What began in the spring of 2010 as a reluctant acceptance of four salad bars from the United Fresh Produce Association (UFPA) has become a case study and success story for the Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools (LMSBtS) initiative. Wait… reluctant acceptance? What public school food services director wouldn’t want salad bars in her schools? Well, initially, Jessica Shelly of Cincinnati Public Schools. We got to talk with Jessica about her district’s salad bar journey and are excited to share her story below.

When the UFPA approached Jessica about incorporating salad bars into her schools’ cafeterias, she had concerns about student acceptance/consumption and labor requirements to maintain the salad bars. But she actually experienced the opposite. Soon, the kids were enjoying the fresh fruits and veggies and, as a result, parents and kids alike were happier. And that happiness also extended to cafeteria staff, as well, since Jessica’s apprehension about added labor also proved unwarranted.

So, if four salad bars had such a positive effect, what would success look like with salad bars in schools district-wide? Over the next school year, Jessica and Cincinnati Public Schools were determined to find out and by the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year had salad bars placed on all 53 campuses!

Not only did salad bars boost student participation in the district’s school lunch program, they resulted in benefits that were felt across the entire city.

Lunch Room Success

Kids like to be empowered with choices, especially when it comes to the food they eat. By providing fresh options, Cincinnati schools saw an increase in the students’ fresh produce consumption.

Classroom Success

The salad bars found themselves incorporated into classroom curriculum as science and math teachers used the featured fresh produce to teach about biology and fractions, etc.

Administration Success

When the federal Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act went into effect, the school district was able to easily meet the new requirements since their salad bar implementation had already covered most of them.

City Success

The funding for salad bars was raised through private donations, so the voters of Cincinnati were pleased to see improvements to their schools that didn’t require their checkbooks.

And while district-wide salad bars have provided a happy ending for the citizens and students of Cincinnati, they have also been a big win for the fresh produce industry. Jessica reports that, due to the increase in fruit and vegetable purchases, the district has created a stand-alone purchase order for fresh produce. Now, rather than including their produce orders with the rest of their food purchases, they work exclusively with a fresh produce distributor.

“We were looking for a resource who knows fresh produce,” said Jessica. “We needed someone who would not only fulfill our fresh produce orders, but also recommend in-season items and pack options that would best serve our students and our staff. We now have a reliable partner who rotates items to both meet cost requirements and maintain a nice mix of produce throughout the year.”

So, rewind to April 2010 – given the choice, would Jessica make the same decision? “Without a doubt! The only thing I would change is my initial reluctance. All my apprehensions have been overcome and, in fact, many of my initial concerns have been offset by big wins,” reports Jessica. “Labor costs are kept low by ordering processed, value-added fresh products. This also prevents cross-contamination of allergens, a big concern in school food service. Salad bars have even solved our breakfast service dilemma, as they double as grab-and-go breakfast kiosks in our hallways. I am amazed at just how much these salad bars have helped us and our students.”

Now if that’s not a solid case for salad bars, we don’t know what is! As long as there are still unfunded salad bar requests, we still have work to do. But we are confident that the sharing of stories like Jessica’s above will immeasurably boost our efforts – resulting in happy endings for students, schools, cities and our fresh produce industry alike.