Bug banquet is a tasty success
Top fund-raiser in Wayne Memorial High contest gets to eat the most dried insects
By Amy Hoover / Special to The Detroit News
Teacher Mark Goosby took first place in the effort to raise money for science projects. His prize: 47 fried wax worms. "I'm retired from the Army; this doesn't even bother me."
| Hidden protein While most people don't eat platefuls of insects for dinner, bugs and bug parts already are a common part of our diet. Here's what the government allows in common food products: * Apple butter: 5 insects per 100 grams * Berries: 4 larvae per 500 grams or 10 whole insects per 500 grams * Ground paprika: 75 insect fragments per 25 grams * Chocolate: 80 microscopic insect fragments per 100 grams * Canned sweet corn: two 3mm-long larvae, cast skins or fragments * Cornmeal: 1 insect per 50 grams * Canned mushrooms: 20 maggots per 100 grams * Peanut butter: 60 fragments per 100 grams (136 per lb.) * Tomato paste, pizza and other sauces: 30 eggs per 100 grams or 2 maggots per 100 grams * Wheat flour: 75 insect fragments per 50 grams Source: U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition; Food Defect Action Levels |
WAYNE -- The red-checked tablecloth and a picnic basket were there, but this wasn't your typical picnic.
First, it was in the center of a school gym, in the middle of a pep rally. Second, the menu consisted of dried bugs.
Instead of collecting the usual soup labels and box tops, faculty and students at Wayne Memorial High School turned to an unusual form of fund raising: a contest to see who would have to eat the most bugs.
Call it a high-school version of the gross-out television show "Fear Factor."
For Robin Thomas, a science teacher at Wayne, the contest was a way to get students enthusiastic about raising money for the ecology club and class terrariums.
"We found a catalog with edible bugs in it, then I heard someone mention 'Fear Factor,' and it kind of all fit together," said Thomas.
And what exactly are edible bugs?
"The bugs we're going to use are chocolate-covered crickets and larvae, as well as another kind of larvae that's seasoned with barbecue or Mexican flavoring," Thomas said. "We also have fried termites, a delicacy one of our teachers brings back from Nigeria."
About eight teachers and several of Thomas' ecology students volunteered to eat the insects at the school's inaugural Beach Bug Banquet. Then students "voted" with their contributions, and the volunteer who raised the most ate the most.
The contest was the latest effort by Wayne Memorial's teachers and faculty to interact with their students.
From pie-eating to tug-of-war contests, the staff gets involved.
"We do everything we can to get the kids involved in activities," said Assistant Principal Chris Bak. "One of our goals has always been to get kids involved in co-curricular activities.
"Our school's motto is PRIDE -- Participating Individuals Dedicated to Excellence."
Research from the Michigan Department of Education shows that the most important single factor in improving student achievement is teacher quality. At Wayne Memorial, a good teacher, among other things, eats bugs.
"It's a way to get kids excited abut school and discover that they can learn and have fun," said Ed McGovern, social studies teacher at Wayne and second-place winner in the contest last Thursday. "It's good for them to realize that teachers can actually like their jobs."
While McGovern was runner-up in the contest, student monitor Mark Goosby had the dubious honor of first place. The prize: a snack of 47 fried wax worms.
Goosby wasn't fazed: "I'm retired from the Army; this doesn't even bother me."
High school junior Brooke Hester, one of Thomas' students, came in first place for the youth. She ended up noshing on six larvae.
Hester understands how teacher involvement can make an impact.
"It makes school more interesting," she said. "When teachers get more involved the kids tend to like them more." The contest raised $701 for the ecology club, money that will be used toward terrarium equipment and a class field trip. Thomas said the event was so popular she plans on making it an annual event, but with live bugs next year.
She agrees that it's instances like the bug contest that shows students they care, just one ingredient in what makes a good teacher.
"I think that a good teacher is one who goes out of their way to make a connection with their kids on a personal level," she said. "Finding out what interests them and focusing on that to draw out their success."
