Redwood City leaders gathered at Henry Ford Elementary School Friday to celebrate fresh access to healthy foods in public school cafeterias.
Shortly after the school’s “Lettuce Run” field day activities, students dined from their new salad bar, which features corn, carrots, vegetables, and other fresh foods.
“The health of the students is a priority,” said Don Shoecraft, spokesperson for the Sequoia Heathcare District, which partly funded the endeavor.
“If we can establish healthy eating patterns while the students are young, they can carry those into adulthood,” Shoecraft said, describing the long-term goals for this endeavor.
Three years ago, The Sequoia Healthcare District approved allocating $6 million for a pilot program designed to increase nutrition education among public schools students. The funding was guaranteed for three years and paid for the salaries of wellness coordinators, physical education teachers, and school nurses who work for eight school districts in San Mateo County.
This "Healthy Schools Initiative" was modeled after the CDC's Coordinated School Health program, according to the program’s website.
The school districts pay for the salad bars and the foods, which feed more than 27,000 students.
The Sequoia Healthcare District encompasses the cities of Redwood City, Menlo Park, Atherton, Woodside, Belmont, San Carlos, and parts of San Mateo and Foster City. The SHD's Board of Directors approved another year of funding for this program's coordinators in April 2013.
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