South Hamilton Community School District

Project Description

Thinking Outside the (Lunch) Box Makes “Try Day Friday” a Success

For “Try Day Fridays” South Hamilton Elementary provided their students with a sample cup of different fruits and vegetables every week thanks to the help of high school students who prepared the portions.

Students from nearby South Hamilton High School that were enrolled in the food/consumer science class used the fruit and vegetable tastings as a learning experience. They prepared and portioned the fruits and vegetables, including ones that were difficult to prep such as pomegranates.

Successes

• Students were very excited for “Try Day Fridays” and would ask the Food Service Director what they were going to have that week.
• The students were open to new items and several students reported that they had purchased the “Try Day Friday” item to eat at home.

Challenges

• Getting the fruit and vegetables from the local grocery store proved to be a challenge as the Food Service Director had to go purchase the items on her own.
• Utilizing the Food Consumer Science students was also a challenge because they needed to research the fruit and vegetables and how to best prepare them.
• Some kids refused to even try certain fruits or vegetables.