As we move forward with the implementation of the Breakfast in the Classroom pilot program, staying current on all things school food related is important. To that end we have created a blog roll featuring some of our favorite go-to blogs. (You can find our list in the sidebar on the right hand side of the page.) We encourage you to explore these blogs and find one (or more!) that speaks to your concerns and your favorite aspects of school food and nutrition. Reading these blogs and interacting with other bloggers, organizations and activists in this arena is a vital part of tapping into the ongoing conversation about school food. While the focus of the Beyond Breakfast blog is universal in-classroom breakfast, we haven’t limited our blogroll to only that subject; you will find information on our BIC partners, relevant policy issues, general food and nutrition concerns and school lunch as well.
As you read you will find that there are a lot of viewpoints and not everyone agrees on every issue, but the debate is vigorous and it is growing and we are so excited to become a part of it through Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom.
We will keep this list current and update it periodically. Are you reading a blog that you think we should be reading, too? Leave us a link to the website in the comments section and tell us why you love it!
Academy for Global Citizenship: This website for a public charter school in Chicago is loaded with information on their Environmental Stewardship curriculum which includes programs like: Edible Schoolyard, Organic Breakfast & Lunch, Organic Produce & Bread Shares, Bike & Walk to School, Schoolyard Chickens and a Sustainability Handbook to name a few.
Afterschool Snack: Afternoon Alliance Blog: The Afterschool Alliance is an organization whose primary aim is to ensure that all children have access to affordable, quality after school programs. Their blog–called Afterschool Snack–covers a wide variety of topics affecting our children.
Better School Food: Their masthead says it all: Smarter Brains, Stronger Kids, Healthier Planet. Their stated mission: to raise awareness of the connection between food and children’s health, behavior and learning.
Chef Ann Cooper: Renegade Lunch Lady: They call her the Renegade Lunch Lady. Ann Cooper is an author, chef, educator and advocate for better food for children. This
is a very school food-centric blog.
FRAC: Food Research & Action Center: A BIC partner, FRAC the leading national nonprofit working to improve public policies and public-private partnerships to eradicate hunger and undernutrition in the United States. At the local, state and national level, FRAC addresses issues of hunger and food insecurity and the poverty from which they stem.
Let’s Move! and the Let’s Move! Blog: Let’s Move! is the national movement started by first lady Michelle Obama with the goal of solving childhood obesity “within a generation so that children born today will reach adulthood at a healthy weight.” The program has four main pillars: empower parents and caregivers, provide healthy food in schools, improve access to healthy and affordable food, and increase physical activity. Let’s Move! has its own blog, linked above.
NAESP Foundation: Another of our BIC partners is the National Association of Elementary School Principals Foundation. Their stated mission is to advance “excellence, innovation, and equity in schools by endowing leadership and learning for principals for the benefit of all children.” Founded in 1982, the NAESP Foundation is the nonprofit arm of the NAESP.
NEA-HIN: This is the official site for the National Education Association Health Information Network–also a BIC partner–whose mission is to “improve the health and safety of the school community by developing and disseminating information and programs that educate and empower school professionals and positively impact the lives of students.”
Nutrition For the Future: This is the personal blog of Dayle Hayes, MS, RD. Hayes writes this blog independently of her membership various diet and nutrition organizations and she states clearly in her sidebar disclaimer that her views do not reflect any official policies of these organizations or agencies.
School Nutrition Foundation: A partner in Breakfast in the Classroom, the School Nutrition Foundation is a nonprofit organization “dedicated to financial aid, education, professional development, and research in school food service.”
The Lunch Tray: Kids and Food, In School and Out: The Lunch Tray blog is written by New Yorker-turned-Houstonian Bettina, whose focus is on “kids and food, in school and out”. The blog includes news and information on school food and nutrition, as well as recipes, interviews and advice on all areas of kids and food.
Tray Talk from the School Nutrition Association: The School Nutrition Association “develops and encourages the highest standards in school nutrition programs and provides educational opportunities to ensure the professional development of its members.” In addition to certification programs the SNA is involved in research, resource development and legislative action in the area of school food.
USDA Blog: The US Department of Agriculture has its own blog where you can find information about school food policy and legislation.
Image credit: SXC