Multiple school districts around the US, including Watertown, received a two year USDA Healthy Meals Incentive Grant, as well as the Farms to Food Grant, to incorporate nutritional learning into the school systems, and better integrate healthy local options into our lunches. Our district hired Samantha May, a Nutrition Educator, to teach nutrition and wellness to students, staff, and incorporate local farm products into the cafeterias. Ms. May first studied Global Affairs in her undergrad, concentrating in global inequalities & responses, and the environment. She then received her certification in Nutrition from Harvard Medical School. She has helped our district win two separate awards: the Innovative School Lunch Makeover and the Innovation in Nutrition Education, from the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture).

The Innovative School Lunch Makeover was awarded to Watertown for the salad bar at WHS and at Swift. Students have been “voting with their dollar” for the salad bar because they enjoy being able to build their own salads creating endless options. Ms. May has also been giving “nutritional talks” to different classes around the district. When teachers sign up for her talks in their classes, she goes and incorporates their subject into her talk. She teaches students about the 10 pillars of nutrition, and how to include healthy habits into everyday meals. The federal grant may be over in June, but Ms. May hopes that “nutrition and wellness as a whole becomes a personal value that students adopt for themselves,” and they will value nutrition throughout their lives.