Allowing students to be involved in the food service program at Walters Elementary School in Marshall, Michigan helped staff and Michigan State University (MSU) Extension Educators learn more about what the students like and dislike about school meals. Food Service Director Paul Yettaw and MSU Extension Program Instructor Dana Wawrzyniec were able to select changes for the cafeteria and throughout the school by using the Healthy School Assessment tool. After assessing the school, the food service staff also made changes in the lunchroom. For instance, by simply placing the chocolate milk behind the white milk so that students had to reach over the white milk to get to the chocolate milk, they helped decrease the amount of chocolate milk consumed. Walters Elementary also tried to make the food in the lunchroom more inviting to student by creating creative titles for meals.
More from this Michigan Team Nutrition Smarter Lunchroom Moves Success Story Compendium:
- Smarter, Brighter, and More Inviting Salad Bars
- Impact of Smarter Lunchroom Coaches
- Partnerships Create Culture of Health
- Partner to Power Smarter Lunchrooms
- School Gardens Engage Students
- Smarter Lunchroom Move that Work
- Student Input Fuels Participation
Contributor
Nicholas Drzal, RD, MPH, Michigan Department of Education
For more information, contact Paul Yettaw, Food Service Director, Walters Elementary, Marshall Public Schools, MI.