Rethinking School Lunch in Oakland
In conjunctions with the Oakland Unified School District and the Center for Ecoliteracy, Oliveto’s It’s Complicated series is proud to present:
Rethinking School Lunch In Oakland
October 14, 2012
1:00 – 2:30
In the upstairs dining room at Oliveto Restaurant
5655 College Avenue
Oakland, CA
THIS IS A FREE EVENT – but please “buy” a ticket so we can get an accurate head count.
Panelists
Jennifer LeBarre – Nutrition Services Director, Oakland Unified School District
Jody London – President, Board of Education & Director, Dist. 1 Oakland Unified School District
Zenobia Barlow – Co-founder and Executive Director, Center for Ecoliteracy
Ruth Woodruff – Co-founder, Oakland School Food Alliance
Kids need real food to learn and grow. This simple, self-evident idea is at the heart of an Oakland revolution. Join the innovative local leaders of an Oakland Unified School District movement to put more fresh, California food on school menus.
Does the idea of school food call to mind grey meat, tasteless glop, a carton of chocolate milk and a quick run to the neighborhood convenience store for chips and soda? There may be a good deal of truth to those images, but Nutrition Services Director Jennifer LeBarre and her team have begun to implement a vision of school food innovation that will change things. It is already being discussed as a model for California and the nation.
Based on the application of the Center for Ecoliteracy’s planning framework, Rethinking School Lunch (RSL), in an RSL Oakland Feasibility Study, the OUSD Board of Education, under the leadership of Chairperson Jody London, has unanimously approved a comprehensive Facilities Master Plan that will help make the vision a reality. Groups like the Oakland School Food Alliance have brought the active, passionate support of parents to the table as well.
It may be the most hopeful education story of the year, especially if Oakland voters approve Measure J, a bond measure on the November ballot, that earmarks funds for a converted central kitchen, urban farm, and refurbished cooking kitchens across the district.
Sample current school food options (just don’t expect them to be served in pressed tin trays) and learn about some of the fresh, delicious, seasonal offerings that are coming. Preview the recipes at Cooking with California Food in K-12 Schools.








