If you have an elementary school student in New Albany-Plain Local Schools, you see the lunch menu each week. Your kids may eat school lunches – about 80 percent of New Albany High School students do, and the elementary and middle school participation rate is a little lower – but what do they actually enjoy eating?
We anonymously surveyed New Albany-Plain Local fifth-graders to find out their favorite foods. This was not a scientific survey by any means (it was obvious that some kids had discussed their answers with each other, and our analysis of the responses was only surface-level), but we think it offers an interesting sneak peek into the minds of local students.
Each of the questions with data presented here was multiple choice with a write-in option, and the answers we picked to present as choices were somewhat arbitrary. Three other questions with write-in only answers were also included in the survey. We asked students what they would like to see served that isn’t currently served, what is their favorite snack to bring from home and, if the school were to bring in food from a restaurant for lunch, which they’d prefer. Survey questions and answers were formulated with the help of school district Director of Communications Patrick Gallaway.
The good news is that the fifth-graders love fruit. The fruit question on our survey generated the most responses – 291 students answered. Some were so enthusiastic about fruit they circled every single one on the list (disqualifying their answers, since directions said to circle one). Write-in watermelon topped multiple-choice option orange. We lumped all write-in berries (strawberries, blueberries and raspberries) in with the multiple choice “Berries” to declare our fruit victor.
Vegetables got a more negative rap, as you might expect. Quite a few students left the question blank, but there were also a variety of veggies written in; artichokes, asparagus, Brussels sprouts and cabbage each received at least one vote. Corn was the write-in of choice in this category, which shouldn’t be a surprise considering it’s our state’s second-largest crop.
Would you be surprised to learn that water is a popular drink choice for students? More than 20 percent picked it as their favorite. Unfortunately, soda (though it’s not sold in school) did pull in just over 5 percent of the vote.
In our entree category, we counted all chicken entrees together. Chicken Nuggets was a multiple choice option, but write-ins included chicken patties, chicken poppers and chicken strips. Pizza was the most popular choice by far; we’re guessing that’s because the district has Bellacino’s pizza brought in on Fridays. More than 13 percent of students responded that they bring packed lunches. A notable write-in in this category was “Bosco sticks” – breadsticks stuffed with cheese and other fillings.
Popular snacks included Chex Mix, Cheez-Its, chips, Goldfish crackers and fruit snacks. Chipotle, Panera and Piada were a few of the top answers for the outside restaurant food students enjoy.
To view the full survey results, click here!!
Lisa Aurand is editor of Healthy New Albany Magazine. Feedback welcome at laurand@cityscenemediagroup.com.
Snack Attack
To urge first-graders to bring more nutritious snacks, the K-1 building implemented a new program called Snack Attack after students returned from winter break.
“We wanted to encourage them to make good choices during snack time,” says K-1 Principal Susan Wittig.
The idea came from a teacher who had seen the program implemented at a school in another state where she previously worked.
“We modified it to fit our needs,” Wittig says.
One random day each week, a surprise announcement is made in the morning: “Today is Snack Attack Day.” Teachers count how many students have fresh fruit and vegetable snacks. At the end of the month, the class with the highest percentage of fruit and vegetable snacks wins the Snack Attack Trophy, a basket full of plastic fruits and vegetables. The class also gets one extra wellness class, during which they’ll select a physical activity of their choice.
So far, the program has proved very effective, Wittig says.
“Parents seem very receptive to the idea. Kids have gone home and put pressure on them to bring healthful snacks to school,” Wittig says. “We’ve had very positive parent support for the program.”
Nannette Nardi Triplett, mother to a New Albany first-grader, says the program has changed the snacks she packs each day.
“I was packing dried fruit and then some sort of carbohydrate,” Triplett says. “(My daughter) came home very excited about that program, so we switched to apple slices and a cheese stick because that was (more healthful).”
In addition to encouraging better eating habits, the program has also helped reduce problems in classrooms where students have allergies, Wittig says. They plan to continue the program next school year and possibly expand to include kindergarten classes, as well.
