my wonderful bleeding heart mother is on a mission. at her public elementary school in woodstock, illinois, 30% of her students live in poverty. a staggering portion of her students partake in the schools' breakfast program, too - upon arrival at school at 7:30am (holy christ), the kidlets are fed "breakfast" before class. come noontime, they're fed "lunch."
these "meals" consist primarily of bottled water, soda, steaming hot piles of factory farmed beef and chicken, and morning buns sprayed with "vitamins" (the "bunny ears" are out of control right now, my apologies) so that the kiddies get their proper "nutrients" (last time i promise).
sad part is, these meals, in many cases, are the only times these children are fed in a day. if they are fed dinner, it's usually a bag of chips or mcdonald's.
so mom and her kick-ass teacher friend mary are determined to turn this around. both devotees of the slow food movement, they are attempting to implement a school meal program that involves healthy, natural choices - local and seasonal, if possible - in order to get these kids on the right track for the rest of their little lives. we (snobby foodies) all know that fresh, organic, locally-grown meats and produce are at the heart of a healthy ecosystem, and ultimately, a healthy self.
i told mom i'd back her cause 100%. in the bay area, the slow food revolution seems to have permeated dinner tables and public school lunch rooms alike. i had read that my old elementary school is testing out a lunch program with children's choice, a local outsourced meal program that provides seasonal greens and humanely raised meats in compostable trays. after forwarding that link, i came upon this little gem:
the edible schoolyard. courtesy of my personal savior, saint alice waters.
this ingenious concept was implemented at berkeley's mlk, jr. middle school in the mid-nineties. mid-nineties! that alice is sure ahead of the crowd, isn't she?
not only are the kids eating local, organic produce...they're growing it. right on their playground. you can't get much more local than that.
please take a moment to look at their website. so, so inspiring.
in alice's name we pray; au gratin.
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1 comment:
The "edible schoolyard" wasn't anything close to what I had imagined, but still a good idea.
Glad you liked the blog, aka my feeble attempts to entertain myself in the Central Valley.
Also, those are some kickass kitchen knives, but for $2000 they'd better come with ninja lessons or something.
Hope all is well down in the Bay!
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