Wednesday, December 19, 2012
ECO City Farms, an urban farm near Hyattsville, serves as an education tool for both students and parents.
Right in the backyard of Hyattsville sits a small urban farm. While the two-year-old Edmonston farm has no immediate plans to work with schools on providing produce to students, the farmers promote healthy eating through a side door—education. At ECO City Farms, inspiring students to eat healthy requires more than just handing them the right nutrients. The key, they believe, is to get them curious about the origin of the ingredients and reconnect them with their food. “Our generation ... has a complete disconnect with food,” Viviana Lindo, the director of community education, said, adding that since much of their food is bought at stores, most kids do not know the origins of the food they are eating. What’s even worse, she said, is that …
Montgomery and Prince George’s county schools serve more fruits and vegetables, but students may not be eating them.
- SCHOOLS
- Erin Egan
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Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Every day at lunch, children across Prince George’s and Montgomery counties may be facing what conventional wisdom says is one of their worst nightmares. No, it’s not monsters hiding under their beds or behind their closet doors. It’s not zombies chasing after them, either. It’s fruits and vegetables. After Congress passed a nationwide law limiting the amount of calories schools are allowed to serve at lunch, schools in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties are adhering to the rules and serving up more healthy options for students. “Before this year, each student had to select three out of five items,” said Marla Caplon, Director of the Division of Food and Nutrition Services at Montgomery County public schools. “This year, the student …
Newly approved regulations for school lunches have forced schools to revamp their menu options, but a local expert talks about changing how children see healthy food.
In August of this year, Congress approved calorie limits on school lunches. Under the new regulations, cafeterias are required to serve twice as many fruits and vegetables while limiting proteins and carbohydrates. The DC-based Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting better nutrition, sponsors the Healthy School Lunch Campaign. The PCRM Healthy School Lunch Team works with school districts across the country and organizes meetings and presentations for school boards, PTAs, and student groups and its message is that the food served in school should promote the health of all children. PCRM has worked closely with D.C. public schools, along with schools in Montgomery …
Maia
10:54 am on Thursday, December 27, 2012
This is a wonderful initiative. We are also launching a new product, Yumbox, which through its design promotes nutritionally balanced lunches for children. The bento-like lunches definitely promote variety and creativity. www.yumboxlunch.com more ›