The North Hills School District has joined a growing number of schools and districts in Allegheny County designated a Live Well Allegheny School District for prioritizing the health and wellness of its students, staff and community as a whole.
The district was presented with its official designation during breakfast at Highcliff Elementary School Thursday morning. Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald was on hand along with members of the Allegheny County Health Department, North Hills administrators and school board members.
In addition to daily breakfast offerings, students were able to taste test a green fruit smoothie on Thursday as part of the district’s participation in the PA Harvest of the Month program, a statewide initiative to include more locally grown produce in school meals. The smoothie was made with spinach, a leafy green, which is the program's harvest for the month of April.
County Executive Fitzgerald joined Lindsay Radzvin, the district’s food service director, as she led students through the making of the smoothie, adding ingredients including fresh pineapple, yogurt, avocado and of course, spinach, before talking briefly to students about what it means to be a Live Well school.
While the smoothie’s green color was unappealing to some, most said they loved the taste! You can find the recipe at this link. (We substituted spinach for kale.)
In addition to participating in the PA Harvest of the Month program, NHSD has worked to expand its variety of fresh fruit and vegetables in its cafeterias and encourage increased water consumption throughout the day with the addition of water bottle filling stations. These steps, in part, led to the district gaining its Live Well status.
About Live Well Allegheny
Launched in 2014, Live Well Allegheny is an initiative of the Allegheny County Health Department that aims to improve the overall health and well-being of Allegheny County residents through collaborative work with partners, stakeholders, and residents including schools, workplaces and restaurants.
Learn more at LiveWellAllegheny.com.