I recently republished an August 2007 interview with Amie Hamlin, Executive Director of The New York Coalition for Healthy School Food. In that conversation, we covered:
- what school cafeterias and lunchrooms really look like
- the insane scheduling of school lunch times
- what cafeteria acoustics have to do with feeding kids well
- why the government is poisoning our kids
- how surplus agricultural products like ground beef, cheese, and white potatoes get funneled into school cafeterias
- the economic pressures on school food service directors
- how to advocate and agitate for healthy food in schools
- the amazing public school food policy in Appleton, Wisconsin – and its surprising origins as an intervention for troubled teens
- what hope lies on the horizon
[powerpress]
We recently got back on the phone to talk about what's new. We discussed:
- advances in the healthy food movement
- the 2012 requirement for the inclusion of a fruit or vegetable in school lunches
- “sausage making” in government policy
- how big food still subverts science with money and political muscle
- the significance of saving 22 cents per lunch by ditching the milk
- a very non-scientific experiment at a New York public school: what the school cafeteria going vegetarian did for attendance, grades, test scores, and student weight problems
- the difficulty in doing research in public schools
- the stunning degree of produce illiteracy among children
- how to educate students to make healthier choices
- the epidemic of childhood constipation – and how it can be used to motivate children to change their diets
- and much more…
Enjoy, add your voice to the conversation via the comment box below, and please share – that's how we spread our message and spread our roots.
Links
The New York Coalition for Healthy School Food
Music
The Plant Yourself Podcast theme music, Dance of Peace (Sabali Don), is generously provided by Will Ridenour, a kora player from North Carolina who has trained with top Senegalese musicians. It can be found on his first CD, titled Will Ridenour. You can learn about Will, listen to more tracks, and buy music on his website, WillRidenour.com.
Thank You, for another wonderful episode. Hope things will continue to change in schools. People just need to be open minded, about nutrition. Kids are the future after all and we are failing them.
Thank You