Green Child Magazine Fall 2012 | Page 19

One School’s L unch Revolution by Kia Robertson In the Back to School issue, you read about starting a school lunch revolution. This time, I'm excited to share with you how one school has taken that concept and turned it into reality! A local private elementary school contacted me to see if I could help them shift to a healthier lunch program. In this area, schools have a "Hot Lunch" option provided to students once a week. Usually they offer things like hot dogs, pizza, and other fast food. Not exactly healthy foods… but to be fair most schools here don't have full size kitchens. The students of First Lutheran Christian School just happen to have everything needed to start their Healthy Hot Lunch Revolution: • a commercial size kitchen • a local caterer, Sharon Bootsman, who has a passion for fresh food • a determined admissions advisor and lunch coordinator, Heather Sandager, who had a vision and a community of interested parents • oh and me, the Rainbow lady Step one was to figure out a game plan. What would be on the menu? How could we tie in eating a rainbow? What would we do to get the kids excited & on board? Well I'm happy to say it's all planned out. Here’s a glimpse of the menu (with a cost that is very close to what parents pay for the fast food hot lunches): Week 1 - Wraps with a choice of Tuna, Chicken, Ham or Vegetarian; Rainbow Veggie Tray; g'V