Lead Agency: Feet First

With dozens of countries represented by the diverse student body at TT Minor Elementary School, many students have traded the foods of their homelands for the fast food and other unhealthy choices that are, all too often, popular among American children. To address this issue, the Seattle Healthy Eating by Design partnership introduced traditional and ethnic cuisine into the school lunch menu. Recipes were solicited from students, parents, school staff, community members and local ethnic restaurants for dishes such as Somali Spaghetti, Vietnamese sandwiches, Phat Prik Gai (Thai spicy green beans and chicken) and Louisiana Gumbo. Each month, students were served a different ethnic lunch meal with a menu card describing the meal, its cultural significance, and recipe and nutrition information. Parents also had opportunities to taste the ethnic meals at monthly family night events.

The healthy ethnic menu was one of many strategies intended to improve the overall nutritional environment at TT Minor Elementary School so that healthy eating habits would become the norm. Other programs included establishing the BullPup Marketplace to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to students throughout the school day, introducing a salad bar to the school lunch menu and redecorating the cafeteria with healthy eating artwork and photos. These changes in the school environment were complemented by infusing nutrition education into non-core subject areas, such as library science, art and even family nights. This approach allowed students to learn about healthy eating without competing with classroom time and helped to ease teachers' concerns about the burden associated with adding nutrition education curricula. Another hands-on learning opportunity was created by making a healthy eating map that highlighted venues with healthy and affordable choices in the neighborhood, as well as taste testing, cooking and gardening classes.

A hallmark of the Seattle Healthy Eating by Design project was its ability to implement innovative strategies to increase healthy eating opportunities and coordinate with community partners to leverage resources and ensure that their work will be sustained as a model for other schools. The project used a staffing model which positioned a nutritionist within the school to serve as a liaison between staff and the Seattle School District. The model is based on a creative cost-share strategy that uses Food Stamp Nutrition Education funds and was instrumental to the project's success. The partnership plans to disseminate their best practices within their state and across the country to help others improve school nutrition policies and create healthier environments without significant cost to schools.

The successes of the Seattle Healthy Eating by Design project have already received significant attention, as the partnership was invited to host site visits for state legislators and lawmakers and for members of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. Plans are underway to replicate the project at several other schools in Seattle and potentially in other states so that more students will truly "Eat Better, Feel Better."