Join the Revolution!

The following article was written by Alexandra Ford of the Stanford Community Writing Project 

The East Palo Alto Charter School has joined Collective Roots in a revolution- a food revolution! In the school cafeteria, the progressive company, Revolution Foods, is filling up children’s plates with delivered meals made daily from fresh, mostly organic ingredients. Whole grain crackers, low fat yogurt and fresh fruit are even replacing old snack options, such as chips and candy bars. While this is an incredible program, progressing to the next step requires the help from the parents and the community!

The addition of Revolution Foods utilizes the school cafeteria as a source of great potential to make a large impact on the educational outcomes and health of students. Changes in food quality are strongly correlated with improved educational outcomes in youth by fueling their body and brain most efficiently. Not only are there performance benefits associated with higher quality food but the children are also learning how to make proper food choices on their own, such as grabbing a salad as an after-school snack. This is a critical skill for setting them on the right path for a healthy lifestyle and future. The program enables students to make improved food choices by providing them with fresh fruit and vegetables, healthy carbohydrates and lean protein at every meal; by empowering students with knowledge about where their food comes from, they become engaged and interested in the science of nutrition.

Along with providing a fresh and healthy food delivery system, Revolution Foods incorporates the education of nutrition, cooking and eating tips as a component of the cafeteria atmosphere. Sharing many goals with Collective Roots, Revolution Foods supplies these educational materials, as well as meals, to enhance the importance of linking lunch choices with knowledge. Such an interactive approach tackles what Wolfram Alderson, Executive Director of Collective Roots, describes as the disconnect between food, nutrition and the educational process.

After chatting with some of the children, I found they are very satisfied with the food being served at lunch and also take great pride in the additional food they grow and prepare in the garden. Collective Roots combines the practice of offering healthy lunches while utilizing a garden-based approach to educate students about nutritious and environmentally sound food decisions. This arrangement not only allows students to make healthy choices by themselves in the cafeteria but also learn about the importance of their decisions so their choices can be applied to the meals eaten outside of the classroom. The focus of this education is teaching through participatory learning, and not simply lecturing. Implementing Revolution Foods as a component to nutrition education continues the process of learning by transferring knowledge achieved from garden interaction to the indoors.

The continued progress of these successful programs relies on the ability to become informed about the status of nutritional education and healthy food options throughout the school districts. Therefore, Collective Roots is working on opening a survey and research tool so parents can gather their own data about healthy lunch options in their school and compare it with other school districts. Such tools integrate the community and allow a conversation between parents, school districts and the children. Similar programs are possible in every school in the East Palo Alto school district, although expansion will require the participation and involvement of parents and the community. Be on the lookout for these upcoming tools at Collective Roots and ways to get involved in future programs at your child’s school!