Hi my name is Abby. I’m 10 years old. I was chosen as the State of Ohio winner of the Epicurious Healthy Lunchtime Challenge & Kids State Dinner! The dish I made was the Sunrise Tuscan Chicken, and over 1,500 kids submitted recipes. I had to create a dish that followed the my plate guidelines and included fresh vegetables. Going to the White House was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and has inspired me to help other kids. I met amazing people, including Tanya Steel, the First Lady, and Sam Kaas the White House Chef. Tanya Steel of Epicurious was the whole reason this contest happened. She is trying hard to help kids be inspired to eat healthier foods at home, and especially at school. The First Lady was so warm and friendly! She was amazing to let this contest happen, and to invite us to the White House! She is trying very hard to help all of us have healthier lunches at school. Sam Kaas was so cool! He gets to cook for the First Family all week long, and he talked about the foods he cooks for them. He told us an interesting fact, that kids who don’t eat breakfast score 17% lower on test scores. It is very sad to me that some kids don’t have breakfast to start their day. He is working with the First Lady and Lets Move to get healthy food options in schools. The First Lady asked us to think about how we would pay it forward, to make a difference. I thought about what I could do in Athens, Ohio. I came up with the idea of Apples from Abby. When Sam said the fact about 17% lower test scores that was amazing to me. An apple could make a huge difference! Apples From Abby started on August 26, 2014 with 200 Apples donated to my school. Gordon Food Service and my parents restaurant, Courtside Pizza are donating 250-300 apples per week! That’s 9,000 APPLES THIS SCHOOL YEAR!! I placed a basket of fresh apples of every teachers desk, and any student is able to grab an apple when they get to school. I know that kids that have to eat free lunch get embarrassed, but this way anyone who wants a healthy apple when they get to school can have one during the beginning of class. Breakfast is such an important start to the day, and I’m hoping I help everyone have a great start! I think Apples From Abby can make a huge difference to kids. So far, its only the 10th day of school, and we have delivered 700 Apples! Stay tuned each week to see our Apple count! Abby Click here to read about my trip to the White House!http://www.athensohiotoday.com/news/east-elementary-student-named-ohio-s-healthy-lunchtime-challenge-winner/article_0b81c32c-fd4b-566e-9731-9257347820c5.html
Thank you Tanya Steel for writing about Apples From Abby!!