Edible Schoolyard: A Universal Idea

saw her last night at a benefit for this program. very inspiring!! ( )

The inspirational program shines despite the lack of depth in this volume. There's also a certain level of "I'm just here to help the poor" that seeps through. ( )

In an age of rising food prices, industrial agriculture, and concerns about food security, a great idea unfolds: turn an abandoned lot at an urban public school in California into the Edible Schoolyard. Kids learn to grow food, keep a garden, cook, eat and converse together, and start it all over again the next day, all the while practicing science, history, and math. Alice Waters sums it up: "Right there, in the middle of every school day, lies time and energy already devoted to the feeding of children. We have the power to turn that daily school lunch from an afterthought into a joyous education, a way of caring for our health, our environment, and our community." ( )

One of America's most influential chefs Alice Waters created a revolution in 1971 when she introduced local organic fare at her Berkeley California restaurant Chez Panisse. Twenty-five years later she and a small group of teachers and volunteers turned over long-abandoned soil at an urban middle school in Berkeley and planted the Edible Schoolyard. The schoolyard has since grown into a universal idea of Edible Education that integrates academics with growing cooking and sharing wholesome delicious food. With inspiring images of the garden and kitchen and their young caretakers Edible Schoolyard is at once a visionary model for sustainable farming and childhood nutrition and a call to action for schools across the country.