Thanks to facilitation of the Mayor’s Office of Grants, this past school year, Edward Gideon School, one of Philadelphia’s community schools, partnered with nonprofit Philabundance to provide every student with a backpack full of nutritious food each month.
On May 25, Mayor Kenney visited the school to participate in their final backpack distribution of the school year.
During his visit, Mayor Kenney helped teachers, student volunteers and City Year members distribute the bags of food to Kindergarten, first and second grade students.
More than 300 students receive 5lbs of healthy, shelf-stable food once a month through this program. This bag can include various items such as brown rice, canned tuna, instant oatmeal, cereal, and canned vegetables. Philabundance also tries to include a fresh produce item each month. Last month students received apples; this time everyone got to bring home a bag of Romaine hearts.
Some students asked what kinds of meals they could make using the Romaine hearts. One teacher responded, “Caesar salads! This is the perfect lettuce for a nice Caesar salad.” The students agreed.
To inspire families to try cooking healthy new dishes, parents at Gideon can participate in cooking classes to learn how to cook some of the food that is provided in the bags. The classes are hosted by Eat.Right.Now, a school district initiative.
Another new addition to help the students be more active are “movement breaks.” “Movement breaks” are brief exercises that get students to move their bodies and help keep the students engaged in their learning. The movement breaks are done over the loudspeaker every day.
Before the backpack distribution, Community School Coordinator Gregory Wright led students on a quick movement break of arm circles and stretching to get the students settled. Other breaks include jumping jacks, squats, dabs, and running in place.
At the end of the distribution, the students were excited to go home and try cooking with some of the new foods they received.