Little Oaks School helps students understand healthy eating
The smell of fresh fruit filled the air Thursday morning at Little Oaks School in Thousand Oaks as the nearly 150 students were served a fruit-kabob snack as part of the weeklong partnership with Dole to educate parents and students about healthy eating.
At an assembly led by Ben Sussman, senior manager of marketing and business development for the Dole Nutrition Institute, several of the children said the fruit-kabobs — made with pineapple, bananas, strawberries, grapes, cheese and a marshmallow — were among their favorite snacks made by parents all week.
“Reaching kids and exposing them to fruits and vegetables at a young age is very important,” said Marty Ordman, vice president marketing and communications at Dole. “It’s great to do it through color and fun ways. Partnering with Little Oaks was great. They’re right in the neighborhood, and we were more than happy to help out.”
Piamor Jacobe, school administrator, said: “We were able to do this because one of our board members plays a big role at Dole. This week, we are focusing on health, and have done activities each day. The kids even planted a vegetable garden this week with our P.E. teacher to implement all of the things Dole has given us. Dole has given us a lot of snacks to try so parents can be aware of different healthy choices.”
Jessica and Bill Farrell of Moorpark, who have two boys at the school, were at the assembly.
“I made the fruit kabobs, and the fruit was all from Dole,” Jessica Farrell said. “The program made nutrition seem fun for the kids.”
Cindy Bennett of Thousand Oaks, parent to a 5-year-old, was very excited Dole came to the school.
“Our family is very big on nutrition, eating healthy and having strong, healthy bodies,” she said. “The fact that they are educating our kids about that is so wonderful.”
The preschool and elementary school implemented slightly different programs.
“In the preschool, it was a Rainbow of Health. They can’t have anything homemade because of state law, so we gave them tips for what to bring in their lunch,” Jacobe said.
Each day, the preschoolers got a color to wear and it was suggested to bring foods bearing that color.
“Today’s color is purple,” Jacobe said. “It’s also our school color. They’re eating blueberries or grapes today.”
All the elementary teachers created a menu with their classrooms using the Dole cookbook. Foods included “Tasty Tacos” with ground beef, lettuce and cheddar cheese and “Rockin’ Rotini with Meat Sauce,” made with ground turkey, spaghetti sauce, whole-grain rotini pasta and shredded mozzarella cheese.
All the classes brought the ingredients to be cooked. There were three to five volunteer parents each day providing snacks every morning to every class.
“I liked the strawberries,” said 4-year-old Jase Link from Thousand Oaks. “Healthy eating makes you strong.”
Isabella Dutra, 9, of Woodland Hills said: “I really liked it this week because I could eat healthy food and enjoy it. I liked the fruit kabob the most. I learned that protein is good for you, and it helps your muscles.”
Araina Maser, 7, of Thousand Oaks said: “Healthy food helps our bodies and gives us energy. Protein helps your body grow muscles. It helped me eat healthier because I usually ask for treats like cake and the other day I asked my baby sitter for a whole bowl of peas, and I ate them all.”
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