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5-2-1-0 Goes to School
November 2009 Featured School
Old Orchard Beach High School, Old Orchard Beach, Maine
The Old Orchard Beach High School has made some significant strides to increase healthier food options served to students. As of the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year the School Nutrition Program:
- Removed all sugar-sweetened beverages from a la carte offerings.
- Serves only water, skim milk and low-fat milk in white, chocolate, coffee, or strawberry. Switched from 8 oz cartons in only 2 flavors, to milk in 10 oz plastic re-sealable bottles offered in 5 flavors. Now most students purchasing a student lunch, over 200 per day, are mostly choosing milk to drink, so milk consumption and calcium intake have increased dramatically.
- Increased offerings at the salad bar to include more fresh fruits and veggies, which are included daily with the student lunch.
- Increased the number of healthier lunch entrees from 2 last year, to currently 6 per day. So High School students have more choices. All entrees offered are available to all students, whether they qualify for free or reduced price meals, or they are full paid, and can be included as a student lunch.
- Closed the a la carte room, focusing more on the student meal than on a la carte. Eliminated a la carte offerings which had included higher calorie cookies baked daily and fried snack items, and replaced offerings to include lower calorie baked items.
As a result of these changes, the number of students choosing a student lunch has increased from about 80 students per day last year to currently over 200 students per day. This increased the average daily participation from about 25% up to 65% this year. In turn more students are receiving a more affordable and healthier meals than previously available.