program emphasizes
nutritional foods
Sponsored by ShopRite,
program emphasizes
nutritional foods
By joyce blay
Staff Writer
PHOTOS BY VERONICA YANKOWSKI First-grader Gary Partyka checks his list at the Jackson ShopRite as Emily Flores and Cindy Rosinski review their budget while participating in the Young Consumer program.
Money means many things to many people, but for Crawford-Rodriguez students participating in the Jackson ShopRite’s Young Consumer program, learning to manage it can be the beginning of a life lesson.
"We believe we’re introducing life skills that will help (children in the program) be successful, no matter what they do," said Donna Dedinsky, Education and Retail Initiatives for Wakefern Food Corp., the supermarket cooperative that comprises about 190 ShopRites. "Teachers and parents can reinforce the lessons they learn here today."
That was exactly how Linda Selitto, whose first- and second-grade students at Crawford-Rodriguez were selected to participate in the program, felt about its value to the group.
"It’s a beginning about the concept of money, and that it doesn’t grow on trees," Selitto said.
Second-graders Nickko Waugh, Anthony DePalma and Brandin Seallworth participate in a teamwork project called “Flipping Flapjacks” during their visit to the Jackson ShopRite.
The program has been a collaborative effort for the past five years between Wakefern, its individually owned and operated cooperative ShopRite franchises, and local school districts and the communities they serve.
Last year, Judy DeVincenzo, a first-grade reading teacher at the school, helped bring the program to the Jackson’s local ShopRite, which is owned by the Perlmutter family.
Dedinsky and Gina Herrmann, a human resources assistant for the Perlmutter ShopRite, helped coordinate the program with the Crawford-Rodriguez School.
"This program has been done mostly with fourth-grade students, but we sampled this particular population and decided to go with a younger student body in Jackson, where we’re doing this for the first time," Dedinsky said.
Second-graders Anthony Ricardy (r) and Ryan Webber weigh some pears at the Jackson ShopRite. They were asked to shop for a family of four with $100 without exceeding that amount and while adhering to a nutritional guide.
Jennifer McMahon, a spokeswoman for the Perlmutter family franchise, described the program in a news release as one that focused on preparing students for the state proficiency tests as well as providing for the academic, social and emotional needs of children participating in it. Throughout the year, she said, teachers and students work on lesson plans on budgeting, money handling, unit pricing and nutrition.
The culmination of those lessons, which began last October, according to Dedinsky, was a visit to the Jackson ShopRite on June 19, where they were given the assignment of shopping for a family of four with a budget of $100. The challenge for students working in teams of two was to stay within that budget while at the same time purchasing nutritional food based on the Food Pyramid Guide.
In addition, students were required to visit 10 problem-solving stations throughout the store. Each station had a food-based puzzle that students had to solve using mathematical concepts in fractions and divisions with the help of wooden cutouts of various foods.
McMahon said that students were assessed on their ability to communicate and work with their team member, as well as their decision-making skills.
Afterward, students were interviewed back in their classroom, where they were taught public speaking skills, she said.
But for the kids, the excitement was clearly that of being in a supermarket and having the financial power to shop the way their parents do — even if the food they could buy was only make believe.
At the program’s money changing station, manned by Cathy Costello, a management trainee for Wakefern, the team of Emily Flores, 8, and Gary Partyka, 6, were navigating the intricacies of making change for a one-dollar bill.
It was a lesson that the young Emily realized had implications that reached beyond the mathematical exercise.
"Money is important," she said.
Just as vital to the children was what they could buy with money. Nutritional food, such as fish, was a response that both Emily and Gary cited in answer to what they would buy with their money at the supermarket — with some exceptions, according to Cindy Rosinski, a paraprofessional for Selitto’s class.
"Gary really wants his mom to come back and buy — what was it?" she asked Emily.
"Blue’s Clues Macaroni and Cheese," Emily said.
But Gary, the newly empowered consumer, wanted one other thing.
"And Lion King cereal," he said, adding that he also wanted a cake with lollipops like the one he had seen in the store’s bakery department.
Afterward, children were treated to a luncheon that consisted of fresh fruit and slices of pizza, while Brett Rand, owner of the Jackson Fitness Center, talked to them about good nutritional habits.
"The fruit kind of makes up for the pizza," Selitto said. "The main focus is about good nutrition and teamwork. Hopefully, we’ll do it again next year."