It's an interesting balance: because our school supports a primarily underserved student population, we end up having a lot of resources available. One of them is the Harvest of the Month program through the USDA. Each month a different produce item is featured as part of the program, and the SNC (School Nutrition Coordinator but we call her the SNACK--my officemate, Maria) teaches lessons, prepares recipes, does in-class tastings, and talks about this particular fruit or vegetable. In February the Harvest of the Month was cabbage and now in March it is peas. At the beginning of every new month we get a message in the WAD (which stands for Weekly Administrative Directive, a digest of news sent from the district office but I just like to say the acronym: WAD!) announcing the featured item and describing all kinds of information about it. Read on and learn more about this important vegetable. Maybe you'll even try some peas on your own this month. If you do, write a comment and let us all know!
WHO: All Staff at Elementary, Middle and High Schools
WHAT: March’s Harvest Of The Month! – Peas!
Did You Know?
*Green Peas are among the top ten most commonly eaten vegetables (fresh, frozen, or canned) by California children.
* The sugar snap pea is actually a hybrid of green and snow peas. It was developed in 1979 to make an edible-pod variety with sweeter, full-sized peas.
For more information about peas, click on the links below:
• Educator’s newsletter – Peas_Educator_Newsletter.pdf
• Family Newsletter (English) - Peas_Family_Newsletter_English.pdf
• Family Newsletter (Spanish) - Peas_Family_Newsletter_Spanish.pdf
• Family Newsletter (Chinese) - Peas_Family_Newsletter_Chinese.pdf
HOW:
• Distribute Harvest of the Month materials:
- Copy Educator’s Newsletter for every classroom teacher
- Copy Family Newsletter, send home in weekly envelope
• Make tasty recipes found in both newsletters
• Prepare and offer Pea Salad with Fresh Herbs or Mexican Rice, from the newsletters, at your next staff meeting
• Teach a lesson from the Educator’s Newsletter
WHY:
The goal of Harvest of the Month is to increase fruit and vegetable awareness and to motivate children, families, and school staff to make healthier choices.
WHEN: March 2009
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