HSC’s Chef in the Classroom Day

Photo Source: Healthy Schools Campaign

We at The Organic School project love the idea of bringing food—real, healthy food—into the hands and mouths of today’s school children. And that’s exactly what Healthy Schools Campaign’s Chef in the Classroom Day is doing!

October 4, 2010 was HSC’s official Chef in the Classroom Day, bringing over 60 chefs into the classrooms of elementary schools all over Chicago. HSC gave a breakdown of what the day consisted of:

• 67 chefs
• 67 schools
• 4000+ students
• 300+ pounds of fresh vegetables (my rough estimate)
• 1 coordinated nutrition education curriculum
• Dozens of supportive partners

The day was put on in partnership with the Go for the Gold campaign, a campaign dedicated to supporting Chicago schools in their efforts to bring healthy food, physical and nutrition education to students. This effort goes hand in hand with the Healthier US School Challenge set by First Lady Michelle Obama.

Check out HSC’s more comprehensive report on the day, including a video, photos, and a map of the participating Chicago schools. What a cool event!

BOOrito

On Halloween from 6 to close, you can get a discounted burrito, bowl, salad or tacos for $2 at Chipotle if you dress up as a processed food!

It’s to help raise a million dollars to go towards Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution.

Think of all the possibilities…it’s almost scary.

DC School Implements a School Garden

Photo source: http://wjfarm.wordpress.com/

Check out this video from CNN’s Eatocracy that profiles a Washington D.C. Elementary school embracing the benefits of school gardens! Taking the classroom outside to learn about growing, eating, and composting food, these kids are getting a real-world math, science, and health lesson all at once.

As this case shows us, when kids grow, learn, and eat in the garden, their interest in all kinds of foods peaks, showing them that there’s more to eating than taking it out of the freezer and popping it in the microwave.

And after you check out the video, be sure to take a look at the school’s blog at: http://wjfarm.wordpress.com/.

Tom Colicchio Addresses Food in Schools

Photo Credit: http://www.dccentralkitchen.org/article.php?id=219

Tom Colicchio, restaurateur and head judge of Bravo TV’s Top Chef, sat down for an interview with CNN’s Eatocracy to discuss food in schools and children’s access to food. As the son of a school cafeteria manager, Colicchio understands the importance of school food, as it may be the only meal of the day for many children.

Prior to sitting down for this interview, Colicchio spoke out in support of the Child Nutrition Act as it came up in the House.

In the interview, Colicchio emphasizes the importance of ensuring access to meals at school for all children, and to making those meals healthy. We at The Organic School Project feel the same way. Check out the interview, and peruse Eatocracy’s website for more food news.

A Big Step

The U.S. isn’t the only one trying to fight obesity; Mexico is too. Felipe Calderon, Mexico’s president, said, "Unfortunately, we are the country with the biggest problem of childhood obesity in the entire world,” with about 26% of all Mexican children being overweight, reports Fox News.

Experts say soft drinks and prepackaged snacks play a big role in the obesity rate.

Mexico wants to ban the sale of junk food in schools, including traditional treats. The Health department wants the ban to go into effect next school year, but first experts will have to approve of the change. The ban can help about 25 million kids!

There are a few things to consider though. One potential problem is that junk food vendors can set up right outside of school gates. Another is only a few schools offer their students hot meals and the students could be ravenous by the end of the day. Imagine very hungry children pouring out of the schools only to be swarmed with junk food.

I am not sure how the ban will play out, but at least Mexico is trying to tackle this.

Read the original news here.