Bristow Gets Great American Salad Bar Grant

When you think about the eating habits of the average middle school student, healthy foods do not immediately come to mind. My seventh-grader and his friends have an uncanny ability to sniff out unhealthy foods that have entered the house, even if they are well-packaged and hidden away in the dark recesses of cabinets. Walks home from school frequently involve a stop at, resulting in empty bags of Funyuns that I find littered around my basement.

Most of us try to encourage healthy choices whenever possible, and has recently taken a giant step in that direction. On Wednesday, March 2, Bristow officially unveiled its brand new permanent salad bar, something they were able to implement because of a Great American Salad Bar Grant. The grant’s purpose is straightforward, as stated on its website: “Salad Bars + Schools = More Fruits and Vegetables for Children.”

Bristow’s grant was sponsored by the local as well as the Food Family Farming Foundation, which has an online toolkit (“The Lunchbox”) that supports bringing healthy foods to schools.

Cynthia Bartos, Marketing Team Leader for Whole Foods on Raymond Road in West Hartford, was on hand for the salad bar’s unveiling. Kimberly Collison, Store Team Leader for Whole Foods, attended as well. Nationwide, Whole Foods shoppers donated more than $1.4 million to the Salad Bar Project last September. Bartos and Collison were pleased that the donations from customers and team members in their store helped fund the Bristow salad bar.

Bristow’s nurse, Julie Schwartz, said that the salad bar is part of the school’s overall emphasis on healthy living. “When we announced the salad bar, I said to the kids not to forget about fueling up to play 60,” Schwartz said. She was referring to the “Fuel Up to Play 60” movement, a nationwide initiative sponsored by the NFL and the National Dairy Council to encourage kids to eat healthy foods and get 60 minutes of exercise every day.

Schwartz and Bristow's physical education teachers have been promoting that initiative, and it was something they also mentioned in the grant application. “The salad bar is one great way you can fuel up,” Schwartz said. Although the salad bar is slightly more expensive than the regular lunch menu ($3 rather than $2.25), she said that it had already become a popular option since they introduced it on Feb. 24.

Cindy Field, Nutrition Manager at Bristow, is charged with the task of stocking the salad bar. “I know what the kids like,” she said. She and the rest of the cafeteria staff do all of the daily preparation for the salad bar. “We include a good mix of carbs, proteins, and foods high in vitamins,” Field said. Schwartz praised Bristow’s cafeteria workers for the way they have been stocking the salad bar with enticing offerings, even incorporating cut up chicken left from the previous day’s lunch as one of the protein options.

Andrew Morrow, Principal of Bristow Middle School, told me that he first found out about the Great American Salad Bar Grant when a parent sent him a link. “We had parents, teachers, food services, and other staff involved in the grant application. We had to show it was something that we could sustain,” he said. Morrow said that Bristow’s students were very enthusiastic and encouraging, and he’s also happy that the staff now has healthier choices for lunch, too.

“I am incredibly thankful to our food services staff for the commitment of their time and energy for the preparation of the salad bar. I hope we can be a model for the other middle schools,” Morrow said.

Karen List, Superintendent of , attended the salad bar unveiling, as did Operations Manager Trish Malloy and Physical Education/Health Department Supervisor Rosemarie Bonner. “This is terrific. I told Mr. Morrow that now I know where to come for lunch,” List said. List would like to see salad bars added to all of the town’s middle schools. “Teaching kids about good nutrition is so important to us,” she said.

It was not even 10 a.m. when the first wave of hungry seventh graders stormed in for lunch. A good percentage filled their plates with salad – and not just lettuce and a few lonely carrots sprinkled with cheese. With middle schoolers setting such a healthy example, I had a salad for lunch, too.