What's for lunch? What's for lunch? (November 18, 2005)

Landels takes a bite out of obesity with its annual Healthy Snack Contest

By Julia Bernard

It's Wednesday morning, and the multipurpose room at Landels Elementary School resembles a potluck party with a variety of mouth-watering snacks and smoothies displayed on the table.

But kids who came here today know that it's not all about fun -- they have a job to do. They have been chosen by their class to serve as tasters at the annual Landels Healthy Snack Contest.

Anne Fischer, the main organizer, explains the contest's simple rules: You have to try everything at least once; save it if you like it, throw it away if you don't. The students also receive a list with the names of the dishes and a roll of stickers. At the end of the round, they get to choose their five favorites.

Among the dozen entries were baked tempura broccoli, toasted almond-crunch sandwiches, spring rolls and even a goofy salad, each portion of which was served in an ice cream cone.

"One thing about the kids -- we get instant feedback about the food," smiles Fischer. "You can see whether they like it or not right away." Indeed, each snack gets either enthusiastic nods of approval or the bottom of the trash bin right after the first bite.

With childhood obesity at an all-time high and the U.S. Surgeon General calling it "an epidemic," the food that children eat is coming under increased scrutiny. As stated in a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "51 percent of children and adolescents eat less than one serving a day of fruit, and 29 percent eat less than one serving a day of vegetables that are not fried."

Four years ago, Fischer, a registered nurse and a Landels mom, decided to work on changing the obesity problem. She began organizing yearly assemblies where she talks to the kids about basic nutrition rules such as the importance of moderation, reading the labels and identifying different nutrients.

Besides the lecture, students are encouraged to submit recipes of their favorite wholesome snack. Those submissions are reviewed, and a few are entered as part of Landels Healthy Snack Contest.

"We try to make sure that we chose the recipes that represent the diversity of the food groups as well as the diversity of the students here at Landels," says Fischer.

Contest winners are awarded prizes donated by local businesses, such as gift certificates from Books Inc. and Bookbuyers and gift baskets from the Mountain View Farmers Market.

What started as a grass-roots initiative based purely on enthusiasm became a yearly program called Healthy Eating to Support Learning. This year the program received official accolades, when the Santa Clara County School Boards Association granted it a Glenn W. Hoffman Exemplary Program Award.

Last year, Fischer, along with the PTA and then-principal Alicia Henderson, put together the Healthy Snack Recipe Book, a collection of finalists and winning recipes as well as a curriculum for any other schools interested in duplicating Landels' program.

But Fischer says she'd be happy if the recipes were used right there in Landels' own cafeteria.

"Our dream would be to persuade the school cafeteria to try and prepare at least one of our proposed snacks," she said.

E-mail Julia Bernard at jbernard@mv-voice.com

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