Group Of The Week: Boise, ID Food Revolution

Group Of The Week: Boise, ID Food Revolution

Thu 11 Aug 2011

Story by Angela Levesque
 

Boise Food Revolution Gets Some Dr. Seuss Inspiration

Inspired action breeds passion in others. I know this first hand from watching Jamie on the show. Every week it brings tears to my eyes – not because we are too far gone, but that so many people can rise to the occasion. It was his ability to inspire that led me to start a group.

The Boise, ID chapter was started to spread information, education and inspiration to get parents and children cooking again. Since the group's inception, a Holistic Health Counselor and a Naturopathic Doctor have joined me in providing well informed, quality content to our Facebook page. For us, it is not just about the TV show, it is about our health, our families and the community.

Here in Boise, we have a wealth of local farms and CSA's, we see this as an opportunity to bring our community together, to support the local economy and to bring awareness to the healthful and environmental benefits of using fresh and local food.

We have three main goals; education, connection and action. Education and awareness is an important part of creating change. So almost daily we are posting articles, tips, tools and recipes supporting our whole foods vision. We had an article published in a regional Foodie publication, Northwest Food News, about our group and our mission. Several of the local news outlets have gotten word of our group and have been essential in helping us grow.

Connection is another goal. We want to use our community page to help connect our citizens with events and other like minded organizations. We encourage people to post their local events, ideas, and recipes with us. In order to take action, we have partnered with Let's Move Boise, part of Michelle Obama's initiative. We feel that the best way to initiate change is to be part of a larger local movement. We had a booth at the Let's Move kickoff event, establishing us as one of their local partners. In collaboration with them, we have developed curriculum for nutrition classes that will be delivered at local community centers this fall. These free classes focus on basic nutrition, the benefits of whole foods and how to make sustainable lifestyle changes

We have been busy since we started the group, but our work has only just begun. We want to be a catalyst for change, but we also know that people need to take the steps in their homes, with their families. As Dr. Seuss said, "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not". Ultimately, that is the key, every day we will do our best to share our passion for cooking and food, hopefully, inspiring others to do the same.

About the Author: Angela Levesque the founder of the Boise, ID Food Revolution and is a Chef, Certified Exercise Physiologist, Energy Healer and Mind/Body Educator for people with chronic illness.

Images:
Top left - Let's move kick off.
Bottom left - Talking to kids about sugary milk.
Right - Mayor Bieter talks about the importance of getting kids to be more active and eating healthier.