Foster trial of new foods through an interactive game

The idea behind the wheel was to have various vegetables and fruit on a table as the students were coming into the lunch line. We offered the samples at the beginning of the lunch line, (when the kids were hungry), and most of the students were good sports and tried the veg or fruit it landed on. If they got really stressed out about landing on, say, squash, I would let them spin again. After they tried the sample we gave them a sticker. We offered tastes of squash, beets, butternut squash, asparagus, broccoli and more. I did notice the vegetable consumption went up. I felt like having a fun taste test made the kids want to try the new vegetable or fruit.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

Natalie WinkleFood Service DirectorBoardman Local SchoolsYoungstown, OH