LDSS students provided greener food options in-house

By Paul Forman

Seeing a need for healthy food options for their student population, the hospitality department at Leamington District Secondary School was excited to receive a $10,000 grant that will allow them to work toward that mission.

Farm to Cafeteria Canada, an organization that helps schools build their own food programming, provided the funds that allowed the high school to purchase everything that they needed to run a full-service salad bar. 

As a kickoff for the new culinary endeavour, the students of Joe Youssef and David Prantera put together a free salad offering for grade nine and ten students the week of October 21st and another free offering for grade eleven and twelve students the week of October 28th. 

Youssef was clearly excited about the new salad bar, saying, “This will really allow our kids to make good choices when it comes to what they are eating. Our hospitality students even make the dressings for the salad from scratch, always with a healthy twist in mind.”

Senior students attending the launch were eager to elaborate on the benefits they see with this new food option.

“It’s a good addition as it meets the needs of students from different cultural backgrounds,” said Kiona Freisen. “I’m a vegan, and this will help others that eat a plant-based diet to find something close by.”

Student Minister of the Environment Delila Haviland said, “For those that can’t pack a lunch, the salad bar is a far better option than going out for fast food. This is a great way for our students to see an environmentally friendly choice that generates zero waste.”

Going forward, the hospitality department is looking to have their new salad bar open every Thursday, and possibly adding other healthy entrees in the near future.