Take a roomful of Byron-Bergen second graders, mix in the skills of a professional chef, and you have the recipe for a successful lesson about how healthy eating can taste good. Chef Eric Mercovich, a Bergen resident, parent of three Byron-Bergen students, and a professional chef, prepared several healthy dishes for more than 60 second graders to taste.
Mercovich demonstrated how to prepare spinach salad with homemade vinaigrette, mashed sweet potatoes hummus, and whole grain pasta. Students sampled each of the foods after the demonstration and received a copy of the recipes to take home.
As part of the lesson, Mercovich explained the nutritional values of the foods he was preparing. The goal of this event was to have the children taste and get more familiar with the healthier foods that are on the lunch menu after a change to the federal lunch program guidelines took effect. The ultimate goal is healthy, well-nourished children which this program helps to create by offering nutrition and cooking education with assistance from the school’s Health and Wellness Committee.
The event was made possible by a grant awarded by the American Culinary Federation through the Chefs Move to Schools program. The Chefs Move to Schools program, founded in May 2010, is an integral part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” initiative, and its goal of solving the childhood obesity epidemic within a generation.
