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!