Northside Bulldogs Take a Healthy Bite

Norlina, NC:  Last week students at Northside’s Bulldog Academy explored a special part of their school: the cafeteria. Each day of the week, one grade prepared healthy snacks for the entire Academy using fresh fruits and vegetables. This exciting experience was made possible with the help of Warren County’s Child Nutrition Director Robert Parker, Northside Elementary’s cafeteria staff, and FoodCorps Service Member Caroline Stover.

“This was a great chance to spend some quality time with students and encourage healthy snacks to be eaten at home,” said Mr. Parker.

The students first engaged in a nutrition lesson, and then headed to the cafeteria to prepare a healthy snack with the professionals. Snacks were made from fresh pears, broccoli, carrots, spinach, and sweet potatoes. The young chefs exclaimed the new foods were “Delicious!” and then got to serve the snack from behind the lunch line and spread new knowledge to their peers.

Apart from getting to try new foods that quickly became their favorites, the students were so excited to be able to tour the cafeteria and prepare food with Ms. Durham, Northside's very own cook. The bulldogs have a new respect for all the work that goes into making their lunch everyday.

Students also received several nutritious recipes using seasonal produce to take home to their families during the week. One parent claimed their student had been asking to go to the store for broccoli and carrots all week!

Fourth graders at Northside Elementary prepare a honey mustard dip for raw carrots and broccoli. The students loved broccoli and carrots this way, and asked for thirds and fourths!

Second graders got to make spinach and broccoli quesadillas for their classmates, demonstrated here by our Child Nutrition Director, Robert Parker. The next day students were asking, "When can we eat spinach again?"