OPE Served 700 Salads in a Day!!

Last Tuesday, Olivenhain Pioneer Elementary (OPE) rolled out their new salad bar with a bang - giving away 700 salads in one day! Seeing an entire elementary school eating salad was a very cool thing.

OPE invited me to do my Food is Your Fuel Assembly before the kids went out to get their salads - we talked about what foods help their bodies function, and which ones slow them down. I also encouraged them to Eat a Rainbow. I explained how all the different colors of the rainbow offer different things for their bodies. The red fruits and vegetables contain lycopene, which offers heart protection, the green ones have chloropyll and lutein - which protect their eyes and boost the immune system. I told them that I was a very picky eater as a kid ("Hot Dog Girl") and that their taste buds change as they grow - so they should keep trying new foods (at least 15 times!). Plus, it is way more cool to be an adventurous eater (picky eating is soooo 2010 now)!

Each assembly ended with a Carrot Crunching Contest - where 1 cruncher was crowned the winner (but there were no losers - all contestants received a pack of 5 a Day Bandz). The winner of the first carrot crunching contest wore his crown with pride the entire day - that just made my day!

I have had many parents come up to me to say thanks - that the message resonated. Their kids are more aware of what they are eating, trying new foods and making healthier choices!! And as a result - they are feeling better! Now that is what I am talking about!

The salad bar equipment was a grant from Let's Move Salad Bars to Schools - which in conjunction with partners like Whole Foods Market has raised over $1.4M to donate salad bar equipment to schools. If your school would like their own salad bar - learn more about the grant!

The other really cool thing about OPE - is they have a beautiful garden already - where they are growing organic vegetables, thanks to our awesome science teacher Mr. Baugh and parent Mrs. Reed. So the kids can experience all the parts of Farm to Table there! When kids get to grow it - they will be more likely to try it!!

Thanks to the Great American Salad Bar Project, Whole Foods and the Food Service Department at Encinitas School District for making the salad bar happen!!

For more information about Food is Your Fuel assemblies and other Fitness Fun 4 All programs, visit www.fitnessfun4all.com

Looking forward to the Food is Your Fuel Assembly for Ocean Knoll in May (National Salad Month) to launch their new salad bar too!

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