By

Adrienne Hergert,   Billie Stevenson Elementary

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Topics:

Access to Healthy Foods,  Student Leadership

Our district was challenged to complete the Kids Teaching Kids 21-day snack challenge. Our Youth Advisory Council students decided to take this event and make it special for our students. Each student in the school would receive a cookbook and would register online to complete the challenge. After registering, the 21-day challenge would begin. To encourage kids to make healthy snacks out of the cookbook, the students along with our Child Nutrition Department chose 4 snacks to serve. The snacks were then made by the Youth Advisory Council kids and served to all of our students during the lunch period on Thursdays. The final Thursday we had a drawing for five students to be able to cook with the principal. They cooked the recipe in the book that our Rockwall High School students had published and served it to our student body. The cooking students received special aprons and enjoyed their cooking lessons in our school cafeteria.

What improvements have you seen at your school?

Students are sharing an interest in cooking new foods. The librarian has had to purchase more recipe books because students are checking them out all of the time. This passion for food and new snacks has also trickled into our classrooms where students are making new and healthier snacks to bring.

How did students and adults work together as a team?

The students in Youth Advisory Council worked with the adults on campus to create a positive event that they organized. The students had to work with the child nutrition department to ensure they had all of the ingredients necessary for their snack days. Students organized a schedule to work the events and also complete their class work. Finally, the adults and students worked on a budget to cover the supplies necessary for the event.

How did you accomplish your goals?

All students were encouraged to try new nutritious snacks. Not only did they all have the recipes for the snacks, but they got to sample food items that they may not have before. Our goal of snacking healthy and encouraging students to try new foods was accomplished. Finally, the students were able to cook with our Child Nutrition Staff and build better relationships with school staff, which is always a goal on campus.