Really? Salad?

A Valley school is putting more on the menu than just math and science.
Students in the Higley Unified School District took part in a program that could impact the rest of their lives.

The students recently went to the lunchroom and found a surprise waiting for them: an A to Z jumbo salad bar consisting of fruits and vegetables that begin with each letter of the alphabet.
"They absolutely loved it," Higley principal Kat Hughes said.

Hughes said it was not hard getting the kids, elementary and middle school aged, to try all kinds of new food. What was hard, however, was getting them to stop.

"Took their time, walked through the line, and we had to actually had to say 'take a few and try, we don't want you to waste', but we had more students actually eating lunch here at school than ever before," she said.

Papayas and yams were the big hit with one student, and with child obesity a nationwide epidemic Hughes believes if you can get to the youngsters with good food early, they have a long and healthy life ahead.

"Students don't get out and play much," she said. "Fast food has become more than a convenience, it's become a daily meal."