eval report cover.indd - New Jersey Farm to School Network Wiki

OSB-WA: ORGANIC CHOICES SALAD BAR ATOLYMPIA SCHOOL DISTRICT, WASHINGTONOlympia School District, WAFree / reduced meal eligibility: 20.4%Total schools: 18Enrollment: 9,231Demographics:78.9 % White, 9% Asian, 5% HispanicLocal product used in:Organic Choices Salad Bar offered dailyOther program components:Nutrition and environmentaleducation, strong parent involvement,taste tests, promotional activitiesfor Organic Choices Salad Bars,organic garden, greenhouse,students involved in harvesting andselling garden product, childrenactivity kitchen, Harvest Festivals,composting and recycling programThe Olympia School District in Washingtonstate piloted an Organic ChoicesSalad Bar in October 2002 at Lincoln Elementary.The pilot program was started whena concerned parent from Lincoln Elementaryapproached the Child Nutrition Supervisor atthe district about the quality of school lunches.As a result of several meetings between parents,teachers, community members, the schoolprincipal and the Child Nutrition Supervisor,a new meal program was designed for LincolnElementary.Many other schools expressed interest in thepilot program at Lincoln, and by 2003, fourothers had added organic choices to their cafeterias- Pioneer Elementary, Boston Harbor Elementary,Griffin School District, and GarfieldElementary. The “Organic Choices Salad Bar”resembled a restaurant style salad bar featuringorganic fruit and vegetable choices, whole grainbread, vegetarian meat alternatives, eggs, andorganic soy milk. The salad bar could be chosen as a complete meal or in combination withhot lunch options.Th e OSB-WA program was supported by the district’s Child Nutrition Supervisor and receivedstrong support from the parent community.Data from this program was available from reports written on the project for school year2003 – 04.Flock Paul et al. A Salad Bar Featuring Organic Choices: Revitalizing the School Lunch Program, 2003.Conclusions Farm to School and Program RecommendationsProfileswww.farmtoschool.org 77