Teens Turning Green

Teens Turning Green

Tue 31 May 2011

Story by The Food Revolution Team
 

Project lunch is an off shoot of Teens Turning Green, the teen-led advocacy organization that Judy Shils created along with her daughters and other young women.

Teens Turning Green is a student led movement devoted to education and advocacy around environmentally and socially responsible choices for individuals, schools and communities, seeking to promote global sustainability. One of Teens Turning Greens’ main focuses is the school environment, where it concentrates on maintenance, food, grounds and classrooms.

Project lunch is TTG’s exploration of school food programs and aims to rethink and transform school lunch programs across Marin County in Northern California. Through education, engagement and innovation, Project Lunch strives to develop and implement a ‘Platinum Standard’ for school food embracing nutritious, locally sourced, whole and organic food offerings, while also initiating policy change.

Project Lunch questions conventional school food programs and inspires a collaboration among stake holders to integrate sustainable, local, wholesome, waste free, and organic options while building a food culture that enhances the school community.

Some of the projects’ goals are to feed Marin County students with wholesome, local and sustainable meals at school, develop food clubs within schools to engage students in the greening of their lunch programs, establish Project Lunch standards to be implemented and adopted as school food policy, and host events to inform the community and increase support for sustainable school lunch programs. Project Lunch is also working towards zero waste and a small footprint alongside each meal preparation, service and cleanup and honoring the vital relationship between healthy food and a healthy mind, body and earth.

Project lunch invites participation from all parts of the community – parents, students, school officials, nutrition directors, suppliers and chefs – and has over 100 participants in its inclusive Stakeholder Collaborative. Judi and Project Lunch have great material and templates available online.

www.projectlunch.org