Baltimore City Schools braved the snow and ice to come to Washington this Saturday to talk about their School Food program at the Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE) Issues Seminar. While many may not find this to be the most exciting topic in the education reform era to talk about, it is something relevant to all school children in America. The Baltimore City School Board is backing up this plan due to so much research supporting the impact of school nutrition on student achievement.
Baltimore presented their relatively new program that is getting a lot of attention, and for good reason. As one example, they had a 33 acre farm (that was owned by the school) to experiment with growing food as a working farm. Students run the farm and learn not only agriculture techniques in an urban setting, but also utilize math, chemistry, and other science skills as they figure out what grows well in Maryland. That information is then given to local farmers to help grow more food to serve to students.
One of the architects of this new plan is Tony Geraci, who has been a successful restaurateur and knows how to make a meal. His idea is to make school food something that students actually enjoy, which if you remember from your own childhood, would be a difficult task. One big change they’ve made is having a six week rotation for their menu, with over 30 different meal options for students. With over 80% of students in Baltimore City Schools being on a free or reduced lunch program, what Baltimore puts on the plates in front of students has a huge impact on their rising academic gains. In fact, Mr. Geraci discussed how the program reaches out to thousands of breakfasts and dinners as well as school lunches.
If your district needs fresh ideas about school meals, how to keep the food sources local, and how to actually make them taste good, looking at Baltimore City’s program will be worth it.
