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Food Safety After School
From front door ... to re
frigerator door, the favorite after
noon pastime of school children
remains “snacking.” But what if
mom or dad is not home to make
the snack? What's a hungry kid to
do? It’s been estimated that rough
ly seven million American kids
either cate for themselves after
school or are cared for by a sib
ling. What are the most important
food and kitchen safety facts you
should teach your children? Read
on for a crash course in “Safe
Snacking.”
While most older youngsters
can easily prepare their own
snack, it is critically important to
educate them about the larger is
sues of food and kitchen safety. In
fact, you should establish basic
“Kitchen Rules” and consider put
ting them in writing. And always
keep on hand a ready supply of
snacks that you know your child
can easily handle alone.
Whether your child chooses a
cold snack, a ready-to-eat snack, a
do-it-yourself snack or a hot
snack, it is never too early to teach
children about the importance of
clean hands, utensils, and other
basic food safety techniques.
Here’s a basic beginner’s course
• Winter’s frozen ground conditions
reduce soil compaction
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Hi-Calcium
Martin
LIMESTONE
By Doris Thomas
Lancaster Extension
Home Economist!
written so both you and your
youngsters can read it
Kids, For Food Safety
1. Place books or bookbags on
the flow, not on eating counters or
the kitchen table.
2. Throw away leftover sand
wiches or other “refrigerate type”
foods you bring home from
school.
3. Wash your hands before you
make or eat a snack. Hands carry
lots of germs.
4. Always use clean spoons,
forks and plates.
5. Wash fruits and vegetables
with water before you cat them.
6. Do not eat bread, cheese or
soft fruits or vegetables that look
bad or have even small spots of
mold.
7. Do not leave cold items, like
milk, lunchmeat, hardcooked eggs
or yogurt out on the counter at
room temperature. Put these foods
back in the refrigerator as soon as
you have fixed your snack.
But what if your children want a
hot snack? Should you let your
child use the microwave? Accord
ing to a recent Good Housekeep
ing/International Microwave
Power Institute study, children are
frequent users of the household
microwave. Fifty-two percent of
Profit from winter
lime application
4
,
Four-H Builds Skills, Confidence
NEWARK. Del. Tradition
ally. 4-H was an organization for
rural children, but in recent
decades it has expanded its focus
to include urban and suburban
youth in its programming. Its
primary goal is to help young peo
ple develop into productive mem
bers of their communities by
building self-esteem and confi
dence. 4-H also gives youth an
the respondents said that their
children under the age of 12 use
the microwave. The average age at
which children begin to use the
microwave is 7. In general, par
ents perceive the microwave oven
to be a safe cooking appliance. For
this reason, they let children use
the microwave, but not a gas or an
electric range.
However, you should know that
severe bums can and do occur
from improper microwave useage.
Special packaging for kids’ favor
ite foods like popcorn, pizza and
french fries can get too hot for
kids to handle. Steam from pop
corn bags can bum the eyes, face,
arms, and hands. Jelly donuts, pas
tries, hot dogs and other foods can
reach scalding temperatures in
seconds. The U.S. Product Safety
Commission estimated that nearly
1,300 children under the age of 13
suffered microwave-related bums
last year. If you give permission
for your child to use the micro
wave, start by holding a Saturday
morning training session. It is re
commended that only children
who can read be allowed to use the
microwave.
For pronpt delivery contact
your local Martin LJavestone
dealer or call Blue Ball, Pa.
(800) 233-0205
(7X7) 354-1370
opportunity to succeed through
positive experiences, says Ted
Palmer, University of Delaware
Kent County 4-H agent
Cooperative Extension, with a
grant fiom the Delaware Housing
Authority, is sponsoring two 4-H
programs at McLane Gardens in
Smyrna.
Weekly meetings are held in the
community activity building. Bar
bara Frazier. Extension program
aide, delivers the 4-H curriculum
with the help of adult and teen vol
unteers from McLane Gardens.
“The kids look forward to the
meetings,” Frazier says. “When
they see my car in the parking lot
they all start coming.”
Frazier meets with 8- to
12-year-olds to work on activities
fiom “Exploring 4-H." This prog
ram allows the children to sample
a variety of 4-H projects including
foods, sewing and citizenship
activities. As children continue
Tree Management
CREAMERY (Montgomery
Co.) “Managing Community
Trees: Keeping the Old and Nur
turing the New” is the second
workshop of the Pennsylvania
Urban and Community Forestry
Program in the southeastern reg
ion. It will be held at the Mont
gomery County 4-H Center in
Creamery, on Thursday, March
11. Highlights of the workshop
include: basics of tree physiology,
mature tree care, hazard tree eva
luation, a hands on tree pruning
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 6 1993-B5
with 4-H they can focus on their
favorite projects.
The aide conducts a separate
program for 5- to 7-year-olds
using the 4-H program “About
You and Me.” This program is
designed to build confidence and
develop self-esteem. At a recent
meeting, the theme was friendship
and sharing. The children sang
songs about friendship and dis
cussed favorite playtime activities
that involved friends.
To illustrate the benefits of
sharing, Frazier distributed bags
of various snacks including gum
my bears, raisins and cereal O’s to
each child. The children learned
that by combining the varieties of
treats in a common bowl and then
redistributing a cupful to each
child, they all had a taste of every
snack.
For information on joining 4-H
or becoming an adult volunteer,
contact your country Extension
office.
demonstration, liability of com
munity trees, and utility pruning.
Early registration must be
received by March 1. Cost, includ
ing lunch and all workshop mater
ials, is $22. After March 1, the
registration cost is $25. For more
information concerning the work
shop, contact the Montgomery
County Cooperative Extension
Office, 1015 Route 113, P.O. Box
20, Creamery, PA 19430; phone
(215) 489-4315.