Orlando, FL – Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam joined Audubon Park Elementary School students Friday for a lunchtime competition that encourages healthy eating. In addition, Commissioner Putnam demonstrated Nutrislice, an app for tablets and smart phones that features school breakfast and lunch menus.
“While we’ve made great progress in directing more locally grown, fresh produce to Florida’s school cafeterias, we discovered the most difficult challenge is getting the healthy menu items the last 18 inches, the distance from the plate to the mouth,” said Commissioner Putnam. “Nutrislice brings school lunch menus into the 21st century, using familiar technology to make more information about menu items available and engaging kids in activities that encourage healthy eating.”
The Nutrislice app is more than just a digital version of the school lunch menu; it is an interactive tool that provides nutritional information, opportunities to provide feedback on menu items and allergy alerts.
- The school menus feature detailed descriptions of each menu item with colorful photos, ingredients and nutrition information.
- Users can rate the food on a scale of one to five stars. The feedback is provided to the school district to assist in developing future menus.
- Allergy filters enable users to flag allergies and cross out menu items that contain those allergies.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services partnered with Nutrislice to develop this interactive menu and provide it to Florida school districts free of charge. Launched in September of 2012, the Nutrislice app is now available to more than 2 million students across Florida. By providing the information through tablets and smart phones, FDACS aims to empower students and parents to make healthy choices at breakfast and lunch.
“With more than 175,000 students enrolled and our resources, I thought it was impossible to really engage and empower all our students, but the mobile app has given a voice to every student,” Said Lora Gilbert, director of food services at Orange County Public Schools. “I think providing them with such fun, interactive menus on their smart phones is really increasing excitement, and I am thrilled Commissioner Putnam has made this tool available.”
Sometimes, however, making information easily accessible is not incentive enough for students to make healthy choices. Another app developed by Nutrislice in partnership with FDACS – Taste Test Pro – uses social media to encourage students to try new, healthy food options. Schools can use this tool to engage students in challenges and competitions involving healthy menu items.
In the cafeteria of Audubon Park Elementary School today, Commissioner Putnam used Taste Test Pro to host a competition among students, which encouraged them to eat strawberries. The students were divided into teams – boys versus girls – and students earned points for their team by eating strawberries. The points were tallied through the Taste Test Pro app, and results were streamed live on a screen in the cafeteria. At the end of the first lunch hour, the girls’ team was ahead.
Competitions like the one hosted at Audubon Park Elementary School today not only encourage students to try healthy foods, preliminary results show these competitions can significantly reduce food waste.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services oversees Florida’s school nutrition program. More than 2.5 million children in Florida are enrolled in the National School Lunch Program.
For more information about the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, visit www.FreshFromFlorida.com.
Source: Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
