| Dietary exercises take students from brainstorms to brain freezes
There was a whole lot of slurping going on at Franklin School on Thursday. And there may have been a few children suffering from brain freeze.For the second time this year, lunchtime was turned into a lively nutrition lesson as kids participated in a "Mix It Up" activity focused on the benefits of eating fruit. Their reward for paying attention? A frozen 5-ounce serving of a "strawberry whirl" or "pomegranate paradise" smoothie from Jamba Juice."It doesn't just taste good, it tastes really good!" said first-grader Raghav Bangalore.During each lunch session, students were randomly assigned to one of six tables and asked to brainstorm different ways to eat a banana, apple, cantaloupe, strawberries, raspberries or pomegranate.Fifth-graders Kole Bartley and Kieley Trempy found themselves sitting at the "pomegranate table." They said they loved pomegranates and described the taste as between sweet and sour."You have to eat the seeds," said Kieley, to nods of agreement from Kole.
Schools remind parents of reduced-cost meals
Collier County's public school district is reminding parents and guardians that reduced-price breakfasts and lunches are available at each public school. The price of lunch in the elementary schools is $1.85 and in the secondary schools is $2.10. Breakfast for students at all grade levels is $1. Low-income families and those faced with difficult financial situations may be eligible to receive school meals either free or at a reduced price and their child's meal status will be confidential. To find out if a child qualifies, visit www.collier.k12.fl.us/foodservice/frlunch/ and click on the "Income Chart" link on the left side. If you qualify, print the online meal application, full in the requested information and mail the completed application to: The Department of Nutrition Services, 5775 Osceola Trail, Naples, FL 34109.
California beef problems affect North Dakota lunchrooms
North Dakota schools are waiting for word on whether they can use hundreds of cases of ground beef from a California slaughterhouse under federal investigation.If the meat cannot be used, it might mean added expense for some school districts.Districts in North Dakota and several other states stopped using meat from Hallmark Meat Packing Co. and its associated Westland Meat Co. late last month under direction from the Agriculture Department, after a video showed workers brutalizing sick and crippled cows.The Hallmark plant is being investigated for possible violation of laws designed to ensure food safety and prevent animal cruelty.Westland sold more than 27 million pounds of beef last year for use in school lunch and other federal nutrition programs. USDA has extended a ban on use of meat from the Chino, Calif., slaughterhouse until Tuesday.
Waterboarding legal when CIA used it
Department of Agriculture should provide a loud and clear wake-up call that federal inspection is not adequate to ensure a safe meat supply ("A gap in food safety," Feb. 19). This largest meat recall in U.S. history was brought about because of an animal rights organization's undercover video showing California slaughterhouse workers using kicks, electric shock, high-pressure water hoses and a forklift to force sick or injured animals onto the killing floor. USDA regulations prohibit sick animals from entering the food supply, because of the high risk of contamination by E. coli, salmonella or mad cow disease. About 37 million pounds of the recalled meat went to school lunch and other federal nutrition programs since October 2006, and "almost all of it is likely to have been consumed," according to a USDA official.
Christopher Magryta column: Back to old-school parenting
As an advocate for the health of the children of Rowan County, I want to help give parents the tools they need to help their children live a life in wellness. I want to encourage parenting with responsibility. Let's look at the state of our youth's nutrition today. Our children are more obese than ever, prone to more chronic disease and relatively unaware of the poor quality of life that awaits them. Whose fault is this? Corporate fast food? Our work schedules? School vending machines/lunches? I think not, although maybe partly. The fault lies with our collective inability to make healthy choices and to educate our children to do the same. Simply, we do not parent effectively. How does one effect change? I have been fighting this battle in my head and at Salisbury Pediatrics for nine years.
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