Shandon Joint Unified District

Project Description

Shandon Elementary School used the Project Produce Grant to expose their students to new types of fruits and vegetables. At the beginning of the 2018 school year, Food Services Director Jessie Wesch conducted a survey with each student about which types of produce they liked, didn’t like, or were not familiar with. With the help of teachers, surveys were distributed in each classroom. Wesch then compiled a list from the survey of the least known and least liked items and developed “recipes that would (in theory) help overcome some of the barriers of trying something with flavor profiles that the students like from lunch and afterschool snack.” The recipes ranged from roasted veggies to colorful salads, and often simple raw sliced fruits.

During the months of October and November, 3-4 taste tests per week were conducted in the cafeteria. The operation was a collaboration of Wesch, cafeteria staff, and high school students who earned class credits by working on the project. As a collaborative team, they prepared produce for taste tests in the cafeteria kitchen and passed out samples at the end of the lunch line. Food was sourced from their normal distributor, the local food bank, and their school garden. They tried to source food locally as often as possible with items such as purple cauliflower, peaches, and watermelon radishes, but also sampled items like pineapples and mangoes for the opportunity to talk about different kinds of nutrients and minerals.

The education piece combined with the taste tests helped to open up the minds and mouths of students. Wesch recounted that, “When they first saw a persimmon, they called it an ugly tomato! Now they know what it is and they’re more inclined to try it again.” The favorites of the taste tests have gone on to make regular appearances on the cafeteria salad bar. This has in turn increased salad bar consumption, decreased the amount of canned products served, and increased the amount of local produce used overall in the cafeteria.

Similar programming has continued at Shandon Elementary since their Project Produce grant. They are working with the County Public Health Department for continued funding and support. They have also worked with a nearby Food Service Director to increase their network of local farmers, whom they now host at the school to offer tastings. Wesch advises future Project Produce participants to “have a gameplan and get everyone excited about it for the greatest success. Have fun facts for kids and staff to make it even more fun!”

Successes

• Salad bar and local produce consumption increased.
• In time, students and staff members were excited about trying new things. Some staff members even tried the recipes at home!

Challenges

• Staff members were initially resistant to the change in routine and additional work.
• Surveys were challenging for the younger K-1st graders.
• In the beginning, getting students to try unfamiliar foods.