Posted by kathryn in Uncategorized

I’ve blogged before about school canteens and different measures being taken by schools and communities to improve the food they offer. One class in Las Vegas have taken the matter into their own hands and a quiet revolution is occurring.

The problem was the kids hated the reheated frozen green beans offered during lunches. Instead of staying silent, they organised a polite letter-writing campaign, with their teacher. While complimenting the canteen staff on the food they cooked, all the kids asked for the green beans to be dropped. One little boy even wrote:

Anything, anything, I’ll even eat broccoli

Instead of ignoring them, the school district body organised a taste testing of different vegetables and asked for feedback. The children were offered a combination of cooked and raw vegies and asked to fill out a survey highlighting their favourites.

While not all the requests would be accepted – and green beans would still occasionally be served – district supervisor Sue Hoggan said the survey will help district dietitians “tweak” the menu.

It’s also been a valuable lesson for the kids, who were all excited their requests were listened to. As their teacher said “I taught them the pen is mightier than the sword, and hopefully they remember that forever.”

The original story is here and thanks to Rudd Sound Bites for originally highlighting it.

06 August, 2007