Healthy food has always been a priority at the Seed. Over the years it’s taken on different expressions as we’ve responded to trends in nutrition. Our current practices have been highly influenced by this article.
Another influence related to food is our dedication to planetary stewardship. During the first few weeks of school, I checked out some of the kids’ lunches. Not only were they filled with nutritious food, but they were also brought to school in earth-friendly, reusable containers that the children, for the most part, could open and close themselves. We’ve come a long way from the days of single use throwaway sandwich bags. Although we have promoted this trend of reusable containers, I give parents full credit for putting this into practice. Teachers, additionally, have helped support this trend by making sure lids, containers, and utensils are properly returned to lunch boxes.
Two important responses to our interest in maintaining good food at the Seed have occurred. One, we established our seedfood website, which is loaded with nutrition tips, school policies, lunch ideas, and resources for parents. It also has a blog, to which we invite guest bloggers to contribute. The second is the establishment of our annual school-wide nutrition study. We started it to raise awareness about food, to offer resources to parents, and get the teachers onboard with healthy food practices in the classrooms. It’s turned into a beginning-of-the-school-year event in which we all look forward to participating.
One of our most important intentions is to help students grow up with a healthy relationship to food. By working on this in collaboration with parents, we’re setting the stage for a child’s long-term well being. It’s exciting to be a part of this foundational work in our students’ lives. For more history of our seedfood process, check out these links:
project approach phase two 2017