Healthy Lunches at Decatur Schools

Getting kids to “eat right” has always been a challenge.

With the new focus on locally grown food and childhood obesity, the (CSD) is working hard to make sure students have more choices for healthy eating and choices they’ll like, too.

The effort to provide Decatur students with healthier choices has been in the works for a while, and is the result of two major partnerships.

The first is with a national program called “Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools.” Funding for the program is provided through local businesses. For instance, the is supported by the Whole Foods store on Briarcliff Road at LaVista in DeKalb County.

According to Jennifer Weissman, mother of two Decatur students and a part-time assistant at the 4/5 Academy, about 300 of 500 students at the school purchase lunch each day. The average number of students who choose the salad bar ranges from 60 to 100 students daily.

After going through the cafeteria line to pick up their milk and a dessert, they “check-out” with cafeteria manager Donna Langley, keying in their individual ID numbers and either paying for their lunch with cash or charging it to their accounts.

Their parents (grades K through 5) can go to the parent portal to check not only the balance, but also monitor what their children are eating.

Then the kids head to the salad bar to fill their trays with fresh salad “fixings” – everything from lettuce and tomatoes to proteins that range from meat or poultry to cheese and boiled eggs.

They’re also served sweet peas, a marinated squash salad, pasta and more.  New choices are constantly added. Weissman said the kids – and the teachers – are surprised at how much they like the new additions. 

“The students are really adventurous when it comes to trying out new items on the salad bar,” she said. “Beets were one new addition and the students were surprised that they liked them!”

The salad bar is a complete meal with lots of choices. The students are eating more raw veggies, and there is also a focus on local produce – which leads to the second partnership.

That partnership is with the program at the . 

Teachers and other employees of CSD take workshops at the garden. They take classes on food, farm and nutrition lesson plans, hands-on cooking, taste testing, and organic gardening practices. The information helps them integrate the Farm to School program into their students’ classroom learning experiences.

Several of the Decatur City Schools have their own gardens now, most visibly at the corner of Commerce and East Howard. More are planned.

According to Allison Goodman schools nutrition director: “The student response to the increased scratch cooking and the greater variety of fresh fruits and vegetables has been so positive I am amazed.  We have seen an increase in students’ meal sales as well as adult meal sales.  It’s really been exciting to experiment with recipes using different seasonal foods on the school menus!”