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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels May 1, 2004 Produce goes from farm to school By Bill Choy Ashland Daily Tidings TALENT - Wearing a cowboy hat and overalls and standing in front of a cart full of fresh fruits and veggies, David Strand had a group of 2nd-graders at Talent Elementary School entranced. Strand is a general manager who specializes in produce for Sodexho School Services, which provides the cafeteria meals for the Phoenix-Talent School District. On Thursday, he visited the school to teach students about where fruits like apples and pears come from and show them more unique items like daikon and celery roots. Little-known facts were shared with the kids, such as that strawberries are considered a flower and certain types of cactus can be eaten and are quite tasty. "We have fruits and vegetables here from apples to zucchini," Strand told them. Second-grader Molli Calhoun, 8, of Talent was quite intrigued by the daikon, a Japanese radish. "It was weird," she said. "But it was cool to learn and try new things." The farm-to-market event at the school on Thursday gave the approximately 400 1st- through 5th-graders at Talent Elementary a chance to understand where their food comes from, what types of agricultural products Oregon generates, and the importance of being nutrition and eating their fruits and vegetables. The event was sponsored by Sodexho. Nutrition fun The cafeteria was transformed into a mini food court as children watched how to make smoothies at one booth and learned about the benefits of produce at another. In the middle of the room, a buffet of fruits and vegetables, labeled from A to Z, were available for students to enjoy. While there were more traditional offerings, such as apples, oranges and iceberg lettuce, there were also more unusual things for students to try such as yucca, fennel and jicama, a potato relative found in Mexico and Central America. The day was a perfect way to instill healthy choices and understand how food gets from the farm to students' plates, Principal Teresa Sayre said. "It's never too early to start living a healthy lifestyle," she said. "Now, most of the 1st-graders know what 'five a day' is (eating at least five fruits or vegetables each day). It's exciting for them to learn at school what's reinforced at home." The day was a valuable event for students, said Jeff Ashmun, senior general manager for Sodexho in Jackson County. "We're responsible for two meals a day for these children," he said. "With a well-rounded eating lifestyle, they can develop these good habits early." Ella Jordahl, food service manager for Sodexho at the Phoenix-Talent School District, concurred. "We want to help students make good choices, especially with the problems with obesity we have in this country," she said. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams