All Aboard the Alphabet Produce Train
La Canada Elementary Schools and SNP just finished their annual Alphabet Produce Train salad bar event featuring vegetables and fruit from every letter of the alphabet. The students were excited to participate and the day was a resounding success. “Can we do this again tomorrow?” asked a 5th grader.
First things first, and because this is by far the most popular FAQ…
Q: “What’s “X”?
A: Why Xtra Fancy Squash of course!
This year we were thrilled to be featuring a blend of roasted and raw veggies and fresh and dried fruit on our salad bar. Particularly scrumptious thanks to SNP Executive Sous Chef Luis, were the roasted fennel (F!), roasted Cremini mushrooms (M!) and roasted eggplant (E!). Of course, the usual suspects made an appearance (what else would one use for “Z” besides zucchini?) and when the students learned that 1, there was watermelon (W!) and 2, they were able to take as much as they’d like they literally jumped for joy. More impressive than the delight of having the opportunity to take part in an extensive salad bar, was the students’ eagerness to try new items. The bold, peppery flavor of Upland Watercress (U!) was such a hit that we actually ran out just before the last students went through the line. And this is because students asked for more! Impressive, right?
The amount of work and tireless effort on the part of our chefs, kitchen staff, and especially our parent volunteers really helped ensure the success of this event. The Alphabet Produce Train reinforces what we do at SNP on a daily basis…provide quality, fresh, healthful food loaded with fruit and vegetables to our students. We are truly looking forward to the next Alphabet Produce Train and while our students are hoping for next week, we’ll take a breath and wait until next spring!
And by all means, please tweet any suggestions (especially “X”!) to us @schoolnutrplus. Love this!