In the Schools
Schools Put Fuel Up to Play 60 in Motion
Conrad Weiser Middle School Students “Taste and Vote!”
The Fuel Up to Play 60 Student Team at the Conrad Weiser Middle School in Robesonia, Pa., introduced new foods during a series of Taste and Vote! events. The Student Team designated Tuesdays and Thursdays as Taste and Vote! days. During the lunch periods, the team provided samples of nutritious foods, including peppers, jicama, cucumbers, mangoes, strawberries, kiwi, and Cheddar and mozzarella cheese. At each taste-testing event, students sampled and voted, putting either a green slip (I like it!) or red slip (I don’t like it!) of paper in the ballot box.
Students and administrators responded enthusiastically to the Taste and Vote! activities. Candy Hartranft, food service director, assisted the team with the food selection and ordering. Next year she plans to guide the team so the students can take ownership of the project and work with the vendors. Hartranft explained that this is an excellent opportunity for the students to learn about food costs, availability and other issues related to food purchasing. “As long as any food is reasonable and the kids will eat it, I’ll add it to the menu,” Hartranft said. The recent pepper sampling was so successful that Hartranft added pepper strips to the salad bar at the middle school.
“It’s a great idea the school is willing to get new food on the menu, and that the students can actually taste the items first,” said Fuel Up to Play 60 team member Devon Roque. Despite the fact that majority of kids “red slipped” jicama, Devon reported the vegetable tasting was interesting for students because they probably weren’t eating many vegetables at home.