Head Start Families Try Snap Peas

posted 1/24/19 -- Head Start families tried snap peas last week in a program designed to expose children to new foods and healthy eating.

Lorain County Community Action Agency's "Try Day" program is funded by a grant from the Black River Foundation.

Students and their families had a chance to try snap peas on Tuesday at Hopkins-Locke and on Friday at Griswold. All students got to try the snap peas on Friday in their classrooms at lunch. The snap peas were served with a homemade carrot hummus both in the lobby and in the classrooms.

Also known as sugar snap peas, they are a bright, crisp and naturally sweet, edible pod vegetable. They can be prepared very simply by just eating raw, steaming, sautéing, or chopping and adding to a salad. Snap peas are a healthy vegetable, because they contain high amounts of vitamin C, vitamin A, iron and fiber.

These opportunities to try unfamiliar foods encourage favorable attitudes toward healthy eating. Students also get to see the new food in its raw form and the nutrition staff has organized stories and other activities that are age appropriate.

Foods that are a hit can be incorporated into the school menu. Classrooms who have the most "tryers" are crowned "Try Day Champions."

For more information on this program, contact Rebecca Rodriguez, Health and Nutrition Manager at 440-242-2178.

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