Comments on: More Gardens, Less Sugar, Says D.C. Schools Chief http://www.theslowcook.com/2010/02/22/more-gardens-less-sugar-says-d-c-schools-chief/ An urban insurgent's guide to real food for life Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:22:02 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Chef Michael McDermott http://www.theslowcook.com/2010/02/22/more-gardens-less-sugar-says-d-c-schools-chief/comment-page-1/#comment-3660 Chef Michael McDermott Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:22:02 +0000 http://www.theslowcook.com/?p=4368#comment-3660 Hi Ed, Great interview with Anthony Tata, your posed great questions as always. But, no real solutions voiced. There are industry experts out there, myself included, who are willing/able to help Anthony and Jeff with "real time" SOLUTIONS! When you asked Anthony about pre-package meals... again, no solutions just a non answer... Having had the pleasure of working with The National School Lunch Program and The USDA in the past on real solutions, it is very frustrating to hear the same "non-solution" oriented dialogue when cleary there are "real time solutions" available. There is no magic bullet, the solution to DC Schools food challenges must come from a strategic collective. Our Food Service Improvement Systems has a proven track record of said solutions but we utilize internally developed, proven, patent applied for methodology/systyems/products while we partner with the best and the brightest in key areas, for RESULTS! School Foodservice is a complex issue with many moving parts yet... Our kids deserve the best food we can give them, not what just barely satisfies their taste buds and the nutritional guidelines. Hi Ed,

Great interview with Anthony Tata, your posed great questions as always. But, no real solutions voiced.
There are industry experts out there, myself included, who are willing/able to help Anthony and Jeff with “real time” SOLUTIONS! When you asked Anthony about pre-package meals… again, no solutions just a non answer… Having had the pleasure of working with The National School Lunch Program and The USDA in the past on real solutions, it is very frustrating to hear the same “non-solution” oriented dialogue when cleary there are “real time solutions” available. There is no magic bullet, the solution to DC Schools food challenges must come from a strategic collective. Our Food Service Improvement Systems has a proven track record of said solutions but we utilize internally developed, proven, patent applied for methodology/systyems/products while we partner with the best and the brightest in key areas, for RESULTS! School Foodservice is a complex issue with many moving parts yet… Our kids deserve the best food we can give them, not what just barely satisfies their taste buds and the nutritional guidelines.

]]> By: rothmani http://www.theslowcook.com/2010/02/22/more-gardens-less-sugar-says-d-c-schools-chief/comment-page-1/#comment-3657 rothmani Tue, 23 Feb 2010 03:46:32 +0000 http://www.theslowcook.com/?p=4368#comment-3657 I am probably one of the more experienced people in the DC school gardening community--I have been working on developing the school gardens at Bancroft Elementary for ten years (and gardening for forty years). Michelle Obama choose our gardening students to invite to the White House to plant her vegetable garden, and she did so in large part because of the success we have had in involving community and garden community partners. We particularly treasure our relationship and the support we have gotten from DC Schoolyard Greening (a program of the DC Environmental Education Consortium). But one of the things I have learned from my experience is that to get gardens into the curriculum and vegetables into school meals will require not only a knowledge of gardening but even more the knowledge of how a school works from the inside, the daily schedule and the teachers and the demands and constraints. The Bancroft teacher I know who is working on the new School Gardens Program, Sarah Bernardi, has experience getting things done in the DCPS system, and she also knows how to grow a carrot and then get kids to eat it. And she plans and hopes to involve all the stakeholders. I hope we can all work together to make the School Gardens Program succeed. I am probably one of the more experienced people in the DC school
gardening community–I have been working on developing the school
gardens at Bancroft Elementary for ten years (and gardening for forty
years). Michelle Obama choose our gardening students to
invite to the White House to plant her vegetable garden, and she did
so in large part because of the success we have had in involving
community and garden community partners. We particularly treasure our
relationship and the support we have gotten from DC Schoolyard
Greening (a program of the DC Environmental Education
Consortium). But one of the things I have learned from my experience
is that to get gardens into the curriculum and vegetables into school
meals will require not only a knowledge of gardening but even more the
knowledge of how a school works from the inside, the daily schedule and
the teachers and the demands and constraints. The Bancroft teacher I
know who is working on the new School Gardens Program, Sarah
Bernardi, has experience getting things done in the DCPS system, and
she also knows how to grow a carrot and then get kids to eat it. And
she plans and hopes to involve all the stakeholders.
I hope we can all work together to make the School Gardens Program succeed.

]]> By: sfitzb http://www.theslowcook.com/2010/02/22/more-gardens-less-sugar-says-d-c-schools-chief/comment-page-1/#comment-3656 sfitzb Tue, 23 Feb 2010 03:17:16 +0000 http://www.theslowcook.com/?p=4368#comment-3656 Jeff Mills has been on the job for 30 days and has hit the ground running, trying to make strides on school gardens and school food in the District. I have been working with Mr. Mills on developing a pilot school garden program for DCPS - a program that I hope will involve and support all of the community groups and volunteers that do such strong work in this area already. We are at the VERY beginning of the process and have reached out to many organizations for input on how they would like to see themselves sustainably supported in order to formulate a rough idea of how the program might work. The next step in the process will be seeking involvement, input and expertise from the larger community of people working in this area. This is a very exciting opportunity for all of us working on school gardens, and any DCPS pilot garden program will require collaboration with, and provide support for, our vibrant community of DC urban gardeners. PLEASE feel free to email me directly with thoughts, comments and suggestions! sarah.bernardi@dc.gov Jeff Mills has been on the job for 30 days and has hit the ground running, trying to make strides on school gardens and school food in the District. I have been working with Mr. Mills on developing a pilot school garden program for DCPS – a program that I hope will involve and support all of the community groups and volunteers that do such strong work in this area already.

We are at the VERY beginning of the process and have reached out to many organizations for input on how they would like to see themselves sustainably supported in order to formulate a rough idea of how the program might work. The next step in the process will be seeking involvement, input and expertise from the larger community of people working in this area. This is a very exciting opportunity for all of us working on school gardens, and any DCPS pilot garden program will require collaboration with, and provide support for, our vibrant community of DC urban gardeners. PLEASE feel free to email me directly with thoughts, comments and suggestions! sarah.bernardi@dc.gov

]]> By: Carl Rollins http://www.theslowcook.com/2010/02/22/more-gardens-less-sugar-says-d-c-schools-chief/comment-page-1/#comment-3653 Carl Rollins Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:36:37 +0000 http://www.theslowcook.com/?p=4368#comment-3653 Ed, all of this supports what I have been saying all along--if "the responsibilities of the DCPS director of food services include overseeing all food service providers to our schools" then clearly the Healthy Schools Act provisions should be manged at DCPS NOT OSSE. Next time, I'd like to hear Mr. Mills speak for himself. And the process of "building relationships with possible community partners" to work on the new School Gardens Program has lacked transparency and open communication. As it stands now, Mills has executed an "end around" by choosing to work with some of the least experienced people in the gardening community with limited or no input from stakeholders. Ed, all of this supports what I have been saying all along–if “the responsibilities of the DCPS director of food services include overseeing all food service providers to our schools” then clearly the Healthy Schools Act provisions should be manged at DCPS NOT OSSE.

Next time, I’d like to hear Mr. Mills speak for himself. And the process of “building relationships with possible community partners” to work on the new School Gardens Program has lacked transparency and open communication. As it stands now, Mills has executed an “end around” by choosing to work with some of the least experienced people in the gardening community with limited or no input from stakeholders.

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