PEARL CITY and SOUTH BELOIT, Ill. — University of Illinois Extension will be offering professional development training for school foodservice staff on June 14 or June 21 from 8:15 AM – 4:00 PM. The June 14 training will be held at Pearl City High School, 100 South Summit St, Pearl City IL. The June 21 training will be held at South Beloit High School, 245 Prairie Hill Road, South Beloit, IL.
This training will provide six hours of USDA Professional Standards credits for the 2018-2019 school year. There is no charge for this training; however, pre-registration is required. To learn more about the training and to register, call us at 815.235.4125 or visit us online: http://web.extension.illinois.edu/jsw.
The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is the second largest food and nutrition assistance program in the nation. There are approximately 100,000 schools/institutions participating in this program, serving school lunches to 30 million students each day.
The NSLP has received a great deal of attention over the past few years, due in part to the positive changes generated from the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. These changes align school meals with the Dietary Guidelines and allow schools to serve more whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.
“Providing children with opportunities to consume fruits and vegetables is important. With only nine percent of adults meeting the recommended daily intake for vegetables, and twelve percent meeting the recommended intake for fruit, many children may not have opportunities at home to consume a variety of fruits and vegetables,” states University of Illinois Extension Nutrition and Wellness Educator, Diane Reinhold.
With schools increasing the amount and type of fruits and vegetables being offered, children now have more opportunities to try new and different items. This, coupled with more Americans becoming health conscious and younger consumers striving to make healthy diet and lifestyle choices a priority, further cultivate a healthy culture.
Research has shown, through repeated exposure to unfamiliar foods, such as fruit and vegetables, within a positive social environment, children have an increased willingness to try new foods.
However, it is important to acknowledge it is not simply the frequency of exposure but rather a synergistic culmination of many factors influencing our eating preferences and habits. Having positive support from parents, teachers, school administrators and the community as a whole, will help foster a health-promoting environment.
To learn more about the training and to register, call us at 815.235.4125 or visit us online: http://web.extension.illinois.edu/jsw. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in this program, please contact your local Extension Office.
— University of Illinois Extension
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