Ideas for Healthy School Snacks, Salad Bar Events and More

East Palo Alto Charter School Salad Bar Event - Please try this fun activity at your school!

What is the East Palo Alto Charter School Salad Bar Event?

As opposed to having an on-going salad bar in your cafeteria, a salad bar event is a one day salad event. Perhaps this salad event can lead to an on-going salad bar! The EPACS salad bar event is a planned day when students who pay for a salad in advance receive a fresh fruit or lettuce salad. A group of students plans for this event about 2 weeks in advance by advertising, signing up students to buy the salad, choosing the ingredients for the salad, taste-testing salad and salad dressing recipes, harvesting or purchasing the ingredients, preparing the salads, and serving the salads.

What are the steps it takes to put together a Salad Bar Event?

Deciding what kind of a salad. Checking to see what is local and available.
Choosing a day.
Setting a price.
Advertising.
Visiting classrooms to sign students up and collect payment.
Making and taste testing several salads and/or salad dressings to choose the final recipe
Harvesting or buying the materials
Preparing the salad earlier in the school day. (Practice sanitary food preparation guidelines when preparing and serving food!)
Serving salads

Does your school salad bar have to be the same? No! It can be however you want to make it.

Here are some resources that can be helpful in researching and organizing for the big day.

Some things to think about:

How will you know what to put in the salad?

It's ok to use things that are not in season, but it's always best to see what can be found locally. The Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture (CUESA) in San Francisco has a website that includes a seasonal eating chart. This chart helps planning a salad bar so you know what vegetables and fruits are in season. There is also a recipe section that has creative ideas for salads and salad dressings.

Where will you find fresh produce?

Growing your own food in a school garden is a great way to have fresh produce. A little planning in your garden will assure that you have the vegetables you need at the time of your salad bar event. If you don't have a garden, no problem! Farmers Markets are another wonderful source for fresh, in-season vegetables and fruits. It helps to know where your local farmers' markets are. OrganicPicks is a website that lists Peninsula and other Bay Area farmers' market locations and times. Another website for farmers market information is on the County of San Mateo website. The East Palo Alto Community Farmers Market website lists weekly available produce to help with your planning. Buying salad bar ingredients from local farmers' markets is a wonderful way to support local farmers, to know where your food is coming from, and to be sure the food is in season. By introducing yourself, your school and your project, you will be able to find out exactly where your food is from and who grows it. You may also be able to get donations from farmers at the markets.

How will you advertise?

Making posters by hand is a perfect way to raise awareness and let students know about your event. The Collective Roots website has some pictures of posters made by students in the past. Be creative and have fun!

Collective Roots staff and East Palo Alto Charter School students can help with the salad bar process, too. Feel free to call or visit.

Collective Roots

1286 Runnymede Street

East Palo Alto, CA 94303

(650) 324-2769

www.collectiveroots.org

Here are some resources for anyone interested in developing ideas or programs for providing healthy school food, snacks, salad bars, and more.

Healthy Snacks