A local school is taking part in a provincial initiative to improve access to healthier foods.
The Public Health Association of BC created the Farm to School Salad Bar program for Northern parts of the province, where access to locally-grown and culturally-appropriate foods can be limited. Mountview Elementary School has been using the program since 2008.
The program is a school food service that enables students to serve themselves a selection of healthy foods that are as locally and sustainably produced as possible, such as a variety vegetables, fruit, grains and protein. Mountview runs its salad bar twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and it is coordinated by a group of volunteers.
Retired Mountview principal Rick Miller helped get the Salad Bar program off and running, working closely at the time with then program coordinator Amber Nustad and retired dietitian Tatjana Bates. The program took about a year to plan prior to its debut in 2008, as the school needed to obtain funding, purchase equipment and renovate the kitchen.
Once everything was completed, the program officially started at Mountview with their first Salad Bar in May of 2008. The school did about four weeks of the program to work out any kinks and make adjustments before a full start in the new school year in September.
Abigail King has two boys, one in Grade 5 and on in Grade 6, who have attended Mountview since Kindergarten and have always participated in the Farm to School Salad Bar program, which she calls “amazing.”
“[It] allows children to try different homemade meals prepared by the volunteers,” she said. “They are also provided fruit and vegetables with the homemade meal.”
Salad bars look different un each school as they reflect diverse cultures, local geography, traditions and preferences of their communities. Particular salad bar menus for the month could include wraps, lasagna, baked spaghetti, or lazy cabbage roll casserole — meals that many children may not have the opportunity to try at home on a regular basis, according to King. She points out that the salad bar allows these kids to try and become familiar with new foods and meals.
“Our society is so fast-paced and we are losing sight of the benefits of home-cooked healthy meals,” she said. “This is an incredible program that would not happen without the many volunteers.”
