AUBURN - Healthy snacks can taste just as good as junk food.

That is what many students at West Middle School in the Auburn Enlarged City School District learned last week after nibbling on pieces of pineapple and banana and swallowing yogurt parfait and Mexican dishes as part of a healthy snacking day sponsored by Wegmans supermarkets.

Eighth-grade students from teacher Kristi Newton's health class along with seventh- and eighth-grade students in the home and careers classes prepared food provided by Wegmans to serve to peers during the lunch periods last Tuesday.

“I think (the healthy snacking day) shows that there are healthy choices for food and that they can taste good,” said student Chris Watros, 14, of Auburn, as he served his classmates pieces of frozen bananas.

“It teaches (students) to eat healthy and get out and be active,” added fellow server Sean Nolan, 14, of Auburn.

The healthy snacking day is a byproduct of a similar day run by a West Middle School teacher who is now retired, Newton said.

As a health teacher, she believes nutrition goes hand in hand with what she is trying to teach her students.

“Eating healthy is definitely an important aspect of your overall health,” she said.

Earlier this year, she had an idea of approaching Wegmans to see if the supermarket would be willing to sponsor the event by providing the food.

Auburn Wegmans' Produce Manager Tom Marzynski thought it was a great idea and started to work on a menu.

Using Wegmans products, Marzynski devised a menu featuring a fresh baby spinach dish with microwaved corn and fresh pineapple with a yogurt ranch dressing. There also was a Mexican dish with tortilla chips and boneless chicken, sauteed peppers and onions, and shredded Mexican cheese.

Another station featured pineapple and bananas, Wegmans' organic vanilla super yogurt with fresh organic berries and strawberries, and the supermarket's new Aqua-V vitamin water in lemonade and fruit punch.

All of the food used was organic.

“We want to make a difference when it comes to healthy eating,” Marzynski said. “Whenever someone from a school comes to us and asks us to do something like this, we're glad to do so.”

Newton said she was glad to see Wegmans interested in helping out, and begin organization of the event.

“Health is all about decision-making, so it's teaching them about alternative foods they may not be exposed to at home and letting them know this wonderful grocery store exists,” she said. “It takes a little bit more to be healthy today, and the earlier you teach it, the later it will last in life.”

Giorgi Ervolina, 13, of Auburn said being healthy has its benefits on the athletic fields.

“Just eating lots of fruits can give you energy for sports,” she said.

She gave the school kudos for having this event to sponsor a healthy lifestyle.

“It shows the school cares how healthy we are,” she said.

Her friend Millie Dolashka, 13, of Auburn got something else out of the day.

“You don't have to be skinny to be healthy,” she said.