Chesapeake Region Greening School Food Forum & Festival
Silver Spring, MD, November 2019
School food and nonprofit leaders share successful strategies for serving kids
healthy, climate-friendly, plant-forward food
Friends of the Earth and our local partner, Healthy School Food Maryland, hosted aregional forum and festival on healthy, climate-friendly school foodservice. The event brought together around 120 K-12 school foodservice professionals, nonprofit and PTA leaders, parents, and students at Thomas Edison High School in Montgomery County, MD. After a packed agenda of presentations and dialogue, attendees were excited to taste the fabulous plant-based dishes created by students who competed in chef-led culinary teams. This was the fourth in a series of regional forums aimed at building a national movement to leverage the immense food purchasing power of schools to measurably reduce climate emissions and generate better health outcomes for our most vulnerable population. Learn more here.
During the forum, participants had the opportunity to cultivate new relationships and learn from speakers, including school food leaders across the region about their efforts to implement healthy, plant-forward menus, reduce food waste, and increase student participation and engagement. Amanda Warren, Foodservice Director from Staunton City Schools showcased her initiative to incorporate plant-based foods, while teaching about history and culture through her “Around the World Wednesday” program. Tambra Raye Stevenson, the founder of “Women Advancing Nutrition, Dietetics and Agriculture (WANDA)” highlighted the importance of incorporating food equity and cultural sensitivity into school food programs. Chef Ann Cooper, our keynote speaker, underscored the challenge of serving healthy, fresh food in the face of a broken industrial food system. She inspired everyone with lessons from her years of serving healthy, fresh, locally sourced organic plant-forward food at Boulder Valley School District. Participants were also excited to hear about her efforts bring hundreds of thousands of kids access to salad bars through the Chef Ann foundation.
The forum featured the following presentations:
- Chloë Waterman, Friends of the Earth, The Environmental Case for Climate-Friendly School Food
- Dr. Asha Subramanian, Physician, The Importance of Plant-Based Foods in Schools for Health
- Tambra Raye Stevenson, WANDA: Women Advancing Nutrition, If Our Plates Could Talk?
Hope Wrenn and Ava Richardson, Baltimore City Public Schools, Reducing Waste and Offering More Plant-Based Options: A Case Study from Baltimore City, MD - Amanda Warren, Staunton City Schools, Virginia, Staunton City Eats
- Jenn Mampara, FoodPrints, Class to Cafe: Integrating Classrooms & Cafeterias to Bolster Academic Instruction and Strengthen Health Outcomes
- Brandon Lane, One Meal a Day for the Planet (OMD), One Meal a Day Resources for Change
- Regan Karlsen, Forward Food, Forward Food Resources for Change
- Daphene Altema-Johnson, Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, Climate-Friendly School Initiatives for K-12
- Julie Brewer, USDA Farm to School, USDA Farm to School Program
- Krystal Oriadha, National Farm to School Network, How NFSN Can Help You In Your Role
- Meghan Maroney, Center for Science in the Public Interest, Protecting Progress on School Meals
- Lucie Leblois and Alysa MacClellan, DC Food Project, DC Food Project Resources for Change
- Chef Ann Cooper, Chef Ann Foundation and Boulder Valley School District, Lunch Lessons: Changing the Way We Feed Our Children
After the forum, the event transitioned into a festival where students and their families had the opportunity to cook with a professional chef and attend health and wellness workshops. Everyone enjoyed samples of their delicious, plant forward and healthy creations created by hef-led student culinary teams.
As shown by the international school walk outs, kids understand the severity of climate change and are asking for food that is healthy, climate-friendly, and socially conscious.
This event could not have been possible without our generous sponsors! Thank you!