To any in doubt about why an elementary school would need an edible garden,  I recommend reading Michael Polllan’s article in the New York Times Magazine entitled, Farmer in Chief.  In it, Pollan makes the case that many of the challenges America faces in healthcare, energy, climate change and national security are tied to our nation’s food policy.  He writes,

“Changing the food culture must begin with our children, and it must begin in the schools. Nearly a half-century ago, President Kennedy announced a national initiative to improve the physical fitness of American children. He did it by elevating the importance of physical education, pressing states to make it a requirement in public schools. We need to bring the same commitment to ‘edible education’…On the premise that eating well is a critically important life skill, we need to teach all primary-school students the basics of growing and cooking food and then enjoying it at shared meals.”

“To change our children’s food culture,” he continues, “we’ll need to plant gardens in every primary school.”

Click here to read the article in full, then sign up to help in the Garden Committee here.

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