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Growing Healthy Kids Together

Whole Story Editors — Mon, 25 Sep 2017 20:46:00 +0000

Updated September 25, 2017

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We believe the more children know about and feel connected to food, the more curious they become about how things grow and taste — and the more willing they are to try new foods. It takes a village to give children these opportunities and ultimately change the future of their health.

Whole Kids Foundation® is on a mission to improve children’s nutrition by supporting schools, inspiring families and empowering kids to make healthier choices. It is an independent 501(c)(3) founded by Whole Foods Market in 2011. Since then, our shoppers have donated millions of dollars to support these school programs, which include:

5.6 million kids impacted in the U.S., Canada and the U.K.

4,253 gardens
4,983 salad bars
13,000+ teachers who have completed the healthy teachers education program

Bring Healthy to a School Near You!

From October 1–15, customers can donate at the registers at their local Whole Foods Market store, as well as online year-round. Both are quick and easy ways to help Whole Kids Foundation grow healthy kids. Here’s what your contribution can mean to a school:

$2 funds seeds for a school garden
$5 funds tongs for a salad bar
$50 funds a wheelbarrow
$100 funds a raised garden and starter plants
$250 funds a complete set of classroom garden tools for a school garden

Bonus: Every dollar you donate goes directly to these programs, since Whole Foods Market covers the foundation's entire administrative expenses.

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Helping Out

As part of this year’s Growing Healthy Kids Campaign, Whole Kids Foundation’s supplier partners will contribute more than $1 million spearheaded by lead sponsors Annie’s and Rudi’s Organic Bakery and core sponsors Applegate, Back to Nature, Barbara’s Bakery, Bellwether Farms, Clif Kid, Earth’s Best Organic, Health Warrior, King Arthur Flour, La Croix, Nature’s Path Foods (Envirokidz), Organic Valley, Tom’s of Maine and Stonyfield. Every penny of these corporate contributions fuel Whole Kids Foundation’s programmatic work.

Multiply the Family Fun

Support the Whole Kids Foundation mission by simply sharing healthy fun with the kids in your life! Here are three fun and easy ways to get started:

Check out Starting With Soil, a new free interactive app designed for children to discover the importance of healthy soil and see first-hand the harmonious roles that plants, animals and people (even kids!) play in keeping soil balanced so that organic food can grow. Download for free from the App Store or Google Play.
Visit Whole Kids Club, a free online resource full of nutrition inspiration and fun for the whole family. You’ll find hands-on activities, games, easy budget-friendly recipes and book recommendations.
Check the calendar at your local Whole Foods Market for activities to help start healthy conversations at home or in the classroom.

Your donation can help make Whole Kids Foundation programs flourish. Get involved today by donating at the register at Whole Foods Market from October 1-15 or online anytime.

Kids in the Kitchen: Picnics

Anna Medica — Tue, 06 Jun 2017 07:40:00 +0000

Anna Medica

Updated June 6, 2017

The “Kids in the Kitchen” blog series, brought to you by Whole Kids Foundation®, includes tips and tricks to encourage kids’ participation in all kitchen activities—especially in meal planning, prepping, serving and eating. Give kids good choices, and they’ll make great choices!

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As weather warms, inspire your kids to lead the way in preparing nutritious foods for a picnic at your family’s favorite outdoor space.

Find Your Spot in the Sun

Give children options on where they’d like to picnic.

Whether it’s your own backyard or a local park, any outdoor space provides opportunity to spend quality time relaxing with your kiddo. Consider a school or community garden in your area, and utilize our Kids Club hands-on activities to start a conversation about pollinators, nutrition and sustainability.

Pick Your ‘Nic

Let your little ones lead the way in the grocery store aisles.

When children help select, shop and chop their meals, they’re far more likely to clean their plate. Ingredients for kid-friendly and healthy snacks are a great starting point to launch your kids’ imagination in crafting their own picnic menu.
Master Picnicker Tip: Go raw—fresh fruit and veggies make for a grab-and-go treat that travels well and usually keeps fresh in warmer weather. Download our worksheet for more GO RAW tips.

Prepare and Pack

Enlist your kiddos as sous chef and basket packers.

Chop Before Chomping. Wash vegetables and pat dry to ensure optimal freshens. Next, with adult supervision, let your little ones practice knife skills. Early positive experiences in the kitchen grow aware eaters with confident cooking skills that last a lifetime. Kids are also great at helping with things like snapping green beans and putting cherry tomatoes and cut vegetables into reusable containers or bags.
Master Picnicker Tip: Pick a rainbow of fresh produce. Use our Eat a Veggie Rainbow Coloring Sheet as a picnic activity that encourages consumption of all colors nutritious and delicious.
Stay Berry Sweet. No need for snacks with added or artificial sugar when summer berries are ripe for the picking. Toss together berries, grapes and even melon for a quick fruit salad. Look for plump blueberries and raspberries that are rich in color but not too soft. Let children toss the salad together with their hands.
Master Picnicker Tip: Whatever packs well in a lunchbox packs well for a picnic. Hard-sided containers with compartments allow children the power of personalization and protect squishy or crumbly treats like fruit and crackers. Visit our lunchbox Pinterest board for ideas.
Wrap it Up. These sandwiches and wraps are picnic favorites. Your kids will love spreading condiments and slapping on the last layer of bread or lettuce. Once they’ve built their sandwich masterpiece, wrap it in waxed paper as you would wrap a present. Seal the sandwiches with different colored stickers, and let kids doodle their name with marker.
Master Picnicker Tip: Don’t risk your creation drowning in cooler water! Pack lightweight items and smashables last.

Now you’re ready to enjoy the great outdoors with your favorite picnic planner!

Handpicked for the Holidays: Gifts for Everyone on Your List

Whole Story Editors — Wed, 23 Nov 2016 15:24:59 +0000

Whole Story Editors

Mom, Dad, kids, grandparents, teachers, neighbors and more! We’ve got gifts for absolutely everyone on your list. Read on for ideas and inspiration.

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Kitchen

We paired up with one of our favorite home brands, west elm, to create a collection of sturdy — and pretty — cotton kitchen goods. Each piece is made in Guatemala from a unique 100% cotton-blend thread created by The New Denim Project, an operation dedicated to developing supply lines for upcycled denim. As part of our joint effort to alleviate poverty in Guatemala and around the world, $1 of the purchase price of each item benefits Whole Planet Foundation®, which funds microcredit loans in communities that supply Whole Foods Market® with products. Shop for more items from this partnership with The New Denim Project westelm.com/wholefoodsmarket.

Home

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Thistle Farms Candles
Lavender & Lemon (Gratitude), Frankincense & Ylang Ylang (Strength), Fresh Pine (Home), Geranium & Citrus (Hope) 
Handmade soy wax candles made with 100% cotton wicks to burn with no residue.

Thistle Farms Room Sprays
Lavender & Lemon (Gratitude), Frankincense & Ylang Ylang (Strength), Fresh Pine (Home), Geranium & Citrus (Hope)
Home scents made with Aura Cacia essential oils make wonderful host gifts with an empowering message. Thistle Farms is a community, sanctuary and social enterprise led by women survivors  of trafficking, addiction and prostitution. It also provides housing, recovery support and education with the message that love is the most powerful force for change. Each room spray or candle purchase directly benefits the women who made it.

Paddywax Yuletide Holiday Candles
Pomegranate Cedar, Tangerine Clove, Balsam Fir, Fir & Peppermint Leaves, Wassail or Juniper Citrus 
Soy candles are hand-poured into food-safe enamelware that can be repurposed once the candle is finished burning.

Whole Foods Market^TMMason Jar Soy Candles
Cranberry & Fig, Iced Balsam or Sweet Peppermint 
Merry holiday fragrances to scent the home in festive glass jars.

Aura Cacia Essenial Oils
Bring home a variety of scents, soothing to invigorating, for diffusers and do-it-yourself moisturizers and body scrubs.

Kids

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PBS KIDS Aurora Plush Animals
Exceptionally detailed animal pals — including endangered species — are ready for hours of play and sweet cuddles! Made with no PVC or phthalates by a global leader in high-quality plush toys. All Aurora toy-manufacturing facilities are third-party audited for labor and production practices. PBS KIDS applies all net proceeds from your purchase of their toys toward its mission of building knowledge, critical thinking, imagination and curiosity to empower children for success.

PBS KIDS PlanToys
Smooth, durable toys made from a revolutionary composite featuring rubber wood from mature trees that no longer produce latex. Created by a leader in responsibly sourced materials for children’s toys, and crafted with non-formaldehyde glue, water-based dyes and organic color pigments in a factory powered by renewable energy.

Whole Foods Market® is donating 1% of total sales from these toys to Whole Kids Foundation®, a nonprofit with a mission to support schools and inspire families to improve children’s nutrition and wellness.

Handmade Ornaments

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Crafted Peru Ornaments
Give a gift that can adorn the tree for years to come. Each colorful and intricately carved ornament supports traditional artisans in Peru.

Global Girlfriend Ornaments
Each ornament represents fair working conditions and an economic opportunity through social enterprise for the woman who makes it. Your purchase benefits these artisans and supports aid in their countries of origin — earthquake recovery in Nepal, rural enterprise development in Haiti and employment in remote villages in Kenya.

Apparel

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Global Girlfriend Handmade Scarves
Each colorful scarf represents fair working conditions and an economic opportunity through social enterprise for the woman who makes it.

Feelgoodz Handmade Slippers
These comfortable, durable slippers feature a natural rubber sole, recycled cotton and polyester lining, and handwoven Hmong fabrics sourced from the Binh Thuan weaving community in Vietnam.

Bath

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Whole Foods Market^TMMini Bath Bomb Trios
Rose Petal, Muscle Soak or Lavender Vanilla
Fun and fizzy bombs infuse tubs with fragrance for a relaxing bath experience.

Whole Foods Market^TMJumbo Bath Bomb
Orange Vanilla, Lavender Flower  or Ginger Honey 
Extra-large bubbling bombs with star anise, lavender buds or gold flakes for special spa-inspired baths.

Whole Foods Market^TMDeep Moisture Hand Cream Trio
Cardamom Tea, Sugar & Orange  Spice and Blackcurrant & Fig 
Made with argan oil and olive oil, these ultra-rich hand creams soothe and soften.

Every Man Jack Cedarwood Body Kit
Deodorant, Body Lotion and Body Wash
Treat your favorite dude to a handsome toiletry bag and a set of body care essentials in a warm, comforting cedarwood scent.

Soap

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Pacha Lump O’ Coal Soap
Those who have been nice all year  still deserve a little coal...in the form of three bar soaps made with activated charcoal powder.

Pacha Seasonal Blend Pack
Citrus Spice, Lump O’ Coal, Frankincense Myrrh and Frasier Fir 
Give someone special a trio of festive soaps featuring scents of the season made with essential oils, plus a facial bar made with activated charcoal powder. Each Pacha soap purchase provides soap for someone in need, plus career opportunities for men and women in developing nations.

Whole Foods Market^TMMen’s Soap Trio
Sandalwood, Verdon and  Patchouli Leather 
Big triple-milled bar soaps made with moisturizing shea butter and embossed with a clever moustache.

Beauty

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Trilogy Bare-Faced Beauty
Limited-edition kit features Make-Up Be Gone Cleansing Balm and Rosehip Oil Antioxidant+, plus a Hydrating Mist Toner, all in a cotton pouch.

Mineral Fusion Majestic Eye Palette
One-stop kit for all skin tones provides five neutral eye shadows in matte and shimmer shades for endless eye looks—plus brow powder, an eye pencil in black and a dual-ended brush.

Pacifica Radiant Shimmer Coconut Multiples
Creamy trio of shades made with coconut extract to soothe and soften skin. Perfect for glam gals on the go! Highlight eyes, lips and cheekbones to add a moonlit shimmer or sultry glow to any skin tone.

Kids in the Kitchen: Thanksgiving Crafts, Helping Hands, and a Lesson in Gratitude

Kelly Magrath — Fri, 28 Oct 2016 14:55:00 +0000

Kelly Magrath

The “Kids in the Kitchen” blog series, brought to you by Whole Kids Foundation®, includes tips and tricks to encourage kids’ participation in all kitchen activities — especially in meal planning, prepping, serving and eating. Give kids good choices, and they’ll make good choices!

As you prepare your Thanksgiving feast, remember that children are great helpers. Kids can chop, blend and stir, speeding up prep work while serving up quality time. Little hands can also help you create eco-inspired DIY centerpieces to complete your seasonal spread. This time of year is a great opportunity to promote togetherness and gratitude and encourage your children to practice mindful exercises and crafts. Here are some ideas to get started:

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Photo: AlbionGould.com

A Feast for the Eyes: DIY Centerpieces

On the days leading up to Thanksgiving, ask the little ones in your family to help set and decorate the table. The whole family can take a walk to scour the outdoors for sticks, leaves, acorns and rocks. Combine them with jars, ribbon and burlap and even cinnamon sticks — whatever is on hand works — for an easy fall candle centerpiece. Here are a few other ideas:

● Pinecone lovers rejoice! Pinecone turkeys are quirky and have a small footprint on an overflowing table.

● Looking for an eco-friendly way to allow kids to put their unique stamp on decorations? These gobble pops are it!

● Time to practice bow tying for these fall candles — just use leaves and twine for simple beauty.

You can also head over to Whole Kids Club for even more seasonal, hands-on crafts fit for little ones.

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Thanksgiving Day: How Kids Can Help

Prepare your Thanksgiving dinner based on your family’s needs: Feasts for four have vastly different demands than feasts for fifty. Keep your menu to the dressed-up essentials. This will help minimize food prep so you can spend more face-time with friends and family.

● Supervise age-appropriate knife practice when chopping fruits and vegetables, always using a sharp blade (sharp is actually safer than dull!)

● Engage young children with stirring and sifting of ingredients for pie fillings, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, etc.

● Encourage children to taste and test the fruits of their labor! Kids who cook meals are excited to eat them, too.

● Ask kids to set the table and fold napkins.

Give kids ample space to work and ensure countertops are waist-high for ease and safety of movement. And, feel free to turn meal prep into a family party complete with music and healthy snacks.

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Embracing the Holiday Spirit: Lessons in Gratitude

While Thanksgiving is commonly associated with lavish spreads of poultry, produce and pie, the holiday’s true meaning is rooted in gratitude and kinship. Help your children learn and practice the act of gratitude through seasonal crafts and exercises:

● Make it a month-long commitment by keeping gratitude journals, writing down something for which you are grateful every day.

● Practice the art of acknowledgment with kids.

● Create a DIY gratitude tree, a hands-on craft that doubles as décor — bonus points for using recycled paper!

For more holiday inspiration — and to enter to win groceries for a year for you and a friend — head to Whole Foods Market’s holiday headquarters.

Supporting Kids’ Literacy is Delicious: Here’s How You Can Help!

Kelly Magrath — Mon, 03 Oct 2016 17:32:05 +0000

Kelly Magrath

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It’s time to celebrate back to school by getting back to the books with Jumpstart’s Read for the Record^®! Whole Kids Foundation is proud to partner with Jumpstart, a national early education organization working toward the day that every child enters kindergarten prepared to succeed.

What Is Jumpstart’s Read for the Record?

At age 5, less than half of children born into low-income families have the language skills necessary to prepare them for kindergarten, compared to 75 percent of their more affluent peers. Jumpstart’s Read for the Record is an annual campaign that seeks to shatter these inequities and catalyze transformative change in early education by engaging children, adults, policymakers, and organizations in this global movement. Jumpstart believes that reading to children early and often, no matter their zip code, is one of the best ways to give all children equal opportunities for success. Since 2006, Read for the Record has engaged more than 17 million children and adults worldwide.

How to Participate

This fall, we will celebrate the campaign’s 11^th anniversary with the shared reading of this year’s Read for the Record campaign book, The Bear Ate Your Sandwich, written by Julia Sarcone-Roach and published by Random House Children’s Books. Laugh and learn with Whole Kids Foundation, along with millions of families around the globe, from the comfort of your own home on Thursday, October 27, 2016, as we take part in the world’s largest shared reading experience. Getting involved is easy:

Register to read with Jumpstart’s Read for the Record
Read The Bear Ate Your Sandwich on Thursday, October 27!
Show your support for children’s literacy by making a donation
Spread the word to encourage involvement throughout your school, library, or community

Because Jumpstart’s Read for the Record is committed to providing free access to high-quality educational resources, you can download free resources and activities from their campaign Toolkit and read The Bear Ate Your Sandwich for free online at readfortherecord.org beginning the week of October 24. Alternatively, you can purchase your advance copy online through the Jumpstart store.

Reading Is the Recipe for Success

Give your kids a healthy start as they head back to school and support global children’s literacy by participating in Jumpstart’s Read for the Record on October 27, 2016. To get excited for the occasion, thanks to our ongoing partnership, you can also visit the Whole Kids’ Book Club to find a great variety of children’s books focused on making healthy choices. Read your way to success this fall!

Learn more about how Whole Kids Foundation supports schools, inspires families and nourishes kids.

Purchase Salad Greens and Help Bring Salad Bars to Schools

Jane Johnson — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 20:00:00 +0000

Jane Johnson

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If I had a nickel for every time I heard someone say “eat greens first” or “eat as close to nature as possible” … It’s no secret that a well-made salad heaped with greens is a great way to fuel your day with micronutrients. These ideas are the bedrock of all the programs offered by Whole Kids Foundation®: School Garden Grants, Healthy Teacher Training and … School Salad Bar Grants.

When you purchase a package of salads greens with the brand “Whole Foods Market®” on the front, a portion of your purchase is donated to Whole Kids Foundation. In 2015, more than $145,000 was raised to help schoolchildren make healthier choices every day through this program. That means that Whole Foods Market shoppers made it possible to donate 50 salad bars to US schools with their purchase. When you buy our greens, you’re helping spread the love of greens to our nation’s kiddos! Next time you visit Whole Foods Market stores, make the choice that helps kids make healthy choices too, and purchase “Whole Foods Market Exclusive” packaged salads in mixes like baby spinach, baby kale, arugula, spring mix, etc!

We’ve got just the recipe to get you started! Use the baby kale from the “Whole Foods Market Exclusive” packaged salad to make this nutritious treat and know that your purchase is growing healthy kids!

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Rainbow Kale Salad Recipe

Huge appreciations to the Global Perishables Team at Whole Foods Market for their passion in bringing edible education to a schools through this program. To learn more about the programs from Whole Kids Foundation please visit www.wholekidsfoundation.org and for activities and worksheets to help make healthy conversation easy with your kids, visit our Whole Kids Club, for great worksheets like “Eat greens first” and “Eat a rainbow.”

Make Summer Delicious and Nutritious with Whole Kids Club

Jane Johnson — Fri, 27 May 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Jane Johnson

Summer vacation is so close that kids are dreaming of pool toys, soccer balls and tasty picnics! School may be wrapping up, but delicious learnings are just a click away. Whole Kids Foundation® has tons of easy, free tools to keep healthy conversation at the center of your time together this summer. Visit the Whole Kids Club to EAT, READ and MAKE your way to healthy play.

EAT: Better Bites

Give Breakfast a Boost

Our Better Bites worksheets features one simple, affordable, healthy idea that makes it easy to get more nutrition in every bite. This month’s edition will help you make the most of that extra morning time — Give Breakfast a Boost!

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READ: Book Club

Lola Plants a Garden

This is a book club your little foodie will love to join. Each monthly book suggestion makes food literacy a page-turner. Topics range from school gardens, to special family meals, to farmer’s market finds. To make the most of the healthy messages in each book, our partner Jumpstart provides reading tips and Whole Kids Foundation provides a suggested activity to reinforce the lesson. Crack the spine on this month’s book, Lola Plants a Garden, and dig into fun.

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MAKE: Scrapkins

Page Peeker Bookmark

Each of the activity sheets from our wild partner, ScrapKins, sends your green thumb to the recycle bin for a craft that will inspire fun and environmental stewardship! This month’s worksheet is a perfect pair for our book club. The Page Peeker Bookmark will help mark your stories and inspire a story about your kids’ favorite veggie.

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Whole Kids Foundation has an entire summer’s worth of free, downloadable activities. Visit Whole Kids Club monthly for a curated set of activities to keep your family learning until those school doors open again.

Learn more about how Whole Kids Foundation supports schools, inspires families and nourishes kids.

Want an Edible Garden for Your School? Apply for a Grant Today

Tristana Pirkl — Fri, 25 Sep 2015 10:00:00 +0000

Tristana Pirkl

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At Whole Kids Foundation® we believe that something as small as a seed can ignite a child’s curiosity for fresh food for a lifetime. This is the power of school gardens!

To date, we have granted $6 million to more than 3,000 educational edible gardens across the United States and Canada…and that number continues to grow!

If you’re involved in a school or non-profit organization that supports children in grades K-12 and would like funds for a brand new garden or the continuation of an already existing one, Whole Kids Foundation welcomes you to apply for a 2016 School Garden Grant or Extended Learning Garden Grant.

The online applications are available in the United States from September 1^st-October 31^st and in Canada from September 1^st-November 15^th.

Grant details are available on our School Garden Grant page or Extended Learning Garden Grant page (for non-profit organizations). You can get started with a copy of the application, tools to support you including grant writing tips a School Garden Resource Center that helps you navigate the ins and outs of championing and maintaining a school (or non-profit’s) edible garden.

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We support all types of gardens from brand new to years old, from urban vertical gardens to rural gardens that more closely resemble a farm. In addition to our eligibility requirements these are some of the main factors we look for in grant applicants.

A thought out vision and plan for the garden to connect children to fresh, healthy food. Lessons on how to prepare these foods are an additional benefit.
The support of your leadership, including principal or executive director
A plan for maintaining your garden, with volunteers and through ongoing funding.
ntegration into the children’s curriculum or learning plan, as well as integration with their community of parents, teachers and neighbors.
At least one main “garden champion”, or a group of champions who coordinate the garden. A garden champion should have gardening experience or a plan to gain these skills.
Involvement of at least one main community partner, such as : a local business, organization or gardening group that supports your school garden in some fashion, such as with in-kind donations, garden expertise, or volunteers.

Grant applications are reviewed through a partnership with FoodCorps. They implement these types of educational gardens and understand what it takes to keep them growing! We will then make selections and notify all applicants in February.

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We look forward to supporting your efforts to grow healthy kids! For any questions at all, email gardens@wholekidsfoundation.org.

To receive updates on this program and our other programs, sign up for our newsletter or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Here’s to growing healthy kids who love fresh food!

Supporting Whole Kids Foundation: There’s No Such Thing as Small Change

Carly Price — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 10:00:00 +0000

Carly Price

In nature, each tiny microbe, seed, honeybee or raindrop can influence big change. Kids who garden learn that every small contribution is vital to keeping an ecosystem healthy and strong all while getting rooted to real food!

Donations work in quite the same way. While a few pennies given to Whole Kids Foundation® may seem like just your small change, each year those contributions add up to huge changes for millions of kids.

Whole Kids Foundation is an independent 501C3 founded by Whole Foods Market in 2011. Since then our shoppers have donated millions of dollars to support our school programs: School Garden Grants, Salad Bars 2 Schools, and Healthy Teacher Program. Thanks to these donations we’ve been able to provide over 3,000 garden grants, more than 4,000 salad bars and trained over 8,000 healthy teachers, serving over 3.7 Million children in the US, Canada and the UK.

Small change adds up when 100% of your donation directly supports school programming!

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Small Change = Big Transformation

Donating online or at the Whole Foods Market checkout register is a quick-and-easy way to help us grow healthy kids! Just give your extra change, round up your grocery bill to the nearest dollar, donate your reusable bag credit, or choose your own amount. A donation of $1 provides a salad bar serving spoon, $2 provides a packet of seeds and $3 buys a pair of kids-size garden gloves—little tools that make a big difference in helping kids lead healthier lives. Give even bigger – $50 donates a wheel barrow!

Double the Difference When You Shop

While exploring the grocery aisles, stay on the lookout for Whole Kids Foundation partner brands. When you choose select products, these partners also donate a portion of sales directly to our programs: Annie’s, Back to Nature, Stonyfield, Cascadian Farm, Clif Bar, Suja Juice, Rudi’s Organic Bakery, King Arthur Flour, Applegate, Organic Valley, Barbara’s, Daily Greens and others. Every one of these brands has joined Whole Kids Foundation to grow healthy kids!

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Multiply the Family Fun

Anyone can also support the Whole Kids Foundation mission by simply sharing healthy fun with the kids in your life. Visit our online Whole Kids Club to find hands-on activities, games and book recommendations, and check the calendar at your local Whole Foods Market for activities to help start healthy conversations at home or in the classroom.

Whether you’re able to spare a few minutes or a few dollars, your support helps to keep the momentum going and plant the small seeds that lead to big change in the future.

How to Apply for a School Salad Bar from Whole Kids Foundation

Tristana Pirkl — Fri, 07 Aug 2015 10:00:00 +0000

Tristana Pirkl

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, kids with access to a salad bar in their school cafeteria consume three times more vegetables and fruits than kids without a salad bar. Why? Because they get to choose which veggies and fruits they want.

When you give kids good choices, they’ll make good choices. This fact is proven with salad bars. Kids with access to a salad bar in the school cafeteria not only put more fruits and veggies on their plates, they actually eat them!

Whole Kids Foundation^® loves salad bars because they directly support our mission to get kids to eat better…and enjoy it!

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That’s why, through key partnerships, we developed the Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools grant program, which has already raised $6 million and delivered over 4,000 salad bars to schools, serving more than a million children.

Our Salad Bar grant program is an equipment grant. We give the actual salad bar along with the training needed to implement a school salad bar program successfully.

Applications are available year round through Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools. To apply, you must work with your school district to meet two main criteria:

Whether a public, private or independent school, the school district operates under the USDA National School Lunch Program.
The school implementing the salad bar has at least 100 students.

Before applying, your school should assess their meal program and feel confident that the district can support salad bars, and that the school’s menu plan includes offering salad bars daily as part of their reimbursable meal program. In-depth tools, including an assessment and planning guide, are available on the Lunchbox.org website.

If your school is interested in applying, the district’s food services director should fill out the application and remain the primary contact if your district or school:

Uses a school lunch contract management company (a company outside the school provides all breakfasts & lunches)
Is a charter or independent private school district
Is not part of a larger district

In the above cases, whoever is in charge of food service should be the person applying and responsible for the grant.

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To understand what is involved in the application, take a look at the sample application. Key pieces of information include:

District enrollment numbers
Free and reduced (F/R) participation percentage
Average Daily Participation (ADP) percentage
Food costs
Staff and training
Superintendent contact information and district address

For more information and tips on how to apply, visit Let’s Move Salad Bar’s Schools’ website, with information designed both for parents and for school districts.

You can also email info@wholekidsfoundation.org with any questions and sign up for our newsletter or follow us on Facebook or Twitter to receive updates on the work of Whole Kids Foundation!

Are you interested in getting a salad bar in your child’s school? Share your reasons in the comments below.