In May, Chef Laura Stec came for a return trip to Barron Park Elementary to lead a special nutritional assembly to all students at Barron called Snack Attack. Students began the morning attending a lecture on nutrition that focused on the difference between whole foods and altered foods. “A whole food comes out of the ground, grows on a tree or a bush, or comes from an animal. Altered foods are what is inside a bag of chips or in a bottle of soda” students learned.

Later, the students broke into smaller groups to sample the foods. The tasting menu included roasted candy carrots, kale rolled up with almond butter and craisins, and banana ice cream made with only bananas. The students made their way through three tasting stations, most of them willing to try both the carrots and kale roll ups, but their favorite by far was the banana ice cream.

Chef Laura is now a familiar face at Barron Park. She has been one of the leaders of “Tasting Week” where specific grades are chosen to learn about healthy nutritional choices. But this was the first program in which the entire school was able to participate. Given the size of an entire school, four separate dates were chosen so every student was able to have a hands-on experience.

The parents at Barron chose to fund Snack Attack by using funds raised at the school auction’s “Bid for a Cause.” There were lots of ideas on how to use the funds, but in the end parents felt that having an opportunity for a hands-on healthy snacking assembly was a great choice. And the kids loved it! Barron Park is looking forward to repeating a program with Laura Stec this year—it’s already in the budget.