One of the major initiatives of the Find Your Balance campaign is the Healthy School Meals Initiative, which is focused on healthy school meal choices and providing increased access to fruits and vegetables in schools through salad bars. Research has shown that school children significantly increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables when they have a school salad bar.
The Find Your Balance campaign is proud to have partnered with the Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools initiative which has a goal of donating 6,000 salad bars to schools nationwide. Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools supports First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative. CPPW grant funds provide eligible Bexar County schools with a free salad bar valued at $2,900. In January 2011, Metro Health held a Healthy School Meals Workshop, which provided resources and innovative techniques for nutritious school meals. National experts from Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools, the Alliance for Healthier Generation, and the Texas Department of Agriculture shared best practices and school success stories to better assist schools in San Antonio promote healthier choices for the students.
Through the successful efforts of the Healthy School Meals Initiative, more than 100 schools in San Antonio will be implementing salad bars this fall. With this monumental achievement, San Antonio is now one of the top 3 U.S. cities, alongside New York City and Chicago, utilizing the most salad bars. The San Antonio salad bar initiative will reach over 100,000 students in Bexar County!
Below are some great Success Stories from various San Antonio schools that have implemented salad bars. Students, teachers, and parents love the benefits of their school salad bar!
Submitted by: Tony Sottilo, Cafeteria Manager
Parents: The salad bar looks great.
Teachers: The salad bar tastes very good.
Students: I really like the salads.
Principal: I’m glad the salad bar is in my school.
Staff: I like the variety of foods the salad bar has every week.
Garner Middle School –
North East ISD
Submitted by: Sally Norelman
The salad bar serves fresh foods served daily that are healthy and satisfying. I love the changes that are made weekly. Students really love it as well. Much needed! Much appreciated!
Teachers: Best thing that happened to our food service. Other than our super staff.
Submitted by: Janis Erwin
I really enjoy the salad bar. I really like the addition of the boiled eggs.
Teachers: The salad bar has been great!
Submitted by: David Crowe
Principal: Students and staff enjoy the variety and self-selection of foods on the salad bar. I have enjoyed it occasionally as it is a great option when I do not bring my own lunch to work.
Nimitz Middle School – North East ISD
Teachers: It’s a highlight of my day, certainly eating anyway. I appreciate the quality, freshness, variety and reasonable price. The staff serving and maintaining the salad bar do a super job!
Students: The salad bar is good.
Principal: The salad bar is a great option for students and teachers!
Staff: It’s a great healthy addition to our lunch choices.
The salad bar is of good quality and the meal is plentiful.
Reagan High School – North East ISD
The salad bar has increased our choices for our students and staff. The fact that it is a healthy choice has made everyone excited. The students love that they can choose the items they want to eat. The salad bar also helps to reduce food wastes. John Luna, Cafeteria Manager
PTA Representative: Everything on the salad bar looks so fresh and it has such a great variety.
Teachers: We look forward to the healthy choices – I come every day!
Students: We look forward to the new choices the salad bar offers each Monday.
Principal: The salad bar has a great variety. It is a hit.
Staff: We love the fresh fruits & homemade salad recipes (Broccoli Salad – Pasta Salad – Black Bean Salads).
Tejada Middle School – North East ISD
The salad bar is a refreshing alternative to the hot lunch line or snack bar line. It is also a nice compliment to a lunch brought from home. I love the fact that the greens are not iceberg lettuce. The spinach adds great color. I also enjoy the hard boiled eggs for protein. I make sure that I always choose the “food/fruit” of the week! The only thing that would make it perfect are additional choices for dressings. I love it! I am enjoying it tremendously!
Principal: I really enjoy the salad bar; it is tasty and nutritious!
There has been a lot of positive feedback on premium fruit offered at the salad bar (pineapples, mangos, fresh melons).
Wood Middle School – North East ISD
“I have heard that many students and teachers love the new salad bar. They feel it’s a smarter and healthier choice they can make for lunch. They are pleased with the variety of vegetables offered. I have seen many choose to try new items that they have never tried before. I like the chopped fruit offered. I believe having the salad bar at our school shows that we care about the choices the children make about their eating.” Maria Salazar, Cafeteria Manager
Parents: I’m really happy that my child has a healthier choice to choose from.
Teachers: Like the salad bar, for a smaller/lighter meal choice.
Students: Enjoy the salad bar, they like the fresh fruit and pasta.
Principal: Happy we have the salad bar.
Staff: The Cafeteria Staff loves the new salad bar and the variety of choices.