Oakland Schools Provide Nutritious Lunch
OAKLAND, Calif. (KCBS)_ Oakland schools are hoping to create an appetite for nutritious foods.
KCBS's Margie Shafer investigated what's on the menu for the 2010-11 school year, which gets underway on Monday.
The kitchens are being stocked at more than 100 Oakland Unified Schools and director of nutrition services with Oakland Unified, Jennifer Lebarre believes that by offering fresh choices, consumption will go up.
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"We serve fresh fruit every day at breakfast. We always have a fresh produce item at lunch and then at 52 of our schools we have salad bars. We make our own pasta sauce with ground turkey and use whole grain noodles for that it's kind of along the lines of being sneaky with nutrition," said Lebarre.
The district is also looking at purchasing seasonally, and emphasizing local items.
"Really local to us means the nine Bay Area Counties and the state of California as well," Lebarre added.
The goal is that by 2010, 25 percent of produce will be purchased locally.
Lebarre considers it a moral obligation to provide the best possible meals to students, pointing out that for many of them it could be their only healthy meal.
More than half of Oakland Unified School District students qualify for free and reduced cost lunch.
