Thriving in the 21st century requires that education not be limited to what kids learn 6 hours a day, 5 days a week, 9 months out of the year.
However, since a number of parents don't do much beyond what is taught within the walls of school, thank goodness for FoodCorps and other groups that bring food education into the classroom.
Those that watch tons of documentaries on local, organic, sustainable food see kids being taught about food in schools, usually schools designed around the ideas stemming from well-grown food.
Most schools don't have that luxury or the time or the money or the resources. And even if they had all of that, they would also need the knowledge.
I don't know much about FoodCorps, other than what I have read and they are part of AmeriCorps. The idea of FoodCorps sounds marvelous. Take those who know what they are doing, teach people who need to know, and hopefully make it fun and interesting to leave a lasting impact on young, impressionable minds.
The program is only in 10 states and only has been going since August. Hopefully, FoodCorps can still thrive if the GOP wins the White House, and that food education doesn't become a political football.
After watching two seasons of school interactions on "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution," children need to learn more about nutrition. Though at the time we mocked the vegetable identification segment in season 1 with the Huntington, WV first-graders, maybe that was closer to reality than we originally thought. The School Nutrition Association says children get about 4-5 hours of nutrition education each year, less than a day-long field trip.
If FoodCorps isn't coming to your state anytime soon, or as a supplement, schools should partner more with dietitians to put together nutrition education programs. We have said that dietitians know basic information and these kids need that information, even if the school lunches aren't always backing up what the dietitians say.
A few schools at the top of the heap will make time and effort for programs that increase awareness of nutrition education. We need to do more to help the vast majority of school children who don't get the easy opportunities.
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