If You Build It, Children Will Come to the Salad Bar

In the cafeteria at Caldwell Elementary School in Compton one day recently, not a single child was in line for the standard lunch of corndogs and canned fruit. A few feet away, though, a dozen children stood waiting for the salad bar, where the line has gotten so long that an aide sometimes plays "Simon Says" to amuse the children while they wait.

Just what Tracie Thomas has in mind.

It is her job to feed the schoolchildren of Compton, a district where nearly all of the 32,500 children qualify for a free lunch (those from families earning no more than 130% of the poverty level) and where some students are homeless.

Some children get themselves up, dressed and out the door without adult help.

Kids have long complained about school lunches. But when students don't eat them, districts lose money. One response has been to offer French fries, pizza or name-brand items -- "kid-friendly" food.

Thomas, assistant director of nutrition services in Compton, is among those with another idea.

Last spring, she opened salad bars in five schools, with fruits and vegetables purchased from California farms. Ten schools have salad bars now, and one more opens today. By spring, all 24 elementary campuses are scheduled to have them, with secondary schools to follow.

So far, Thomas is encouraged: More children are choosing salad than traditional school lunch. For example, at one campus the numbers were 266 versus 198 one day, and 257 versus 205 another day.

The salad bars are part of a movement around the country called farm to school. Its advocates, including the federal government, say they hope children will eat more healthful lunches and at the same time improve the health of small and medium-size farms by guaranteeing them customers.

Experts say not even a quarter of children nationwide eat the recommended five servings a day of fruit and vegetables.

With the groundswell of hand-wringing over obesity, childhood diabetes and classroom performance, improving food at school seems an obvious answer.

When Tommie Callegari, Compton's director of student nutrition services, asked teachers in August at a nutrition seminar who believed their students performed to their potential, not one hand went up.

She guessed that half of Compton's students skipped breakfast.

"Have you ever been on your way to school and found all those kids packed into the liquor store? What are they buying? Candy and soda," she said.