Mentor Schools Seeking Cleveland Clinic's "seal of approval" for nutritious meals

Jeni Lange, Mentor Schools food service supervisor, said she is in the planning stages of participating in the Cleveland Clinic's  "Eat Right At School" program.

"To participate in this program, we would be required to meet the additional benchmarks for fat, sodium fiber, sugar and (serving) more fruits and vegetables," said Lange at Mentor School Board's regular meeting Tuesday evening. "With this distinction, our district will be able to have the Cleveland Clinic's seal of approval and we would also be able to use their signage. I believe we can move forward with that and I will be looking to do that in the coming year."

As part of the Mentor Schools nutrition and wellness policy, less healthy snack options and high fat foods such as french fries have been removed from cafeteria menus.

And what has been the student reaction? asked Mentor School Board Member Mary Bryner.

"We've had very successful feedback as we've moved into more nutritious food," Lange said. She also said since removing less healthy snack options, she is seeing "more (nutritious) meals being actually purchased and consumed."

In October, the Cleveland Clinic's "Eat Right At School" program was test piloted at the Berea School District.

According to an article in Food Management magazine, a trade publication, the Cleveland Clinic's "Eat Right At School" is stricter that what the United States Department of Agriculture requires.

The Clinic's program includes specific criteria that governs fat, fiber, sodium, calories, whole grains and the percentage of fruits and vegetables.

For example, the "Eat Right At School" program requires less than four grams of saturated fat for main dishes and  less than two grams of fat for side dishes, soups and desserts. The program eliminates trans fat requires minimal amounts of sugar and salt, according to the Food Management article.

In other business, the school board approved the hiring of two new teachers, Katelyn Brown, who is a special education teacher at Ridge Middle School, and Matthew Lehman, an early childhood education teacher.

School Board President Thomas Tuttle also thanked families and individuals who made donations of more than $3,000 in the memory of Kim Coolbaugh, a teacher in the Mentor School District for 14 years who died in November. The funds will be allocated to 's Science Explorer's Club. Mrs. Coolbaugh had a passion for science and dedication to working with students.

At the meeting, there was a moment of silence in memory of Mrs. Coolbaugh.