Healthy School Lunches...a Possibility?

On Thursday November 6th at 6PM (at the Marion Music Hall) I'll be joining a panel discussion in Marion after a showing of the film: "Two Angry Moms" The film is described as, "...a documentary that asks the question: What happens when two “fed-up” moms try to change the school lunch program?" The screening of the film is hosted by the Marion Institute and is free and open to the public. Filmmaker, Amy Kalafa will be a special guest at the event that is sure to invoke great discussion about the quality of school lunches in our nation today.

Imagine the difference if our children consumed lunches that were healthy, well balanced, and prepared with nutrient dense foods. I believe the balanced blood sugar, one likely result, would be a pre-requisite for a conducive learning environment. As today is the first day of school after Halloween I'm reminded of the teachers who will doubtessly teach kids with amped up energy; just one more reason to really appreciate the dedicated work of teachers in our communities. Jon Frank of International Ag. Labs recently hosted a series of 3 teleseminars in advance of the conference, "Call to Arms: Equipping Market Gardeners to Produce Nutrient Dense Foods". I would highly recommend any of the teleseminars for anyone looking for an introduction to "high brix" growing.

Finally, a few weeks back I was in Fall River where I led a soil workshop hosted by Healthy City Fall River on the basics of soil testing. We'll be working over the coming year to help promote the importance of soil testing in urban areas to verify the soil is safe for vegetable production (i.e. it doesn't have excessive heavy metal contamination) and for making smart fertilizer decisions that impact personal and environmental health. It's not too late to invest in the future (next growing season?) by adding necessary amendments to the soil before winter sets in...