School Update on Local Farms - Healthy Kids

Eva Ringstrom is the coordinator for the Eat Better, Feel Better Program at Van Asselt School in Seattle, which received a Washington Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Grant through the Local Farms-Healthy Kids Act.

Here’s Eva's account of how the new program is working at Van Asselt School.

"Van Asselt is buzzing with healthy eaters! I can’t walk down the hallway without at least a half dozen students exclaiming “I never knew those peppers weren’t hot and spicy—they were sweet!” and asking “What’s for afternoon snack?” or “What fruit or vegetable are we having today, Ms. Ringstrom?” or “Can we have those plums again tomorrow?”

And on the days when the students eat fresh young carrots (greens included!) for their afternoon snack, I’ve had fourth- and fifth-graders shuffling up to me in the hallway on their way to the bus, glancing around suspiciously, and revealing leftover carrots stuffed into jeans and coat pockets. No joke!

One piece that was particularly surprising...is that both our principal and vice principal have reported lower rates of discipline referrals in the late afternoon since the snack program’s inception on October 6th. I don’t have numbers to back this up, but they say that the snacks—which we timed for after the mid-afternoon recess—give the students the boost they need to focus through the final hour of the school day, and that the office staff are much less busy with discipline problems than before!

...And one of our 4th grade classrooms had a visit from State Rep. Eric Pettigrew and Farmer Ray DeVries of Ralph’s Greenhouse in Mount Vernon. Rep. Pettigrew told them about why he thought this bill was important and the process of getting it passed (having an idea, telling it to the team of people he works with, writing that idea into paper, and then personally walking around to all of his colleagues in Olympia and asking them to support this idea by voting for it), and was glad to see all that hard work turn into something that people can eat every day. I love that way of putting it—an Edible Idea...

After that, Mr. DeVries—who brought in a large picture board to illustrate the process of his produce getting from the farm to their classroom—talked about his background, showed examples of the veggies he grows, and answered questions about his farm, about what happens to the oddly-shaped potatoes (potato chips), and explained how “baby carrots” are shaved into their signature shape. Before the visit was over, everyone was chomping on freshly pulled carrots from his farm, and students were requesting a field trip out to Mount Vernon."

For more info on Local Farms-Healthy Kids, contact WEC's Outreach Director Kerri Cechovic at kerri@wecprotects.org.