Sonya Gulati’s Post

❔Did you know that: 🔹1 in 5 students do not know that bacon is an animal product. 🔹2 in 3 students do not know that cotton found in jeans comes from a plant.* It’s common for children to get confused about where food comes from. 🌱It’s because they’re learning. That’s why we’ve joined forces with Bakers Delight Healthy Solutions range 🍞 through Growing Good Grains Grants to encourage kids to ask more questions, and grow their critical thinking skills to make healthier choices into the future. 🎁PLUS schools have the chance to win one of 25 school garden grants, valued at $1,000 each. AND the first 50 submissions will receive a $100 e-gift card, to use at their local Bakers Delight! Find out more: https://bit.ly/4aEKwbU #Schoolgarden #schoolgrant #gardengrant #LifeEdxBakersDelight *According to the Primary Industries Education Foundation Australia’s Food, Fibre and Our Future 2020 Report: https://lnkd.in/gevQUBfd

"In today’s State of the State address, Governor Hochul discussed a broad range of priorities including making New York more affordable, supporting children and families, improving reading proficiency, and strengthening the agricultural industry. We know that consistent, reliable access to healthy food – especially at school – is a critical component of each of those priorities..." Read the full #Meals4AllNY Coalition statement here, including key actions you can take in response to today's State of the State: https://lnkd.in/eAvZsFfa

“CRUNCHING” FOR HEALHTY SCHOOL FOOD 🍎   Today, the VFR team is getting involved in Coalition for Healthy School Food (Canada)'s #2024GREATBIGCRUNCH, a nation-wide initiative to promote healthy eating, food literacy, and a Canada-wide healthy school food program.   We’ll be joining schools, organizations, and communities across Canada in taking a synchronized bite into fresh, local apples (or any other crunchy fruit or vegetable).   The Great Big Crunch is a time dedicated to celebrating healthy food at school and highlighting the need for a universal school food program for Canada.   Did you know? 🍎 Canada is the only G7 country without a national school food program. 🍎 Canada is ranked 37th out of 41 countries when it comes to providing healthy food for kids. 🍎 One-third of students in elementary schools and two-thirds of students in secondary schools do not eat a nutritious breakfast before school. 🍎 Only about one-third of children between the ages of four and 13 years eat five or more servings of vegetables and fruit daily. (Photo: Vancouver Food Runners participating in the GREAT BIG CRUNCH!) Click the link to learn more and find out how to participate!

It's #InternationalDayofEducation, and I want to take a moment to to think about school meals and how important they are in achieving learning outcomes especially for the most marginalized children. World Food Programme is working to promote a holistic approach to school feeding where nutrition, access to quality school meals, local food systems, community, teachers, farmers and mothers play a critical role. Via the School meals coalition, we are trying to drive political will to fund school meals at scale within countries. Join us World Food Programme to support better outcomes for children #investinginchildren #investinginnutirion #investinginoutcomesforchildren.

School meals are the world’s most widespread social safety net, but there are still significant gaps, especially in countries where these programs are needed most. Food banks are helping to fill those gaps through local and sustainable school meal programs. Our “Developing a School Feeding Program” guide lays out the steps for designing a successful program that addresses child hunger, reduces waste, and uses local resources. Explore the guide: https://lnkd.in/euD7h77e

📰 | In Newfoundland & Labrador, the Coalition for Healthy School Food and Food First NL welcomes the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador 's announcement of an investment dedicated to expand school food programming in all Pre-Kindergarten programs and K-9 schools, beginning in 2024 in schools with the highest need. We want to thank the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador for prioritizing school food programs as one of the incremental investments in the provincial Budget. As in other provinces, this roll-out will prioritize based on need, so we look forward to this allocation growing in coming years as more schools come online. It's been exciting to see work quickly get underway to make that a reality. Over the past few months, Food First NL welcomed the creation of a new Director of School Food role in Government, and are excited to see this first year of funding roll out. Over the coming year, Food First NL is leading a comprehensive engagement process, "Next Steps for School Meals", that will provide recommendations for what that build-out could look like. Work on that project is well underway. #cdnpoli #nlpoli #Budget2024 #schoolfood #NewfoundlandandLabrador To learn more about this announcement, please read the province’s Budget 2024⬇ https://lnkd.in/ddxTbhGe Photo credit: Government of Newfoundland and Labrador

The Idaho Department of Education is seeking sponsors for this year’s Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). The SFSP provides free meals and snacks to children 18 years and younger by operating sites located in low-income areas during the summer months. Learn more and/or sign up to sponsor a site ⬇️ ➡️ https://lnkd.in/dqwaQ6w According to Feeding America’s 2021 Map the Meal Gap, about 8.6 percent of Idaho’s children have experienced food insecurity. During the summer months, the challenge of reaching children and families in need of nutritional support grows. Sponsors are being sought across the state, especially in #rural areas where coverage gaps exist. The department is partnering with the Idaho Hunger Relief Task Force to increase awareness and recruitment. Needs include: 📍 Region 1: There is a lack of adequate coverage in the communities of St. Maries, Boundary County, Kootenai, Kellogg and Wallace. 📍 Region 2: The only SFSP sponsors in Region 2 are in Lewiston, Lapwai, Moscow and Grangeville. 📍 Region 3: Only the Boise and West Ada school districts, as well as the Boys and Girls Club of Ada County currently cover Ada County. 📍 Region 6: SFSP does not have sponsors in Custer and Teton counties and only one in Lemhi County. #Idaho #education #FullBellies #CuriousMinds #FoodInsecurity #HungerRelief #community #SummerFoodServiceProgram

This is a good article to highlight, and it made me wonder if anyone thought this out in the first place. Is it a publicity stunt by the government? But the positive aspect is that we can now use it to the children's advantage and improve nutrition in the state and its future generations. Some basic Ideas anyone in the industry would come up with. 1.      Use reusable stainless-steel containers & bottles like most families do already! 2.      The local economy should benefit food companies, farmers, and producers involved in the school programs. Support local!! 3.      Partner with local Nutritional & culinary professionals to improve meal quality. 4.      Involve parents and students in all efforts, and this will promote community engagement. 5.      Promote a constructive program by implementing overarching rules and strategies for Nutrition, diet categories, local economy, food waste and sustainability. 6.      Tie this also into the education of students and parents so an effective nutritional progress is devised, as in the Healthy Ireland initiative. Any other Innovative Ideas?

Today's Friday affirmation: Food Education Standard #7: We can advocate for food choices and changes that impact ourselves, our communities, and our world 🗺️ 💙 💪 We believe that young people have the power to make meaningful changes to their food systems. That's why our Food Education Fellows end their school year by leading a food advocacy project with their students. Every food advocacy project looks different: some classrooms choose to advocate for changes in their cafeteria by meeting with their school nutrition and administration, some start food drives or share tables to combat food waste in their school, some practice talking with friends, family, and even local businesses about changes they want to see made. Food advocacy means something different to all of us, but ALL acts of advocacy are important steps in changing our food system for the better! What does food advocacy look like for you? #foodadvocacy #foodeducation #fridayaffirmation #foodsystemschange #pilotlightchefs #studentadvocacy #foodsystems

In today’s The Irish Times I write about the missed opportunity (and worse) that is the Governments Free Hot School Melas Programme.  * I believe free school meals are an important tool in tackling food poverty and have the potential to improve child health (and there is lots of evidence to support this). Having a good school meal programme is a good government policy.  * a school meal programme could provide nutritious freshly cooked food to children daily while supporting local economies and Irish food producers. At the very least, it should not harm the environment or health.  * the programme being rolled out generates huge amounts of packaging waste, and meals are being served that don’t meet the Government’s own nutrition standards and include highly processed foods. * the most vulnerable children living in poverty need and deserve school meals. It has tangible benefits in terms of school attendance and educational performance, it can reduce inequalities. But being poor does not mean you deserve less than wholesome nutritious food.  * if the state feeds people with public money, it should feed them well and do no harm. #foodpolicy #schoolfood #irishfood #sustainablefood #sustainablefoodsystems  https://lnkd.in/e8y_ZCiv