Photo courtesy of The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
Doctors Group Presents Allendale Columbia School with the Golden Carrot Award to Celebrate Healthy Plant-Based Menu Options
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine—a national doctors group with more than 12,000 members—awards Allendale Columbia School the grand prize in the 2020 Golden Carrot Awards. The nursery through grade 12 independent school will receive a $500 cash prize in recognition of its exceptionally healthful lunches and outstanding health promotion initiatives.
“Allendale Columbia School is setting up students for success, both today and in the future, by serving nutrient-packed, plant-based meals for lunch,” says Physicians Committee dietitian Maggie Neola, R.D. “Not only do these foods help children stay focused and energized in the classroom, but they also reduce long-term risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and other chronic diseases.”
Allendale Columbia School provides seven unique entrees, at least four of which are vegetarian, to its 358 students and 98 employees each school day. Two of those four entrees are vegan, containing no animal products. The menu is packed with fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables, many made-from-scratch entrées, and daily plant-based options.
Popular entrées include berry arugula salad with homemade hummus, fresh veggie and hummus wraps, Sunbutter and jelly sandwiches on fresh bread from Flour City Bread, and ginger tofu with jasmine rice. All lunches include several fresh fruit and vegetable options.
“Our food service team truly loves what they do,” says Allendale Columbia School interim head of school Shannon Baudo. “They focus on healthy and nutritious foods for our students, faculty and staff every day while encouraging all of us to try new things and learn about the foods we are putting into our bodies. They have reinvented school lunch, and we’re incredibly lucky.”
Establishing good nutrition habits at a young age can dramatically reduce children’s chances for developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and other diet-related diseases later in life. Today, just 1 in 5 American children eat the recommended five daily servings of fruits and vegetables, while most children’s diets exceed upper limits for fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium. One-third of children in New York are overweight or obese.
Allendale Columbia School views the lunchroom as an extension of the classroom, a means of building community, and uses school meals as a platform to both teach students about the importance of good nutrition and provide ample opportunities to try new foods.
The Physicians Committee established the Golden Carrot Award in 2004 in recognition of programs that encourage students to eat fresh fruits and vegetables and that offer vegetarian, low-fat, whole-grain, and nondairy options.
Founded in 1985, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is a nonprofit health organization that promotes preventive medicine, conducts clinical research, and encourages higher standards for ethics and effectiveness in research and medical training.
