A new initiative in some South Shore schools aims to prove you can win friends with salad.
The South Shore School Food Project has put salad bars in five schools.
One of project co-coordinators, Claire-Louise Osmond says the focus will be on providing healthy options from local farms that kids will want to eat.
“So that, when they go home, they are encouraging their family to make choices around the sorts of food they’re being served at school.”
Osmond explains the salad bar program is in the trial stage.
“Testing whether we can build that market within a school cafeteria to sustain these cafeterias in the foreseeable future.”
To encourage kids to give it a try, the salad bar was offered free at Bluenose Academy last week.
Student Eden Risser weighed in on the lunch.
“It’s very yummy.”
Risser says that’s the way she would eat at home if she had the choice.
The South Shore School Food Project has partnered with Agri-Futures Nova Scotia to ensure 30% of the food comes from local suppliers with a value of $55,000.
Executive Director of Agri-Futures Janette McDonald says it’s not just a piece of salad bar equipment plunked in the middle of a cafeteria.
“It takes volunteers, it takes a lot of support in the cafeteria. There’s a lot of prep on food products. It’s learning what products students like and where we can access that.”
McDonald says once they’ve learned how to get the kinks out, they hope to eventually expand the project across the province.
Reported by: Ed Halverson
Twitter: @edwardhalverson
E-mail: halverson.ed@radioabl.ca
