New Orleans Thankful for Salad Bars

Thirty-three salad bars will benefit students for years to come

The United Fresh Foundation donated 33 salad bars to New Orleans area schools during last month’s United Fresh show. The salad bars advance the initiative of putting 6,000 nationally over the next three years. United Fresh has donated more than 100 salad bars in 12 states and Washington, D.C.

The salad bar donation was the largest yet from the United Fresh Foundation, and was accomplished with the help of 26 produce companies and individuals, which gave $3,000 to $150,000 to the foundation. Next year’s United Fresh show will be held in Dallas, and the foundation hopes to increase the number of salad bars and the number of companies involved at that show, said Loralei DiSogra, vice president for nutrition and health and United Fresh Produce Association.

Representatives from the schools, local health programs and the mayor’s office were on hand at the show to receive salad bars and voice their support for the program.

“We are elated to have been selected to be a recipient of salad bars donated by the Let’s Move Salad Bars to New Orleans Schools program,” said Rosie Jackson, New Orleans Public Schools director of foodservice. “As a result of the donations, our students will now receive more fresh produce as well as have an opportunity to make healthier choices in their food selections. This initiative will truly enhance our overall program for our students, and show our commitment to the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative. Thanks! Thanks! On behalf of our students.”

The city of New Orleans, which underwent apocalyptic change as a result of hurricane Katrina, is working to improve the health of its residents as it continues to recover. Mayor Mitchell Landrieu’s office is working on a healthy lifestyles initiative in the community, including one fresh retail program that will bring fresh produce markets to low-income neighborhoods. The salad bars at local schools will increase children’s access to fresh produce that they might otherwise not have.

“Everything we do is an opportunity to transform New Orleans into what we want it to be, not what it was,” said Ashleigh Gardere, adviser to the mayor for strategy and development.

The Algiers Charter Schools Association (ACSA), which was created after Katrina, received nine salad bars from the foundation. The system serves 5,500 students and is the second-largest educational provider in the city. The salad bars provide students in the school system access to fruits and vegetables, and that is translating to the home as part of creating a healthy lifestyle, said Andrea Thomas-Reynolds, chief executive officer of ACSA. She’s seen students bypass the pizza and chicken nuggets in the lunchroom in favor of fruit and salads. Many of the school system’s students get two of their three daily meals in schools, so it’s important to have fresh produce available for nutrition today and as part of a healthy lifestyle that can continue into adulthood, she said.

Wylene Sorapuru, principal of New Orleans’ Harriet Tubman Elementary School, said she has noticed a change in students’ mentality about healthy living. She said she believes the salad bars will help students make a lifelong commitment to healthy lifestyles. In addition to enjoying the salad bars herself, she said the elementary school-aged children at Harriet Tubman were actively picking and choosing fresh produce, and trying new items that they had never had access to before.

Sorapuru brought three students from the school system to express their gratitude for the salad bars. The two eighth-grade boys and one fifth-grade girl said the salad bars help them in their studies and sporting events, and they thanked the foundation and produce companies that donated the salad bars.

The Recovery School District, a system under control of the Louisiana Department of Education that transforms underperforming schools, received five salad bars in the fall and will be getting 10 more. The school system contacted the United Fresh Foundation when word of the salad bar donations got out last year. For students at the schools, the salad bars key to a healthy, sustainable lifestyle, said Tiffany Delcour, indoor air quality coordinator for the Recovery School District. She said the donations to all 33 schools in New Orleans are a “giant step forward” to Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign.

Alison Heston, a member of the New Orleans Food Advisory Committee and school food outreach coordinator for the Edible Schoolyard New Orleans, said salad bars in schools will address numerous issues in the health of New Orleans residents. She recently coauthored a report, available at www.nolafoodpolicy.org, that coordinated with schools, government, poverty advocates and other groups to provide recommendations on improving health in the area. The key recommendations fell into seven categories: access to fresh fruits and vegetables; quality and nutritional value of available foods; food-based education; workforce development and education in cafeterias; infrastructure; local produce; and ensuring all food is healthy and meets or exceeds Louisiana standards.

Salad Bar Donation Contributors:

The Andrew Smith Co., Apio Inc., Bonipak Produce, C.H. Robinson Worldwide, CAMBRO, Capitol City Produce, Chiquita Brands, Ciruli Brothers, Del Monte Fresh Produce, Dennis and Susi Gertmenian, DMA Solutions, Dole Food Co., DuPont Crop Protection, the Emeril Lagasse Foundation, Horton Fruit Co., Mann Packing Co., Marie’s, McEntire Produce, Muir Copper Canyon Farms, the National Watermelon Association, Pero Family Farms, Stemilt Growers, Taylor Farms, the Produce Exchange, the Tom Lange Company and True Organic Products.

Schools Receiving Salad Bars:

Algiers Technology Academy, Alice M. Harte Charter School, AP Tureaud Elementary School, Believe College Prep, Bethune Elementary School, Central City Academy, Dwight D. Eisenhower Academy of Global Studies, Edna Karr Charter High School, Emily C. Watkins Elementary School, Esperanza Charter School, International School of Louisiana, International School of Louisiana – West Bank, James Weldon Johnson Elementary School, Joseph A. Craig Elementary School, Joseph Clark Senior High School, Lafayette Academy New Orleans, Lagniappe Academies, LB Landry Senior High School, McDonogh 15 Elementary School for the Creative Arts, McDonogh 28 City Park Academy, McDonogh 35 High School, McMain High School, Miller-McCoy Academy for Math and Business, New Orleans Charter Science and Math Academy, New Orleans College Prep, New Orleans College Prep Elementary School, O. Perry Walker College and Career Prep High School, Paul B. Habans Elementary School, Priestly Charter School, Renaissance High School/KIPP New Orleans Leadership Academy, Sarah T. Reed High School, Sojourner Truth Academy, and William J. Fischer Accelerated Academy.