The Skillet

Students gather around tables early in the morning in the Durant-Tuuri-Mott Elementary auditorium, enjoying yogurt parfaits on one of their last days of school. Not so long ago, many of these students would not have entertained the idea of eating yogurt with fresh fruits and granola. 

MacQuiddy Elementary students were given a special treat Friday when local farmer Javier Zamora visited during lunch break to teach them about strawberries.

In a town north of Los Angeles, Mar Vista Elementary School stands almost completely surrounded by farmland. On one side is a field of strawberries, the crop that made the town famous. On the other, it's rows and rows of hoop houses containing what they're pretty sure is artichokes. The town has long been an agricultural community, and many of the students at Mar Vista are from families that work in the fields.

Thanks to the efforts of a diverse coalition of advocates, the House’s historically bad farm bill proposal did not garner enough votes to pass. Also, FoodCorps is working with fellow national service organizations to call on Congress to again reject the President's proposal to eliminate funding for national service.

FoodCorps service is open to creativity, and service members rely on their own personal strengths all while building upon the strengths that already exist in the communities that they serve.  From my Connecticut cohort to all two hundred plus service members spread across the nation, you can imagine how every single service experience is unique.