Nutrition
Food & Nutrition Education
Turning Sun's meal and education program promotes positive relationships with food, health, the environment and community. Meals are wholesome, nutritionally balanced, prepared without nuts, and allergy conscious. Ingredients are locally sourced when possible and plant-based to promote nutrition, animal welfare and sustainability. Children learn "where food comes from" as they actively work in organic gardens to grow and harvest food to taste and use in school meals. And menus are planned in collaboration with our families.
Building a Positive Relationship with Food
Following our approach to education, our students are full participants in the mealtime experience. Together we create classroom community rituals and traditions around mealtimes, such as setting and decorating the table with a centerpiece made of flowers, herbs, leaves from our garden. Meals are served family-style and children and educators eat together in community. Mealtime is enjoyable and pleasant, and meals are a significant opportunity to come together and relate to one another. At the end, students take their own dishes to be washed and uneaten food to be composted.
Promoting Healthy Eating Habits
Research shows children may need to see a new food 17 times before they try it on their own. During mealtime we always model positive language and encouragement. We wonder out loud or describe the food we are tasting by saying things like: “I am going to try the green vegetable today”, “I wonder what it will taste like?”, and “These radishes are crunchy!” Rather than ask students "if they like it", we instead challenge students to describe the colors, sounds and tastes as well as expressing their opinions about their favorites. We also discuss age appropriate nutrition principles, such as "Is this a fruit, vegetable, or protein?" or "Do these foods build muscle or help your brain?" Research further shows that food preferences of families are linked to their children's food preference.