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Goodr opens free grocery store at Jean Childs Young Middle School

by Thomas Scott
written by Thomas Scott

This school year, the students at Jean Childs Young Middle School will have one less thing to worry about now that they have a new, free grocery store inside the school.

They are the first APS school to have a Goodr grocery store on campus where students and their family members can pick up snacks, produce, juice and other groceries for free.

“This is so important to us because this is such a rich neighborhood of pride and joy and just a lot of heritage right here in this community,” Young Middle School Principal Ronald Garlington said at the ribbon cutting. “We have a grocery store right here in our school which speaks to exactly what we’re trying to do here at the school: removing all barriers so that every single student and family member has everything they need to be successful.”

Goodr, a non-profit organization that aims to eliminate food waste and provide hunger relief to communities, partnered with Atlanta Gas Light to bring the sustainable food pantry to “The Den,” an  on-site wraparound support initiative that provides comprehensive holistic support for every child in social emotional well being, academic success, basic needs supports and access and exposure.

“This store is going to provide over 30,000 meals to students here at Jean Childs Young Middle School in southwest Atlanta, and we’re in a place where food insecurity is rising,” Goodr CEO Jasmine Crowe-Houston said. “But I’m proud to say that students at this school are going to know they can come right to this store in The Den and be able to access food.”

Vaneika Favors, a parent of two students at Young Middle School, filled her reusable grocery bag with cereal, fruits, snacks and more after the ribbon cutting. She usually does her grocery shopping at Walmart, but having the Goodr store at the school was easier for her and her family.

“It’s the small things that makes a big difference,” Favors said. “I live down the street from the school, so it’s really convenient for me and it helps a whole lot. It’s kind of hard to get in and get out of Walmart so it’s not the first place that I want to go.”

This partnership between APS, Goodr and Atlanta Gas Light ensures that the students at Young Middle School don’t have to worry about where their next meal is coming from. Whether they just need a snack to get through the day or need to restock their pantry at home, they now have that resource immediately available to them.

“This is a testament of the type of partnership where it’s not just ensuring that our children are well, but our greater community as well,” APS Superintendent Dr. Lisa Herring said. “Every time I am at The Den, I’m reminded that this is a model of what we must do in public education to ensure that everyone has what they need to succeed.”

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USDA Official Visits Mays High School to see Successful Farm-to-School Program

by talkupaps
written by talkupaps

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United States Department of Agriculture Under Secretary Kevin Concannon learns about the Mays High School greenhouse and its use of aquaponics from senior Sydney Stepney during his visit to the campus.

When Atlanta Public Schools Nutrition Director Dr. Marilyn Hughes came to the district her vision was to create a nutrition program that connected the cafeteria, the classroom and the community.

More than a decade later that vision is a reality at a number of schools throughout the district, including Mays High School, where its teachers and students have established one of the state’s top agriculture clubs.  The concept of healthy living is infused into the school culture through its participation in the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) “Farm to School” program. The national initiative is designed to help schools provide access to fresh, organically grown food for students and their communities.

Last week, USDA Under Secretary Kevin Concannon stopped by to tour Mays’ greenhouse and aquaponics classroom, where fresh fish (tilapia) and vegetables are raised and grown, and the school cafeteria, where the food is prepared and eaten. He left very impressed.usda-under-sec-concannon-at-mays-hs-12-8-16

“We want to change the image of the urban food program,” Dr. Hughes said. “We want to broaden it so that we constantly make that connection between the cafeteria, the classroom and the community. We want people to think of our communities as places where you eat, work and live a healthy lifestyle. In order for it to be sustainable, we have to have collective ownership by the students, teachers and the community.”

At Mays, all three groups have bought in. Students have created one of the state’s top agriculture clubs, teachers are infusing agriculture and “green living” concepts into their lessons, from science to social studies and history, and the community is involved as well.

“We have a lot of people who walk on our campus for exercise and they’ll pick things from our traditional garden,” said Sydney Stepney, a senior and participant in the Governor’s Honors Program for Agricultural Sciences. “It’s important that we get back to eating natural foods.”

Sydney said she is inspired by wanting to discover alternative ways to treat debilitating diseases like dementia, which her grandmother is battling now.

“She takes so many pills and I just don’t like it,” Sydney said. “I think all of the diseases that are prevalent in our community, like dementia, diabetes, high blood pressure, are all linked to the foods we eat.”

usda-under-sec-concannon-at-mays-hs-greenhouse-2-12-7-16Sydney, who has been accepted by the University of Kentucky and is in the running for a Posse Scholarship from Texas A&M University, plans to major in nutrition and exercise physiology, open a fitness center that will include and utilize an urban garden, and create her own natural multi vitamin.

The school’s agriculture club and “Farm to School” program are designed to produce more students like Sydney who may be able to take advantage of the country’s “green” movement and the growing popularity of organically grown and raised food.

Mays Assistant Principal Dr. Wardell Hunter and Instructional Coach Hajj Womack  spoke with United States Congressmen John Lewis and David Scott about the importance of agriculture in schools. Both said they are working on legislation that promotes making college scholarship funds available for students majoring in agriculture.

“It’s something that Republicans and Democrats can get behind,” Womack said. “Agriculture is very important to our country, and it would provide excellent opportunities for our students.”

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Maynard Jackson High School Hosts State, National Visitors During National School Breakfast Week

by talkupaps
written by talkupaps

Fish and grits at MHJHS

The nutrition staff at Maynard H. Jackson High School served fish and grits for breakfast on Wednesday, in honor of National School Breakfast Week.

By Seth Coleman

Fish and grits for breakfast? At school? Yes, please!

The quintessential southern morning meal was on the menu, Wednesday  (March 9) at Maynard H. Jackson High School, to provide a little something special in honor of National School Breakfast Week (March 7-11) for students, faculty, staff and visitors to the campus.

The annual observation, being celebrated this week by schools from coast to coast, brought a number of high-profile visitors to Jackson, including Georgia School Superintendent Richard Woods and Angela Tagtow, Executive Director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion.

“I have been really impressed with the energy in the room and the excitement around breakfast,” Tagtow said, amid the hustle and bustle of 400 students dining on everything from smoothies, to yogurt parfaits, to fresh fruit and cereal, to the signature item of the morning – fish and grits. “I think what makes this special is the enthusiasm and energy of the staff. You can tell everyone realizes the importance of breakfast.”

Garden at MHJHS (1)

Visitors to Maynard H. Jackson High School on Wednesday were taken on a tour of the school’s urban garden by students in its garden club.

Atlanta Public Schools has earned high marks for its school nutrition program under the leadership of Nutrition Department Director Dr. Marilyn Hughes. She has kept APS at the forefront of the industry through innovative programs like “Chef’s Table,” in which the district’s five chefs bring groups of students together periodically to get their opinions on new food items.

Dr. Hughes is also a supporter of school garden clubs, which Jackson has, and the USDA’s Community Eligibility Provision. The initiative permits schools and school districts in high poverty areas the ability to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students, thereby eliminating the burden of collecting household applications to determine eligibility for school meals.

“The goal is to make sure all of our kids are eating healthy, nutritious meals,” Dr. Hughes said. “And we want to be able to modify our menu so that it reflects nutritious items our kids like to eat.”

Garden at MHJHS (2)

Maynard H. Jackson High School has one of the metro area’s most active urban garden clubs.

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APS Nutrition and Office of Early Learning host a first-ever Winter Fun-Land event

by talkupaps
written by talkupaps

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Zoey, the C.H.O.I.C.E.S. mascot, interacts with pre-k students during lunch

The Atlanta Public Schools Nutrition Department and Office of Early Learning collaborated for a first-ever Winter Fun-Land event held at Crim Open Campus. Nearly 500 pre-kindergarten students in the Head Start program were invited to this holiday event for a healthy meal and to learn about nutrition in the process. This four-day event was sponsored by the APS Nutrition Department, APS Office of Early Learning, Crim Open Campus High School, Sodexo in partnership with Jackmont Hospitality, and The Center Helping Obesity in Children End Successfully, Inc. (C.H.O.I.C.E.S.).

“It’s an excellent opportunity for the nutrition department to actually teach nutrition education,” said Marilyn Hughes, director of nutrition at Atlanta Public Schools. “We are just wanting to continue to support the Office of Early Learning.”

Screen Shot 2013-12-19 at 12.22.11 PMStudents were served a healthy menu that included tomato and corn soup, grilled cheese sandwich, carrots, fresh cut apples, and peaches. Costume characters dressed as  fruits and vegetables and representing sponsors mingled with the children. The nutrition staff had an opportunity to read books to the students titled “The Hungry Caterpillar.” Every teacher also received with a book titled “Eating the Alphabet” for their classrooms, and students received an interactive flier to take home.

Screen Shot 2013-12-19 at 12.13.25 PM“We’re here to help our children to have a better understanding of the importance of fruits and vegetables as well as the importance of literacy and how fruits and vegetables impact their ability to learn at high levels,” said Courtney Jones, early learning coordinator at Atlanta Public Schools.

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APS nutrition staff read “The Hungry Caterpillar” to students

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Atlanta Public Schools organizes an international salute to school lunch

by talkupaps
written by talkupaps

National School Lunch Week aims to get kids excited about healthy food choices

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More than 32 million children eat school lunch across the USA every day, and Atlanta Public Schools will celebrate these healthy lunch choices from October 15-18 during National School Lunch Week.  This year’s event theme is “Healthy International Meals,” so celebrity and volunteer chefs will visit schools to celebrate the flavors, ingredients and cultures of countries around the world and promote the benefits of eating a healthy school lunch.

salad bowlThe campaign will spotlight the changes Atlanta Public Schools (APS) has made to provide more healthy food options to its students:  the district no longer serves fried foods in its cafeterias; meals are cooked with various international seasonings and other healthy and savory herbs; APS serves locally grown produce, such as apples, oranges, sweet potatoes, collard greens, and kale in its cafeterias; every school salad bar, known as the APS Salad Bowl,  offers two fruit choices and two vegetable choices daily; and all APS cafeterias have water coolers with chilled water, which is provided to students at no cost.

Making these changes to the school lunch program has also helped the APS nutrition department educate students about making healthy food choices in the classroom; thirty-seven APS elementary schools have implemented the USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, which gives students an opportunity to taste and learn about local and international fruits and vegetables.

The federally funded National School Lunch Program provides nutritionally balanced and healthy meals to students everyday.  The program, which has been serving the nation’s children for more than 60 years, requires school meals to meet federal nutrition standards by:

  • ensuring students are offered both fruits and vegetables every day;
  • substantially increasing offerings of whole-grain-rich foods;
  • offering only fat-free or low-fat milk varieties;
  • limiting calories based on the age of the children served; and
  • reducing saturated fat, trans fats and sodium.

For more information about healthy school meals, visit www.atlantapublicschoolsnutrition.us.

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Male Empowerment Breakfast at Deerwood Academy

by talkupaps
written by talkupaps

IMG_1099Deerwood Academy recently held a male empowerment breakfast for male parents and males throughout the nearby neighborhoods and the Metro Atlanta community.

As guests, Deerwood staff, and students discussed topics relevant to the school and the community, they also enjoyed a wonderful meal for breakfast, served up by Waffle House  to over 240 men and boys.

“Educating, Empowering, and Enriching the young men of Deerwood Academy” was the theme for the event, with an increase of Deerwood’s male support and leadership in the school as the end goal.
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Faculty and staff at Deerwood wanted to encourage fathers, grandfathers and males throughout the community to lend support and encouragement to students at Deerwood Academy.

During the breakfast, guests heard from several speakers who spoke about health and nutrition, male empowerment, and male mentorship opportunities throughout the community.

Mr. Ron Jenkins, Mentoring Committee Chairperson for the 100 Black Men of Atlanta, served as the keynote speaker. Mr. Paul Simpson, of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., discussed his recent experience at the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington. He also spoke about the Omega Manhood Leadership Institute, a mentoring program for boys at Deerwood.

IMG_1100Mr. Claude Mwanda, Assistant Director of APS School Nutrition, and Mr. Charlton Morrow, of the Atlanta Technical College Institute for Males, also served as speakers.

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58 APS Schools Selected to Pilot Free Meal Reimbursement Program

by talkupaps
written by talkupaps

Atlanta Public Schools (APS) was selected to implement the Community Eligibility Option (CEO) program for free meal reimbursement during the 2013-14 school year.  Through CEO, 58 APS elementary, middle and high schools will offer meals at no charge to all students.  Georgia is one of 11 states chosen to pilot this innovative nutrition program.

The Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 includes the implementation of the CEO program to ensure that every student in low-income neighborhoods can participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP).  A district or school must have 40 percent or more of its students eligible for free meals to qualify.

“The CEO program will ensure that every child has access to free breakfast, lunch, and afterschool snacks every day within these selected schools,” said Dr. Marilyn Hughes, director of APS’ Nutrition Department.  “Because the schools are located in communities with high levels of need, this program will enable us to provide healthy meals for student success.”

By participating in the CEO program, APS will eliminate the procedure of distributing and processing meal applications and reduce administrative and printing costs at those 58 schools.  Families also benefit by automatically being eligible for free meals for their children who are enrolled at the participating schools.

CEO Schools

The CEO program will be available to the entire country in 2015.  For more information about APS’ nutrition program and school menus, visit www.atlantapublicschools.us/nutrition.

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APS is Honored for Serving Local Food to Students

by talkupaps
written by talkupaps

Atlanta Public Schools was recognized on March 5, 2013, at the state capitol for their participation in the 5 Million Meals campaign, a statewide effort to get more local food in schools.  Marilyn Hughes, Director of Nutrition for APS, pledged to support her local economy and local farmers by increasing the amount of local food served to her students through farm to school programs.

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State School Superintendent Dr. John Barge, Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black, and Georgia Organics Board President Rashid Nuri honored these Georgia school districts for taking the “5 Million Meals Challenge” and pledging to serve more local food in their cafeterias.

In 2011, thanks to the hard work of dozens of Farm to School advocates, 3 million meals featuring locally produced food were served in more than 650 Georgia schools as part of a program to teach children where their food comes from, why that matters, and inspire them to eat more fruits and vegetables.

In October 2012, Georgia Organics and its partners launched the 5 Million Meals Challenge, a statewide effort to get 5 million meals made with locally grown food served in K-12 cafeterias across Georgia.

During the ceremony at the capitol, Dr. Barge and Commissioner Black presented the schools and school systems that have taken the 5 Million Meals pledge with “The Golden Radish Award.” The school districts were also honored with resolutions in the state Senate and House of Representatives.

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“Children learn better when their bodies and minds are fueled by nutritional meals. This program helps create a better school environment so that students can reach new heights academically,” said Dr. Barge. “It also helps us expose children to science through agriculture. We must teach our children about an industry that is so critical to Georgia’s economy in order to inspire the next generation of farmers and agricultural scientists.”

“With great programs such as the Five Million Meals Challenge and Feed My School for week, students will discover the importance of agriculture through learning about the process that brings local produce and goods from an area farm to the cafeteria table, while at the same time receiving a healthy, delicious meal,” said Commissioner Gary W. Black.  “These programs not only allow children more healthy alternatives and promote local producers, but also bring communities together for a great cause.”

The Centers for Disease Control has identified Farm to School as a key strategy in addressing childhood obesity, but scientists and policymakers are not the only supporters of farm to school – these programs are being implemented on the ground by thousands of people in Georgia.

School gardens are the fun and public “face” of Farm to School, but there’s much more to it than that. Thriving Farm to School programs feature teachers who incorporate growing food into the curriculum, and parents who volunteer an hour or two to help weed that school garden. 
Farm to School also involves chefs from the community who conduct taste tests with students and farmers, connecting directly with the schools by hosting farm tours or making guest appearances on days when their food will be featured in the cafeteria.

Most importantly, the program causes the nutrition staff – the dedicated workers planning and preparing the cafeteria food – to take the extra time to plan and prepare healthy, local food that students love to eat.

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Falcons Player Trades in his Jersey for an Apron at Bunche

by talkupaps
written by talkupaps

Babineaux serves lunch to the students as he encourages them to make healthy food choices.

Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle, Jonathan Babineaux, donned an apron and chef’s hat at Bunche Middle School to promote healthy lunch programs. Babineaux served lunch to the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students as he encouraged them to make healthy selections during lunchtime.  He stressed the importance of students incorporating more nutritional items, such as fruits and vegetables, into their diet.

“It is important for youth to intake the right foods and nutrients,” Babineaux explained. “We want to try to help our kids make the right decisions and choices as far as the foods they eat.”

Federal mandates have changed how school cafeterias prepare meals this year. School districts throughout the country must adhere to tougher nutritional requirements. These regulations require school districts to prepare meals that contain more fruits and vegetables, and less sodium.

Babineaux took time to discuss the benefits of eating healthy, while demonstrating that many tasty and healthy food choices exist. He also reviewed the nutritious meals that NFL players must eat in order to stay fit and agile on the field, while also explaining what he eats on a regular basis to stay big and strong.

“I encourage them to stay away from fast food and things that aren’t good for them,“ he explained. “Eating well has helped me daily in what I do on the field. I want them to know that eating the right things can make you a healthy person and help you live longer.”

Cheyenne Ransom, an 8th grader at Bunche, says she is now determined to add more fruits and vegetables to her daily diet. She said having a professional athlete come in and speak at Bunche really resonated with the students at the school.

“While we were in their getting our lunch he talked about how foods like peas and carrots and apples and oranges are better options for us,” she explained.  “I learned that it is good to have variety in what we eat.”

Babineaux greets Bunche students during lunchtime.

Proper nutrition in the school age years can reinforce lifelong eating habits that contribute to a student’s overall well being. Atlanta Public Schools is committed to serving healthy meals for student success.

“With the rise of obesity among our youth today, it is definitely a problem we need to address,” Babineaux added. “We want them to know that eating the right things can determine how they live their life.”

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