Tuesday, June 23, 2009

The Sad, Sad State of School Lunch Part II – Glimmers of Hope

Photo by the lovely and talented (and incredibly kind) Chelsea Fuss

First up, the Lake Highlands Community Garden -- A first of its kind partnership between the City of Dallas and local residents to find a productive and beneficial use for unused property owned by the city… We’re on the waiting list for a plot and really, really excited about this.

How does this relate to the state of school lunch you ask? I recently finished Alice Water’s biography and was incredibly inspired by her Edible Schoolyard project and how it ultimately influenced a complete re-engineering of the school lunch program at Berkley public schools. I think this garden is a huge step for our city and one that will hopefully trickle through our school district.

We’ll see.

Next there were Michelle Obama’s recent remarks regarding school lunch and the responsibility of the USDA to ensure the children eat nutritious meals in school. (via school lunch talk)

“We’re approaching the first big opportunity to move this to the top of the agenda with the upcoming reauthorization of the child nutrition programs,” she said. “In doing so, we can go a long way towards creating a healthier generation for our kids.”

There’s still time to sign the petition urging congress to update the USDA’s School Nutrition Standards.

Small steps…but steps nonetheless!

6 comments:

  1. here's a great article that i just read today about edible schoolyards.... http://crazysexylife.com/2009/edible-schoolyards/
    and
    http://www.edibleeastend.com/content/

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  2. Aaww, how wonderful!! So exciting for Dallas - hopefully that will eventually spread (couldn't happen fast enough) to the surrounding cities in DFW as well!

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  3. I'm feeling a little jealous about the plot, even though I have yet to build my raised garden bed.

    Also- almost completely off topic, but have you seen the Britcom Good Neighbors? If you like British comedies I think you'd enjoy it.

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  4. very exciting possibilities! I recently saw Alice Waters talk about her schoolyard program alongside a 15 year-old who is on the same crusade in western Massachusetts. inspiring! http://goodfoodonkcrw.vox.com/library/post/birth-of-a-leader.html

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  5. Hi there! You have a wonderful blog here. I thought you might be interested in this new movie that is coming out www.foodincmovie.com
    You can watch the trailer there as well. Best of luck on your journey to health with your family!

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  6. thanks jeromarket -- i'm really excited to see food inc!

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