Eating Healthy At School | Video

Alex Hagan | 6/8/2012

First Lady Michelle Obama recently launched "Let`s Move," an initiative to help combat childhood obesity. Of course, what children eat plays a big part in that and North Dakota schools are already trying to implement the plan here. School administrators want children to eat healthier and that`s why students will notice changes in the lunch-line in the future. That`s why a conference was recently held in Bismarck.

"School cooks from every corner in the state are learning about the new rules and yesterday we had food shows where they tried some whole grain products and some of the trans-free products, some dark orange and dark green fruits and vegetables," said Deb Egeland with the North Dakota School Nutrition Association.

The North Dakota School Nutrition association aims to promote healthy lifestyles among children.

"This is our chance to really get a handle on it, talk to people from the state and understand all the changes we need to make over the coming years," said Williston Schools Food Service Director Lynelle Mckenzie.

School cooks around the state are focusing on healthier options.

"The bread items that we offer, half of those have to be whole grain rich. We now have to have double the servings size of fruits and vegetables," Egeland said.

But school officials can only do so much. Students spend the majority of their time at home, where they often choose unhealthy foods.

"There`s not quite enough emphasis on the house environment on eating the healthier grains like your whole grains or your whole wheat pastas and staying away from your white flour element," said Dickinson Trinity Elementary West Lead Cook Ramona Kovash.

Nutrition experts say they hope what they eat at school will result in children eating the same way at home.

"I hope that our school meals model a change that students can encourage at home too," Mckenzie said.

School officials hope the new meals will not only be nutritious, but also be something kids like to eat. They plan to roll out the new meal plan when school starts in the fall.

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