Salad Bar Program Kicks Off At Baltimore School
BALTIMORE (WJZ)—Baltimore City schools are eating the fruits of their labor, securing grants for salad bars to add to 10 school cafeterias.
Pat Warren reports on one grand opening that received rave reviews.
The things kids won't eat probably don't surprise you--like a second-grader with a preference for bread with no crust. But the things they love to eat may surprise you, too.
A newly installed salad bar at Calvin Rodwell Elementary is well suited to those tastes, their tummies and a trend toward better nutrition.
"What I have in my salad is some grapes, cucumber, spinach, tomatoes and strawberries," said Demetrius Nelson, fourth-grader.
These culinary options are courtesy of grants from HBO, Whole Kids Foundation and Global Tap, which is providing filtered water taps.
And it is building on what students are being taught about what makes a good plate.
"Your vegetable would be string beans, your protein would be chicken, your fruit would be grapes, and your carbohydrate would be bread," said Timothy Jones, fifth-grader.
Governor Martin O'Malley joined the students for lunch.
"For so many years we put soda machines, potato chips and so many things into school diets and cafeterias, tons of salt, tons of fat, and the result you see is a rising level of obesity," O'Malley said.
And now perhaps a change.
"I picked those things because they're healthy," one student said.
"The more you eat salad, the more energy you have in a day and by night time you get a good night's rest," another student said.
One of the priorities of the O'Malley administration is to promote childhood health through better nutrition.
A total of 10 city schools have received the new grants for salad bars.
