By Stacie N. Galang
PEABODY — The Kids in the Kitchen program at Center School wrapped up its eighth week with a treat: gingerbread cookies.
The brainchild of parent and public health clerk Sandi Drover, the pilot program was designed to help children make smart food choices and learn to prepare simple healthy snacks.
Drover decided to depart, if briefly, from the standard food fare Monday to celebrate the holiday and the program's last day. School Committee member and pastry chef Edward Charest was the guest cook.
"(It's) OK to eat sweets," Drover said. "Everything in moderation."
About 11 Center School students met weekly for the after-school program. Drover also had help from Center School's certified cook Carol Myers and two Higgins Middle School volunteers.
Kids in the Kitchen grew out of a report by visiting epidemiologist Katelin Bugler, who spent her summer internship studying childhood obesity in Peabody, Drover said.
Bugler worked in the city's Health Department analyzing anonymous student health data collected at city schools, Health Director Sharon Cameron said. She said the city's percentages of overweight and obese children mirror state trends of 18 percent.
The health director said Drover pitched the idea of Kids in the Kitchen to the city's Wellness Committee, a group composed of city and community volunteers. The city used Bugler's report and Drover's idea to apply for a $1,400 Lahey Foundation grant to fund the program, the health director said.
"Her passion for this project got us all on board," Cameron said of Drover.
The first week, Drover showed the participants 12 different kinds of apples and taught them how to wash, peel and core them. She said none of the children knew there were so many varieties of apples. They also took home apple salads.
"There was a lot of, a lot of excitement," Drover said of the kids. "They really embraced it."
The kids also made whole wheat flour.
In addition to teaching the kids to make healthy snacks, the program director tried to introduce to foods the students might not have known before like, pomegranates, kumquats, figs, clementines and hummus.
After starting up the program from scratch, Drover hopes to bring the program to other schools work out the kinks.
"Now, that I've learned I can teach the next person," she said. "Overall, I think it was a very rewarding experience for all parties concerned."
She is working with the city's new public health nurse to apply for grants. Cameron credited Drover and Principal Madeline Roy for their work to bring Kids in the Kitchen to Center School.
The health director also hopes to evaluate the impact of Kids in the Kitchen by checking in on the students and their families later in the year.
