Ultraprocessed Foods 101: What to Know About UPFs
Guest Youth Blogger: Daynaba Mohamed, Youth Food Movement Intern
My name is Daynaba Mohamed. I am 14 years old and an 8th grade student at the Browne Middle School in Chelsea, MA. I joined Youth Food Movement in 2014, after a friend who was in the program introduced me to it. From her I learned that Youth Food Movement focused mainly on school food, which … Continued
FoodCorps from a Principal’s Perspective
Not many principals have experienced their schools from the perspective of a student. But Maria Pace, Boulder Elementary & Middle’s Principal-Superintendent, grew up attending Boulder Elementary & Middle School. Now an administrator, she devotes herself to nurturing the school that nurtured her. A main focus for Maria is fostering a healthy school environment. With the work of passionate staff … Continued
Stunted carrots: A Learning Opportunity?
Anyone who has planted vegetables, including the most experienced farmers and gardeners, knows that sometimes you can’t avoid crop failure, and you have to deal with your losses one way or another. I learned that lesson this year, when two of the root vegetable beds we planted with Cherokee Elementary Garden Club got attacked by worms, … Continued
Peer Pressure and Leafy Greens
I stood behind a long table in the high school cafeteria, small plastic cups lined end to end. Half the cups were overflowing with shiny, curly, green leaves speckled with dried cranberries and pumpkin seeds: Kale Salad. The other half were filled with kale too, but darkened, flat, and crispy: chips. I was standing next … Continued
5th Grade Veggie Competition of Garbanzo Proportions
Blindfolded, they were surrounded. With sight gone, their 4 other senses were heightened, as they carefully and silently ate what I put on their plates. Round 1, one veggie… Round 2, another. Contestants thought: I’ve tasted this before, what can it be?! I think maybe corn? I reported, “Incorrect, it was a beet.” Round 3, something … Continued
Farm to School in Native Communities: A New Name for an Ancient Practice
In honor of National Farm to School Month, we are taking a close look at the work of our service members serving in Native Communities. We have service members in the Navajo, Tohono O’odham, and Apache tribes. Prior to the existence of schools, indigenous elders educated their youth about agricultural practices and food. From … Continued
De’Ondre’s Strawberries
Fairview Elementary can be a tough place to be a kid. Tucked away behind Main Street in High Point, North Carolina—ranked first in the nation for food insecurity—it’s a place where families learn to survive by holding on tightly to what they have. Amidst the vacant lots and abandoned furniture factories, Fairview’s school garden stands … Continued
The Beet: Jerusha’s got it.
What you are doing is amazing… Who are you? Jerusha Klemperer What do you do? I am the Communications Director for FoodCorps. Where are you from? I am from New York City, less than a quarter mile away from FoodCorps headquarters. What was your favorite meal growing up? My favorite meal was a version of … Continued
The Color of Food
This spring Natasha Bowens, an urban farmer and the blogger behind Brown Girl Farming and the multimedia project The Color of Food, published a travelogue, of sorts, that chronicles her time spent driving across the country talking to farmers of color. The book is extraordinary. In giving voice to these practitioners, it ends up giving … Continued
Growing Community: Looking back on two years of FoodCorps service in Kalispell
This year in Kalispell it seemed the calendar turned straight from winter to summer. The early thaw lifted a thick blanket of snow from our school gardens and left them bursting with green garlic shoots in what felt like a matter of days. This early summer has been a bit of a mixed blessing; it … Continued