The BHSEC campus was hit hard by the giant storm and subsequent flooding that was "Sandy". We were biting our nails waiting for news about the garden after the storm hit. To our relief, we received word days later that somehow the garden made it through the storm relatively unscathed.
Although our garden was in decent shape, the rest of the school didn't fair as well. The gym and the cafeteria were both under water, the entire first floor had to be pumped dry and cleaned ultra-throughly. Filthy storm water reached several feet up the school walls and left a scum that had to be scraped off and the outdoor wooden benches needed to be sanded and re-stained.
The mighty Kristi Powell organized a very successful clean up day last Saturday. Parents, students and loyal members of the BHSEC community showed up to clean, scrape, paint, weed, transplant, build and actively show their support for the school.
A huge heart felt THANK YOU goes out to all of those who helped!
Parent volunteers assembling our new garden cart
The most root-bound plant most of us had seen, we wished we had a chainsaw.
Zana, our garden club president
Kristi Powell, Principal Dr. Lerner and parent volunteers with the finished product
With the help of some handy parents we were able to construct our rat-proof bed cover prototype! We can't wait to put it to use!
Teacher, Tess Diamond wheels away the debris and compost from the day.
Several weeks ago the New York Times published an article entitled "No Appetite for Good-for-You School Lunches, "given my line of work, the title itself made me cringe. The article went on to chronicle the dissatisfaction some high school students are finding with the changes made to school lunches in accordance with the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act . The act requires schools to increase the amount of fruits and vegetables in their offerings and rein in the amount of calories each portion contains to no more than 850 calories (previously, there was no restriction). Adding fuel to the fire, a price increase of 10 cents was implemented as part of a federal mandate to cover the cost of the lunches. Students are incensed at the increased prices, bad flavor and smaller potion sizes of the meals. Who can blame them?
To illustrate their frustration students from Wallace County High School in Sharon Springs Kansas produced this hilarious and poignant video:
The intentions of the policy are right on target however, the execution clearly does not resonate with hungry and opinionated teenagers. Striking the right balance between health, taste and engagement at a public school is tricky at best but fortunately, there are programs including our own "Food Politics and Systems" that are looking to do just that.
Programs like ours dissect all aspects of the food system in a tangible way so that students are empowered to make decisions about what they eat and buy. Our cooking and gardening classes strive to give students basic and practical skills that they can implement in their homes and communities. To this day, we have never had a student turn down a dish made with fresh ingredients they have grown and prepared themselves.
These classes are a great privilege for the students who can participate but the question remains: how do we reach students who are not in our class or schools that don't offer programs like ours? One standout example is NYC's "Garden to Cafe" program, supported by the DOE, the program facilitates the use of produce grown in the school garden to be served in the cafeteria. The connection might seem obvious but there is usually a ton of red tape to sift through before anything can be introduced to a school cafeteria. This program is the best way to get students to experience the pinnacle of local and fresh. Sure, it's easy for students to toss out a browning piece of overcooked broccoli but most can't resist biting into a sweet cherry tomato grown just feet from their lunch table- it might even have them coming back for seconds.
With hopes to expand our program and take the Mobile Kitchen Classroom on a national tour we are looking forward to helping more schools find ways to engage students in all aspects of food literacy.
Growing carrots, broccoli, tomatoes and more!
Enjoying the fruits of our labor during our "Mexican Feast". Homemade tortillas, fajitas, frijoles con arroz!
