Sometimes the right blend can change your perception. One of our industry research and promotion programs is remixing school meal items to help change students’ preconceptions and get them to eat healthy foods.
The Mushroom Council helped out on this front in a number of ways. The Council, which is overseen by our agency – the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) – encouraged schools to use recipes that added mushrooms to their beef burgers. By reducing some of the beef and adding the hearty texture of mushrooms, schools were able to increase student consumption of healthy meals without compromising taste.
This proved to be a big hit in Indiana where 29 of the South Bend Community School Corporation’s schools successfully incorporated a blended beef and mushroom burger onto their menus. Using a blind taste test, only students with allergies were notified that the burgers contained mushrooms. And the result was a huge success! In a survey, nearly 81% of the students approved of the blended burger. “Some kids turn their nose to mushrooms,” said Karen Case, the school’s nutrition education facilitator. “However, once the students tried the blended mushroom burgers, they immediately become more adventurous eaters.”
To read the rest of the story, please go to: USDA Blog
