By

Lori Danella,   Hazel Grove Elementary School

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Access to Healthy Foods

We wanted to think outside the box and have the students taste items they probably have never seen or tasted before. We chose the Ugli fruit and mangos. We cut the items in bite sized pieces and gave the students a sheet with smiley and frowney faces to vote on the taste. We also kept some whole fruit so they could see the unique shapes and colors. The students liked the mangos best, so we offered them on the menu the following month.

How do you plan to make this Play last during the school year and beyond?

We will continue to do tasting testing and involve our product companies to help with items and when items are in season.

What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?

Some of the students were afraid to try the items because they had never seen them and they looked "weird" as some said. We tasted the items in front of the students and told them they had to just take a small bite and they didn't have to eat the whole sample piece. We also gave them "I Tried It" stickers.