Food and Nutrition
At Whitby, we recognize that caring for the whole child includes attention to good nutrition. Research on pediatric nutrition indicates that better nutrition (meaning less sugar, no additives, no preservatives, no food coloring, plus organic ingredients) leads to better attention spans and classroom behavior, enhanced learning, and improved health. Research on pediatric nutrition indicates that better nutrition (meaning less sugar, no additives, no preservatives, no food coloring, plus organic ingredients) leads to better attention spans and classroom behavior, enhanced learning, and improved health. Our efforts toward school-wide superlative nutrition contribute to Whitby's standing as a model for excellence in children's education.
Wholesome Foods
Whitby follows the following guidelines when providing food for lunches, field trips, special celebrations and school sponsored events. Food brought by families to share for special events must follow these guidelines:
- No foods containing artificial colors or flavors, preservatives, additives, trans-fats, or artificial sugars will be served.
- Organic foods are provided as much as possible.
- For allergy reasons, no foods containing nuts or peanuts are served (see below)
Snacks
Whitby provides a daily selection of healthy snacks for students up to the UE level, consisting of organic fruits and vegetables, yogurt, cheese, cereal and crackers made with organic ingredients, and a variety of additional items throughout the year. Parent volunteers distribute snacks on a weekly basis.
This school year we are curtailing snacking in the UE & MS classrooms outside of assigned snack periods. We believe this will make for a more productive classroom environment by encouraging greater concentration and retention by the students. The snacks provided by Whitby also often went to waste and occasionally drew fruit flies plus was not an efficient use of school funds. As a result, and as is customary in other schools, Parents should pack their own children's snacks.
Birthday Treats
Parents may bring treats to share with his/her child's class for a birthday celebration, in coordination with the classroom teacher. Birthday treats should be appropriately sized for the age of the child ("mini" or "two-bite" size for SS and Primary). No treats made with artificial colors, flavors or preservatives may be served. Consider alternative to cupcakes, including fruit kebabs, frozen all-juice pops and homemade cookies. No nuts or nut products may be served. If you are looking for cupcakes to celebrate your child's birthday take a look at these http://www.ibcakes.com/.
Allergy/No Nuts
Due to an increasing number of children diagnosed with life-threatening peanut and nut allergies, no peanut or nut products, peanut butter, or products with peanuts or nuts in them will be allowed at Whitby School at any time. Parents should not send anything to school with peanuts or nut products for school lunches, classroom snacks, field trips or special celebrations. Many store bought baked goods which appear to be nut free are in fact produced with peanut oil or other nut products. This nut free environment also applies to cooking classes, Whitby special events, school trips, and any other occasion where food may be involved on campus.
Parent Volunteers
Interested parents are invited to join the Nutrition Committee! Students and teachers are grateful for the help of our dedicated volunteers. To help with snack distribution throughout the year, please email
Silvia Marsella, silmarsella@optonline.net (203) 861 2076
Monica Green, monicargreen@hotmail.com 203-202-9559
