Try Day: Students Vote For New Lunch Menu Items in Arizona

A tri-fold poster titled “Try Day” listed the food name, ingredients and nutrients. Try Day is a new initiative at the school to introduce students to unfamiliar, healthy foods once a month.

“The research behind it is that if you give kids autonomy over choosing what their options are, then it will make them feel empowered,” said Brooke Kahl, who coordinated Try Day.

Kahl is the FoodCorps service member at Killip. This school year, she has held several tasting events for students, presenting them with items like green smoothies, kale salsa and butternut squash. Many of these foods are made with locally grown ingredients.

Unlike previous tastings, Try Day marks the first time students were given the option to include the foods in the school’s regular menu. After tasting the novelty, students could place a sticker for yes, maybe or no on a poster asking if they would like it on the Killip salad bar.