I remember a couple of years ago, reading about a charter school near Chicago that served organic lunches, salads and more. They were incorporating healthy foods into their plan and they also performed yoga as a class every morning. I thought this was the coolest thing ever, considering many schools have cut P.E. programs. There were some statistics that attention spans had increased and energy levels were more stable. The movement to provide healthy options for food at school are terrific and should be an expectation . My children aren’t too far from kindergarten so I have been keeping this in mind.
There are several moms taking a stance and becoming more involved. One of my favorite magazines Kiwi had an article on this topic in their October issue. The moms featured in this issue are absolutely amazing and an inspiration to us all to get involved. I will give a low down of what some of them are doing but more importantly I would love to know what is going on out in the schools here in Charlotte. I know Courtenay said that Trinity is composting their food. Very cool. So please comment if your children’s schools are doing their part in “the revolution.”
One school in New York has an initiative called Wellness Wakeup. Sound bites are announced over the school’s loudspeaker each morning such as “try to find foods that don’t have ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors or flavors.”
Another mom in California transformed land in the middle of the school’s campus into a sustainable farm. There is a food program that is part of the kid’s curriculum and parents can pick up vegetables for dinner when they come pick up their kids from school. Convenient, huh? See www.fullcirclesunnyvale.org for more information.
Another mom, installed and manages an organic garden at a middle school and the food is used for cafeteria meals and they compost as well.
One mom teaches after school classes to students on how to make healthier snacks. The age ranges from first grade to high school so everyone can get involved! They also learn how to read food labels and avoid artificial ingredients and preservatives. See www.wholefoodlady.com for more information.
Yet another California mom opened a “Healthy Snack Shack” at school and even has seventh graders help run it. No more candy bars from the vending machines!
Please check out Kiwi for more information.
Let us know what going on in your school and if there’s nothing, then let’s get something started!
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6 comments
join u my friend..................................................
Dana – love this post – enjoyed reading about moms putting organic gardens in the middle of school grounds and thank you for introducing us to Kiwi – didn't know about it until I read this. Thank you!
Trinity Episcopal has a gardening program that all grades participate in. The kindergartners just harvested their fall greens. Shared salad with parents at a fall feast and donated the rest to Friendship Trays. Kids plant, weed, and harvest. Awesome project that they do downtown. The 2nd graders do their own composting!! Read more about the Wildcat Gardners:http://www.tescharlotte.org/program/garden.asp
While you are packing organic food in your lunches…please check out http://www.reusuablebags.com for sandwich "wrap-mats", reusuable snack bags called "Happy Sacks" or "reuseit". I Love these baggies and wrap-mats!!! I never waste money on ziplocks that just go to the landfill!
thank you for the great post. i just moved here and wondering if there is anything going on here in charlotte for the CMS school lunches as far as farm to school programs or anything like that? If not i would love to get something going if anyone is interested? Also, is anyone interested or know of a business that delivers farm fresh food to peoples homes besides CSAs (fruits and veggies)? like milk, eggs, meats, organic baking goods, etc.?thank you
glad you like the post! I don't know of anything going on with CMS but I could be wrong. i would love to get something started with you but we are moving to texas in a week ;(. Absolute organics delivers organic bars, coffee and granola, local honey, as well as fruits and veggies to your home. i know there is a farm that delivers milk to your home. I can't remember the name …it's local not organic. I think you could connect with Christy at knowyourfarms.com and she could point you in the right direction. It's about CSA's but she would be a great source of referrals/info. Take care and I hope you get something started soon!