Schools in California’s Sausalito Marin County District will be the first in the nation to serve their students 100% organic meals, sustainably sourced and free of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
As EcoWatch reports, more than 500 students at Bayside MLK Jr. Academy (Marin City) and Willow Creek Academy (Sausalito) in Marin County, California, will eat nutritious, sustainably-grown meals year-round. Thanks to a partnership with The Conscious Kitchen, a project of the environmental education nonprofit Turning Green, this initiative has been made possible.
The pilot program was launched in August 2013 in August 2013 together with Cavallo Point Lodge, the Sausalito Marin City School District, Whole Foods Market and Good Earth Natural Foods. In the beginning, the program only served 156 students at the Bayside MLK Jr. But within two years, attendance increased, and a steep decrease in disciplinary cases was recorded. Now, The Conscious Kitchen is expanding to serve Willow Creek Academy, the other school in the school district.
According to the organization, meals will be accompanied by nutrition and gardening education. In addition, the program will also address the controversial issue of GMOs in school food. While the long-term effects posed by genetically modified crops is still unknown, there is a growing amount of evidence linking them to a number of health risks and environmental damage. “An estimated 80 percent of items on most supermarket shelves contain GMOs, and they are ubiquitous in school food programs,” reports EcoWatch.
Which is why offering nutritious, wholesome, and organic fare to kids is one of the best steps adults can take today to ensure young kids have a vibrant future.
— source trueactivist.com