains
Paula McIntosh's third-grade class has been learning about graphs using information learned about the healthy snacks students receive at school. The healthy snack project is successful because it involves administrators, teachers, students and cafeteria personnel working together. |
"Did you eat breakfast today?" Kratzer would ask.
More frequently than not, their answer was "no."
"Since that day it has been my goal to turn that situation around," she said.
As a nutritionist, she was well aware that for a student to do their best, good nutrition on a regular basis was key.
"My department is a support team to the educational process," she said. "It is our job to provide every possible tool for educational success."
A new program being implemented at the West Union Elementary School has her pretty excited.
Thanks to a couple of grants, the 872 students in kindergarten through sixth grade at the school are receiving a healthy snack of carrots, celery, cucumbers, cauliflower, apples, grapes, bananas, oranges or melon every day.
And they are also learning why these healthy snacks are important for their health and learning ability.
"Fresh fruits and vegetables are also part of regular breakfast and lunch menus," said Lisa Earley, assistant principal. "The healthy snack is in addition to that."
Earley says some of their students board the school bus as early as 6:45 a.m. Breakfast is provided for each child at no cost.
"The grant has allowed us to provide additional education in addition to the practices we already have in place," said Kratzer.
The school was awarded one of the 25 grants available in Ohio from around 274 applications. The $79,000 Ohio Fruit and Vegetable USDA-sponsored grant was issued in October, 2005.
The aging school didn't have enough cooler space for additional foods.
With the grant, Kratzer purchased a cooler which was placed in the cafeteria area to hold the snacks. Monies also pay for the fruits and vegetables and the extra time the cafeteria staff puts in each morning cutting up and dividing the snacks.
Head cook Cathy Thomas says she really likes the program and has seen first hand what an impact it is having.
The chips and cookies her own grandchild brought for snack time have been replaced with something healthy.
But the interest she says is school-wide.
"I work on the breakfast line every morning," she said. "I notice students picking up their breakfast and then taking a peek in the cooler to see what their snack will be today."
Kratzer also applied for and received a $500 educational grant to support the program.
Books, posters, balloons and food characters decorate the cafeteria area.
Fruit and vegetable trays are also placed in the main office, in the teachers' lounge and in the nurse's office daily.
Kratzer and her staff also supply educational materials to the classrooms to support healthy nutrition.
There are many activities suitable for each grade that the teacher can implement in the classroom.
One example of an activity for February is for students to make a fruit and vegetable valentine. They are encouraged to write their own message or choose from several including "LETTUCE be Valentines" or "We'd make a PEACH of a PEAR."
Students who have a late lunch time have their snack in the morning.
Paula McIntosh's third grade class has an early lunch time so they receive their snack in the afternoon.
As part of her math lesson, McIntosh has used the healthy snacks to help her students grasp the idea of graphing.
"We made a chart of all our snacks and showed which snacks were our favorites," said Allison Pelletier, 8.
In addition to the 11 healthy snacks the students charted, McIntosh also allowed them to list any snack they wished was on the list but wasn't.
Strawberries and pears were on their "wish" list.
The students also made a chart where they agreed or disagreed with a question: "A healthy snack helps my brain stay on track" and 100 percent of the students in her class agreed it did.
McIntosh probably gets the most excited about the improvement in math scores.
"Our healthy snack is right before math class," said McIntosh. "Every student but one improved their math scores."
The one student has health issues which does not allow him to eat acidic foods, and has also limited his desire to try new foods, even those without acid.
McIntosh is also excited about the effect it is having on her students at home as they tell her their parents are now fixing them vegetable trays for snacks.
"One student came in one day and told me her mother was going to buy cauliflower for them, even though the family had never tried it before," said McIntosh.
To help subsidize the program, Kratzer and her staff also prepare a one-page monthly newsletter for the students to take home to help educate the parents. The newsletter sometimes includes recipes or fun ways to work fresh fruits and vegetables into the family's daily diet.
"It's exciting," said Kratzer. "The administrators, the teachers, the cafeteria personnel, everyone is helping make this a great program for our children."
Kratzer recommends the Web site: www.mypramid.gov for more information for anyone, adult or child, wishing to live a healthier lifestyle.
Contact Laura Rains at Laura.Rains@lee.net or by phone at 606-564-9091, ext. 275 |
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