Anybody who knows me understands that I have a passion for gardening and the outdoors. I would rather spend my Sunday in my backyard transplanting succulents and building retaining walls than wasting away the day on the couch watching football. I bring that same passion to my job working as a school nutrition professional, enhancing the foods that are available to students and enlightening them on the benefits of eating a balanced diet and exercising.
I also believe that in order to understand why food is important for our bodies to properly function, we must also have a deeper understanding about where our food comes from and how it is cultivated. I have found that our children are now the product of a highly industrialized society, which has resulted in a disconnection from our food sources. Kids actually think food comes from the grocery store. That it just magically appears on the shelves. And I digress...
Anyway, in addition to teaching nutrition education, I have also began to develop programs through our school kitchens that support gardening in schools. We have piloted a successful composting program at one of our schools that illustrates the food cycle:
1. Veggies are grown in the school garden.
2. Veggies are served in the school cafeteria.
3. Leftover veggies are collected for composting in the school garden.
4. Compost is used as fertilizer for more veggies.
Can you think of a better way to teach kids about the food cycle than to create one at their school? The success of efforts like our composting program gives me hope that changes can be implemented that will have a meaningful impact on the future health of our children. It took us a long time to become the unhealthiest nation in the world, but I refuse to give up making things right again.
