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Kids eat the darndest things |
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by Chris Kaminski
I’m still flabbergasted, even after nearly 5 years at my school, that kids will eat this food. As I watch them gorge on green beans, rice and lentils that can only be described as “gruel-like,” I think back to my preschool diet, which leaned heavily on the hot dog section of the food pyramid. In fact, until I was six, I think I subsisted on pizza, cupcakes and whatever existed deep in the darkness of my nasal cavity. My mother tells me I would revolt if there were green vegetables on my plate. But here they sit, devouring their rice milk and chick peas. I work at the New Day School in Southeast Portland, one of a smattering of vegan schools across the country. The kids are served three animal-free meals a day. The meals also conform to a “sentient” diet, meaning they are bereft of a lot of the more exciting vegetables and spices, like onions, garlic, leeks and mushrooms. No cheese? No chicken? No garlic in the mashed potatoes? What would the kids eat? When I first started at New Day, based mostly on my mother’s anecdotes, I fully expected finicky eaters. Coupled with my doubts about kids eating vegan and despite my own vegetarianism, I couldn’t really imagine how the kids would get through the day. Would I find them suckling rocks outside for the minerals? But, lo and behold, they couldn’t get enough navy beans. Seconds of tofu. Thirds of beets. They seem to eat just about anything we throw at them. The only exception I can remember is whole artichokes, which most of them stabbed once or twice with their fork and then shrugged, not knowing where to begin. Over the past few years, I’ve come to learn that almost none of the kids are vegan or even vegetarian at home, but yet only rarely do I find that they feel like they are missing something on their divided metal plate. Maybe the lesson is simply that, given only one option, kids will eat whatever you put in front of them. I’m starting to think I was an exception, rather than the rule. Chris Kaminski is a former Alliance editor and teaches 2- and 3-year-olds at New Day School.
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