On Saturday afternoon, I had the honor of touring the Edible Schoolyard and having lunch in the new Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School Dining Commons. Alice Waters, the Chez Panisse Foundation and a team of others are working towards changing the way we see the school lunch program in America.

The program was inspiring, delicious and beautiful and I am committed to bringing this philosophy into the life of my own daughter.

Here is an overview of the work being accomplished by the Chez Panisse Foundation:

The Chez Panisse Foundation seeks to change the way children eat. Rather than tell them what not to eat, we want to bring them into a new relationship with food. When children grow and prepare fresh, healthy food themselves, every day, they choose nourishing meals and learn responsibilities and values. Like physical education programs-established forty years ago in response to a presidential commission concerned about the fitness of our nation’s youth-food education and ecology must become a part of every child’s education…

Part 1: The Edible Schoolyard – Create working garden, kitchen, and dining classrooms that provide experiential learning about food. Learn more >

Part 2: The School Lunch Initiative – Develop a comprehensive strategy to change district-wide meal programs by integrating changes in the curriculum and transforming the quality of school food. 

Part 3: Program Replication – Document our work to provide a valuable learning and resource model that can be replicated in schools and districts nationwide.

Thank you to Marsha for the delicious “To-Go Plate” eaten in a cab with real forks and napkins… it was one of the most luxurious moments in my life…