KETCHIKAN, Ala.— Of all the things to serve for lunch, the kids suggested seaweed.
Genevieve Hiatt and Hailey Hubble, fourth-graders at Houghtaling Elementary, won the November Dream Healthy Lunch Menu Contest, and come Dec. 19, the school lunch menu in Ketchikan School District will include salmon, brown rice, seaweed and a pineapple-strawberry fruit cup.
The contest was inspired by new U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations for school lunches. With the passing of the federal Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act and the campaign against childhood obesity, school lunches have switched from pudding packs to fruit cups.
"With the new school lunch regulations, we had to change a lot of menu items," said Emily Henry, the school district's wellness coordinator.
Henry said the district's food services department started the contest in November as a way to include students in the menu planning and design process.
"We thought the contest would be a good way to generate excitement and sort of have a say. ... It's a way for the kids to feel like they were involved," she said.
In November, 24 Houghtaling fourth- through sixth-grade students submitted meal ideas and illustrated posters for the contest. Henry said the submissions were required to include a fruit, a vegetable, a carbohydrate and a source of protein and dairy.