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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 28, 2019)
SCHOOLS Wednesday, august 28, 2019 HeRMIstOnHeRaLd.COM • A7 New recipes for a new school year By JESSICA POLLARD STAFF WRITER Italian style paninis and garlic kale dip might not be the first items someone imagines chowing down on in a school cafeteria. But a culinary workshop hosted by Umatilla High School is looking to change that. The workshop was hosted Aug. 16 by the the Oregon Department of Education Child Nutrition Programs and Oregon Dairy and Nutri- tion Council with involve- ment from the Oregon State University Extension office’s Food Hero campaign. It had cafeteria workers from across Eastern Oregon pre- paring an extensive menu of items with unique flavors that still align with national nutrition standards. Jessica Visinsky, a child nutrition specialist with the ODE, who spearheaded the workshop, knows this is no easy feat. “(Workers) are basically putting on Thanksgiving dinner every weekday by 11 a.m.,” she said. This is the third year that the workshop, which travels across the state, has stopped in Umatilla. Those who participated also honed their knife skills as they worked in differ- ent teams to prepare a large lunch for people wishing to sample the menu items, which ranged from veggie quesadillas to a sweet cinna- mon apple bake. Visinsky said there are some misconceptions when it comes to school lunches. “We may be serving pizza in school, but it’s got whole grain crust and low- fat cheese,” she said. Rikkilynn Starliper, child nutrition director for the Umatilla School Dis- trict, said many parents don’t know that ready-to- serve items like chocolate milk and heat-and-serve items like quesadillas come from companies that specifi- cally formulate them to meet national guidelines. Countywide, almost 70% of students were eligible for free and reduced lunch during the 2018-19 school year, according to the ODE. That number increases to 80% of students through- out the district in Umatilla. Schools in the Umatilla dis- trict are unique in the sense that they take part in the USDA Community Eligibil- ity Provision, which allows them to provide meals to stu- dents at no cost. With so many students taking part in school lunch, fitting in scratch cooking like the kind taught during the workshop can prove difficult. Starliper said that when the district first hosted a culi- nary workshop, they walked away with a popular Bánh mì recipe, but that they only offer it a couple times a month because it’s so labor intensive and in such high demand. “It’s difficult to transi- tion to scratch cooking when you have staff that have been doing the same thing for years,” she added. Mary Smith, who works in the Clara Brownell Mid- dle School cafeteria, noted that not much from the work- shop gets to come to life in the kitchen. “We do some scratch cooking, but not everything. There’s just too many kids,” she said. Starliper said the district staff photo by Ben Lonergan Angie Treadwell (center front) leads a training on incorporating physical activity into the classroom. Research shows that PE in schools can be life-changing By JESSICA POLLARD STAFF WRITER School districts around the state are trying their best to keep up with increasing physical educa- tion requirements, even if it means playing around in the classroom. The change is part of an incremental plan laid out by the state Legisla- ture in 2007 designed to get Oregon students exer- cising more — 150 min- utes a week for elementary students, and 225 minutes a week for middle school stu- dents — by the 2017 school year. When schools weren’t able to keep up, another bill was passed, giving districts until the end of the 2020- 2021 school year to meet the requirements. Elementary schools are expected to start provid- ing 120 minutes this year. That’s where Angie Tread- well, SNAP-Ed coordina- tor for Oregon State Uni- versity Extensions, comes in. For the past few months, Treadwell and her team have been introducing edu- cators at Hermiston, Uma- tilla, and Morrow County school districts to in-class kits with activities that meet the state physical edu- staff photo by Ben Lonergan Danielle Lindbeck, of Long Creek, stirs a pot of vegetable yakisoba during a culinary workshop at Umatilla High School. The workshop served as an opportunity for school cooks to exchange recipes and ideas. The workshops were hosted by the Oregon Department of Education Child Nutrition Program and the Oregon Dairy and Nutrition Council. staff photo by Ben Lonergan Jennifer Valle, left, Cira Larsen and Ellie Dutcher collaborate on creating a dipping sauce for the quesadillas that they made during a culinary workshop at Umatilla High School. is hoping to include more scratch cooking in the future. The district has other culi- nary projects in store for the upcoming school year as well. They just purchased four “healthy celebration” carts, which come loaded with the equipment needed to make smoothies during classroom celebrations. “It’s easier for teach- ers and families to take that cart to the classroom. Instead of having cookies and cup- cakes, the kids can bring in fruit, yogurt and granola and make a smoothie,” Starliper said. She’s also looking for- ward to the addition of a FoodCorps member, who will focus on educating stu- dents about nutrition, to McNary Heights Cafeteria this year. cation standards. She said that it’s not always realistic for schools to hire another PE teacher in order to reach the requirements. “This kind of thing has the ability to impact these kids for a lifetime,” Tread- well said. The kits, dubbed Be Physically Active 2Day (BEPA 2.0), cost nearly $100 and provides class- room-based physical activ- ities designed for elemen- tary schoolers of all ages. Treadwell said dona- tions from Lamb Weston helped OSU Extension provide the kits to different schools. They provide teach- ers with everything they need to lead activities from bean-bag balancing com- petitions to a hot-and-cold style game called “Find the Veggie,” all of which fit state physical education standards. “They reinforce a lot of classroom concepts as well,” Treadwell said. Katherine Gunter, a pro- fessor of kinesiology and OSU Extension statewide physical activity special- ist, designed the BEPA 2.0 kits and said that the link between physical activity and obesity prevention is pretty clear. I got screened. Now, I’m talking about it. Screening can prevent colorectal cancer or catch the #2 cancer killer early when it’s highly treatable. Most people get screened because they’re encouraged by someone they know and trust. So if you’ve been screened, please talk about your experience. And encourage others to get screened too. COLORECTAL CANCER The cancer you can prevent. TheCancerYouCanPrevent.org Karen King Pendleton, Oregon A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded campaign MEDICAL DIRECTORY To advertise in the Medical Directory, please call: Jeanne at 541-564-4531 or Audra at 541-564-4538 LET US BE THE ONE THAT HELPS! Call Today! • Adult, Child and Family Therapy • Psychiatric Evaluation and Treatment • Mental Health and Crisis Services • Confidential and Professional Care LIFEWAYS PENDLETON Crisis Phone: LIFEWAYS HERMISTON 541-289-5433 www.apd4kidz.com Office Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-4pm 331 SE 2nd St., 595 NW 11th St., 866-343-4473 Pendleton, OR 97801 Hermiston, OR 97838 Office: 541-276-6207 WWW . LIFEWAYS . ORG Office: 541-567-2536 HERMISTON FAMILY MEDICINE & Eye Health & Vision Care Robert D. 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