Yummy and school lunch are two words that are not often heard in the same sentence-unless you're a student in the Nixa R-2 School District. The district was one of only six schools in the nation to earn the District of Excellence Distinction in School Nutrition designation by the School Nutrition Association. "This award is about more than just having a tasty lunch," said Cindy Kubowicz, director of food services for the district. "It is about teaching our kids good nutritional habits and allowing them the tools to become healthy adults." Kubowicz and staff began the journey of nutritional education early in the year with events such as the food Fear Factor challenge. "The idea behind the Fear Factor was to make eating nutritional foods fun for the kids," she said. "We wanted to expose them to more veggies than just canned green beans and corn." Students loved the event Kubowicz said, inspiring other events throughout the district such as "Eat a Rainbow," which featured a guest chef who prepared a colorful array of culinary delights for students. "This was something I read about and just loved the idea of," said Peggy Taylor, Nixa school board president. "I love to see more fresh produce from Missouri in our students' hands and using a chef to make it more tasty was a great idea." Kubowicz said getting the information through to the students is the main goal. "I have set up Nutritional Advisory Committee groups where I have lunch with the students once a month," she said. "I want to know what they think, what they like, what they hate, what their friends like-they are the people this will affect." Kubowicz hopes to begin NAC groups in each of the district schools in the coming year. In addition to the variety of educational nutritional activities, the district also provides the students with three meal options each day. "Having three options for the students, especially on the elementary level, is something many schools in the area don't offer," Kubowicz said. "We try to have a fresh vegetable and a fresh fruit at least four days a week. We had to get away from the government commodity items and bump up our nutritional level with local produce." Studies show students who eat healthy and are well fed perform better at school. "I don't think people realize how much nutrition affects children's ability to learn," Taylor said. "Healthy kids are healthy minds and that's what we strive for." Kubowicz and Taylor agreed school lunch "gets a bad wrap," but were extremely proud of Nixa's program and their achievement. The District of Excellence Distinction recognizes school districts that complete a thorough self-assessment in all four "key" areas in the Keys to Excellence program. The district's excellence is then verified by a comprehensive application documenting knowledge and application of national best practices in nutrition and nutrition education, communications and marketing, administration, and operations. "We're honored to receive this School Nutrition Association designation because it recognizes all the hard work our school food and nutrition operation does to make school meals delicious, attractive, nutritious and economical," said Superintendent Dr. Stephen Kleinsmith in a press release. The district is now eligible to apply for the $25,000 District of the Year award, which Kubowicz said would really help the program. "We would love to win," she said. "I would love to start herb gardens at each school and continue on with our guest chef program." To learn more about the District of Excellence program log on to www.schoolnutrition.org/KEYS. OPAA! Food Management News Archive