This fall we asked schools to try out the Taste Test Tool for another season to find out which veggies students would like to eat again. New this season, we also asked students, “which veggie are you trying for the first time?” We had 28 schools submit taste test results during the two month-long competition. A total of 489 students ages 3-18 years old participated in the taste test. Twenty one vegetables and 3 SYG recipes were sampled amongst various sites. The most common veggies sampled were lettuce, kale and radishes. The most common vegetables tried for the first time were basil, kale and cilantro.

A huge thank you to all schools who participated! We really appreciate you providing such valuable insight that allows us to improve our program. To select our winners, we put all participating schools into the wheel of names and spun the wheel 3 times. Drumroll please…congratulations to our Fall 2022 Winners:

One interesting take away from the survey process this season was that some schools who reported low “yes votes” noted that the students were much more enthusiastic about the same vegetable once it was served in their cafeteria as a salad with dressing or made into a wrap that the students got to prepare themselves. Good reminders that 1. repeated exposure to veggies is an important part of becoming and/or encouraging more adventurous eaters and 2. involving kiddos in the growing and cooking process makes it more likely that they’ll try what they’ve worked so hard to create. 

Let us know if you want to do more Taste Test Contests in the future and what prizes you’d like to see! Winners, we will be in contact with you about picking up your prizes.