Achievements in Student Nutrition
The Charlottesville Local Food Hub and the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services will present Alicia Cost and Sandra Vasquez of the Charlottesville City Schools Nutrition Services a Trailblazer Award on September 15, 2011. The award honors individuals and/or institutions who are making progress towards developing innovative and creative solutions to incorporate locally grown food into their food procurement policies and have made a commitment to increasing community access to fresh, healthy local food.
CCS Nutrition Achievements since 2002
- Partnership with the City Schoolyard garden at Buford Middle School
- Local food weeks at elementary schools, where produce from area farms is used
- Made-to-order salads and sandwiches available at Walker, Buford and CHS
- Pizza with whole wheat crust offered as an option
- New vegetarian items, like black bean and brown rice tacos
- 50% of all fruit and vegetable options are fresh and offered daily
- Salad bar at Burnley-Moran sponsored by Whole Foods
- Altered standard use of USDA commodity dollars to use in Department of Defense fresh produce purchasing weekly.
- Increased lunch periods from 2 to 4, to ensure shorter lines and allow more time for slower, healthier pace of eating (CHS and Buford)
- Collaborative partnerships with community programs, like PB&J fund, Community Obesity Taskforce, Local Food Hub, Boy’s & Girls Club and Parks and Recreation to promote nutrition, physical activity and overall wellness in afterschool and evening events.
- Awarded USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) grants at 4 of 6 elementary schools to provide daily snacks to elementary schools since 2008.
- Expanding FFV snack to extend to all 6 of elementary schools 2-3 days per week with the support of volunteer parents at the schools & equipment grants.
- Awarded VFHY grant for vending machine audit and improvement.
- Working with U.V.A Department of Public Health Sciences & CDC to survey students and promote more healthy options.
- Partnership with local chefs in recipe development & staff training.
- Presentations for parents on wellness, nutrition and cooking.
- Student taste testing with new products or recipes.