Edina Kids Eating More Breakfasts, Less Processed Foods

The Edina School District has been serving more breakfasts, less processed foods and has formed partnerships to get kids eating more fruits and vegetables.

The district served a record 23,800 breakfasts during the 2012-13 school year and decreased the percentage of highly processed food items by 11 percent, according to a biannual wellness report given to the Edina School Board last week.

“There’s great research about what fitness does to the chemistry of the brain and how it preps the brain for learning, and those are all elements that we need to continue to look at to arrive at a higher level of achievement here in Edina Public Schools,” said Randy Smasal, the district’s director of teaching and learning.

The school district recently partnered with Cornell University on a study of how to get Edina kids—whose favorite foods are pizza and tacos—to eat more fruits and vegetables. Some of the changes to result from the study include giving healthy food items “creative names” and displaying them in “strategic locations.”

About 40 percent of the district’s food is highly processed, and while popular processed items such as pizza and french toast sticks are unlikely to be cut from menus anytime soon, the district is looking to bring that number down by around 10 percentage points over the next couple school years.

A survey showed that many parents would be willing to pay for healthier food: 57 percent of respondents supported a meal price hike of at least $1.