Students in Maine Learn “A to Zs” of Nutrition 

One can eat their way through the alphabet by simply enjoying a cup of alphabet soup but accomplishing this on a daily basis is a lot more fun, educational, healthier and pleasing to the taste buds.

Students in the Windham Raymond School District (RSU 14) in Maine are enjoying nutritious lunches made from locally grown fruits and vegetables representing each letter of the alphabet in conjunction with March’s National Nutrition Month. March kicked off with a scrumptious lunch featuring asparagus and apples and will conclude with a flavorful Zucchini recipe. 

This annual initiative, developed by the Windham Raymond School Nutrition Program, aims to create a fun and healthy experience, and educate students on the importance of consuming nutritious foods. 

“Our students look forward to this program each March, and it makes lunchtime more exciting for them,” said Director of Windham Raymond School Nutrition Department Jeanne Reilly. “Many of our students are trying items they normally would not try such as mango maple milkhouse smoothies, carrot quinoa muffins, garlic ginger green beans and jicama slaw. Our program often results in students becoming more familiar with a wide of a variety of fruits and vegetables, which lessens their resistance to trying unfamiliar foods in the future.”

Daily lunch offerings are posted on Facebook and Instagram and include nutritional information and recipes that families can prepare at home. The students also learn about the menu items along the lunch lines, at lunch tables and during health classes.

The Windham Raymond School Nutrition Program features 27 foodservice professionals serving more than 3,200 students throughout six schools. The program prepares over 1,500 meals for breakfast and more than 2,300 meals for lunch each day.

Reilly, who has worked in the food and nutrition industry for 40 years, said feedback from the students has been overwhelmingly positive as the program enters its 15^th year in conjunction with the RSU 14 School District

“Students take note of the nutritional information we provide and seem to enjoy trying new foods and eating healthy,” she said. “It is a lot of work to plan and implement the program but well worth the effort. We find that month-long promotions are more successful, gain more traction and drives traffic to our social media pages. This initiative has elevated our program a great deal and will be a part of the month of March at our schools for years to come.”