We did it! Obama said “Show me the movement,” and that’s exactly what we did this Labor Day. Three hundred and five public potlucks – a “virtual march on Washington”- were held in all 50 states. Over 20,000 friends and families across the nation banded together to send a clear message to Congress and the USDA that kids need REAL and nutritious foods to be part of the federal feeding programs.
Under past presidential administrations, the federal feeding program has been a dumping ground for surplus commodity food products, and the standards for the foods allowed in the programs have become a political hot potato (feeding programs are still receiving these commodity food dumps, as this week’s $30 million USDA purchase of more pork for nutrition programs illustrates), writes Obama Foodorama. A huge number of school lunch advocates are seeking big changes in the federal feeding program, and the movement has gained a lot of traction over the last year.
With the help of my friend Erica from the Brooklyn Food Coalition, we organized an eat-in in my neighborhood – Williamsburg! We had an incredible turnout – around 75 people. We had approximately 60 people sign the petition, and a whopping 50 letters were written to congress demanding that they get REAL food into school lunches!
Everyone put so much effort into making an array of nutritious and delicious dishes for us all to share. The staff of Bridget showed impeccable hospitality throughout the day, and donated their space. Silkstone Catering provided delicious seasonal/local/organic food, as well as tables and chairs, and beautiful recyclable plates/cups/napkins/cutlery for the day.
The kids had a blast participating in the cooking demonstration with Annie and her team from Growing Chefs! The fresh basil and walnut pesto was delectable – and was so fresh and fun to prepare. The screening of the movie ” What’s on you plate?” fit in perfectly with our theme of getting REAL food into schools. We watched in awe as two savvy 11 year old girls from NYC tracked the source of their food, and asked the hard questions about food and disease, and the quality of meals they’re being given at school.
We had 16 prizes donated from local vendors including gift vouchers, food baskets, yoga classes, kids’ music classes, and two personally signed copies of Marion Nestle’s book on what to eat and food politics. Mark Bittman also donated signed copies of his books.
Most importantly we had fun, and we got people talking about the importance of feeding our kids healthy and nutritious food in order to prevent disease, promote health, and protect the planet!
Click here to see pictures of our event.
Click here to learn more about Slow Food’s Time for Lunch campaign.
Click here to read a great article on Obama Foodarama about Michael Pollan’s take on the food movement.
Click here to read an article from the Washington Post entitled “Reading, Writing, and Rigatoni.”
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[...] great, but don’t take our word for it: Michelle Grey Campion over at The Epi-Cure wrote an article about it. Thanks, [...]