Blog

North Carolina School Earns Gold for Creating Healthier School Environment for Kids

Published:

May 11, 2010

Blog by Dr. Lynn Harvey, Ed.D., RD, LDN, FADA
Section Chief, Child Nutrition Services, Division of School Support,
NC Department of Public Instruction

It was a proud day in North Carolina as Thomasville Primary School earned the HealthierUS School Challenge Gold Award. Officials from the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture were in Thomasville, N.C., to present the award. Child Nutrition Personnel were joined by the Mayor, members of the City Council, County Commission, and Board of Education, the Superintendent, Principal, Teachers, Parents...and of course, the VIPs of the day...the STUDENTS! Thomasville Primary School was the "jewel" in the state education crown having earned top recognition for their efforts to educate the "whole child."

As part of the celebration, students demonstrated what they do all year, to not only achieve the Healthier US School Challenge nutrition standards, but also the physical side... they planted seeds in the school garden as they got instruction from a local farmer; they honed their match skills by spending money (school-issued currency) to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables at their produce stand; they played Food Pyramid Scramble (yes, running and squatting was involved....just ask USDA Food and Nutrition Branch Chief, Jane Mandel, and Southeast Regional Administrator Donald Arnette who ran the race in business clothes!)

When guests arrived for the awards celebration, they were greeted by the school’s Child Nutrition Personnel wearing bright yellow T-shirts that said "Let's Move".

“The reason we picked this slogan,” said Brenda Watford, Thomasville County Schools Nutrition Director, “was to let First Lady Michelle Obama know that we are behind her ‘Let’s Move’ program. We want to help stop the obesity epidemic. We send newsletters home about the nutrition that children need and fact sheets about our fresh fruits and fresh vegetables that we serve as part of our USDA Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program.”

What I observed on this day was nothing short of a complete transformation in the school cafeteria. I saw a generation of "lunch ladies" transform into a new generation of "Let's Move Ladies." So at the end of the celebration...we respectfully said "Good Bye Lunch Ladies....Hello "Let's Move Ladies!"

Thomasville Primary School’s Let’s Move and Nutrition Staff and other local, state and national VIPs were on hand to celebrate the school receiving a USDA HealthierUS School Challenge Gold Award in Thomasville, NC, (USDA Photo by Debbie Haston-Hilger)

Physical Education Teacher Mandy Davis runs with a Thomasville Primary School student in the “strawberry in a spoon race” as part of their Let’s Move program inspired by First Lady Michelle Obama. The school received a USDA HealthierUS School Challenge Gold Award. (USDA photo by Debbie Haston-Hilger)

Child Nutrition Assistants Shirley Ryals and Carrie Crump serve nutritious foods to Thomasville Primary School students during the lunch meal showcasing why their school won a USDA HealthierUS School Challenge Gold Award (USDA photo by Debbie Haston-Hilger)