Montgomery County is trying to feed its students more vegetables. The public school system wants to have 15 to 20 salad bars added to the Free or Reduced-price Meals program by the end of the year, Department of Food and Nutrition Services Director Marla Caplon told the County Council’s education committee Monday. Currently, 10 salad bars are in middle and high schools, but only one is available to students in the meals program.
Salad bars are an effective way to get students to eat healthier because they get excited when they can choose what they eat, said Linda McMillan, a senior legislative analyst for the council.
The plans to expand healthy eating follow a July report by the Office of Legislative Oversight that found that Montgomery County wasn’t doing as much as other school districts to help students eat healthy.
For example, the District of Columbia added 12 salad bars to its reimbursable meal program last year, and Anne Arundel County Public Schools also offers all-you-can-eat fruits and vegetables.
Adding salad bars is the most visible action MCPS is taking to improve nutrition in Montgomery County schools, said Councilman George Leventhal, D-at large, the head of the Health and Human Services Committee, but improving nutrition is not that simple.
One concern council members raised was whether students in more affluent areas would have more access to healthy foods.
“The vast majority of the students eating at school are poor,” said Council President Valerie Ervin, chairwoman of the Education Committee, emphasizing the importance of providing nutritional options.
Some of the salad bars will be paid for through a grant program — customers at Whole Foods Market stores can make donations — while others are supported by the school system.
Studies show that children who eat meals at school have healthier diets, said MCPS Director of Facilities Management Kathy Lazor.
But Ervin said the food would need to improve before MCPS can meet that goal.
“To get more kids to eat the lunch, they need to like the food,” Ervin said.
