When schools in California’s Sausalito Marin City District return to session this August, they’ll be the first in the U.S. to serve students 100% organic meals.
Thanks to a partnership with Conscious Kitchen, a project from the non-profit Turning Green, students at Bayside MLK Jr. Academy in Marin City and Willow Creek Academy in Sausalito will eat fresh, local food year-round.
“Students everywhere are vulnerable to pesticide residues and unsafe environmental toxins,” Turning Green founder Judi Shils said on Tuesday.
“Not only does this program far exceed USDA nutritional standards, but it ties the health of our children to the health of our planet. It’s the first program to say that fundamentally, you cannot have one without the other.”
The Conscious Kitchen ran a pilot two years ago at Bayside; over the course of two years, disciplinary cases decreased and attendance increased. In addition to the nutritious meals, the program will include nutrition and gardening information.
As the Berkeley-based nutritional non-profit The Edible Schoolyard Project explains, it is just as important to prioritize food education.
“Schools that incorporate an integrated approach to edible education—combining local, seasonal food procurement strategies with hands-on lessons taught in the classroom, kitchen, and garden—are far more likely to sustain healthy school meal initiatives,” said Liza Siegler, the organization’s head of partnerships and engagement.
Justin Everett, consulting chef with the Conscious Kitchen, agreed.
“By embracing fresh, local, organic, non-GMO food, this program successfully disrupts the cycle of unhealthy, pre-packaged, heat-and-serve meals that dominate school kitchens.”
Photo credit: Prostock-studio/Shutterstock
