We need to find meaning. We need to be useful. We need to know that who we are matters. I give, you give, we all give.
Winnie Nielsen says: I love the hues of wheat and dried grass colors that come with Fall. For me, there is a reassurance with the cycle of the seasons, and Fall is the time to bask in the calm after a busy Summer.
Of course, whenever I hear of a mother-daughter team accomplishing something, I am all ears. Especially when they’re tackling big stuff like Judi Shils and Erin Schrode are. Mother-daughter team Judi and Erin founded Teens Turning Green in 2005 to educate local teens (and anyone else who would listen) about the harmful ingredients in cosmetics and personal-care items. Turns out, lots of teens were concerned about this issue and their campaign was a huge success. They realized their message was reaching far beyond cosmetics and into many other aspects of eco-responsible lifestyles. Teens Turning Green has an impressive resume: They developed a small collection of body- and skin-care products; launched a school platform to investigate the safety of the food, janitorial, and landscape products being used around children; developed an online toolkit called Project Green Prom to highlight ecological beauty, fashion, décor, and transportation options; and took on back-to-school with Project Green Dorm.
Project participants via teensturninggreen.org
The list is long, but the project that especially caught our eye here at the farm is the organization’s Conscious Kitchen Project, which is dedicated to a complete transformation of our nation’s school-lunch programs.
students via teensturninggreen.org
They launched a pilot program in Marin City, California, in August 2013 at a school in which 95% of the 150 students qualified for free- and reduced-meal programs. This provided a unique and significant demographic, as it was representative of so many underserved school children all around the country who are receiving processed, over-packaged meals that provide little nutrition. Teens Turning Green partnered with Executive Chef Justin Everett of Cavallo Point Lodge and Good Earth Natural Foods and raised enough money to transition this school kitchen from heat-and-serve to one where the head chef and his team cook 300 nutritious meals a day from scratch.
Chef Justin and students via teensturninggreen.org
This elementary school has seen a 70% decline in behavioral issues since the program began, as well as measured increases in attention span, on-time arrival, and overall attendance. And Chef Justin is inspiring some would-be chefs by offering mentoring in his kitchen on Friday nights. I love everything about this project. Nice work, Teens Turning Green!
Winnie Nielsen says: School lunch programs are in great need of help everywhere. This is especially true in rural areas here in the South were many children live in poverty Amanda families lack education and resources to eating healthy. My best friend here in town, Kelli, is heading up a Farm to School, program that is funded with a new Federal grant and collaboration between the school board and the University of Florida IFAS department. This is the second year and now children are receiving fresh salad ingredients and seasonal fruits from local sourced farmer so. They also have a huge school greenhouse where students are growing lettuce for the experience of growing and also contributing to the salad bar option now in every school cafeteria in the city.
It is a huge job getting such a program coordinated but the efforts are worth it and students , who work at the greenhouse are very excited and great ambassadors for healthier eating. I hope more states will learn from the successes of groups like California and Florida to teach our children about sustainable food growing and healthier living.
Very impressive! the whole toxic chemicals in cosmetics thing is very real and most of the ingredients used in USA cosmetics are not allowed in the EU at all. The changeover at this school in behavior alone makes this so worthwhile to show how processed and non-nutritive foods have caused so many problems for today’s school age children.
In a recent post, I briefly touched on a volunteer effort at our local Lentil Festival involving Feeding Children Everywhere and wanted to share with you a little more on their efforts.
Their mission states that “Feeding Children Everywhere is a social charity that empowers and mobilizes people to assemble healthy meals for hungry children.” And I would say that’s delightfully true; our local team of volunteers packed 25,386 meals in 3 hours. Talk about empowerment and mobilization! Each one of these meals includes lentils, dehydrated vegetables, pink Himalayan salt, and rice, providing an all-natural, soy-free, gluten-free, preservative-free, kosher-certified and vegan meal.
Meal pie chart via feedingchildreneverywhere.com
All of this goodness was started in 2010 by Don Campbell, a Florida resident who made a big difference on a personal level by inviting children in need to share a meal at his table. Since those days, 32 million meals have been delivered to 30 countries by 198,000 volunteers, and that impressive number continues to grow. For every dollar received, Feeding Children Everywhere packages and ships out four meals to a hungry child somewhere in the world.
child and box of meals via feedingchildreneverywhere.com
And anyone can host or join a “hunger project,” the term FCE uses to refer to any group of people coming together to stop hunger, and they make it easy to sign up right on their website. The website also provides a calendar of all the hunger projects and open events available to volunteers.
child and meal via feedingchildreneverywhere.com
Check out a few of their beautiful videos for more in-depth conversations about the impact of this program.
Winnie Nielsen says: It is amazing how such a simple lentil meal can make a healthy and cost effective way to feed large groups of children. I love the work that this organization is doing in helping stop world hunger in children. Simple sometimes is the most delicious and effective.
Bonnie ellis says: Awesome!
Having travelled to over 30 nations, I have seen hunger up close and personal. This sounds like a fabulous charity with a simple solution that is affordable for easing children’s hunger worldwide.
Winnie Nielsen says: This old bicycle looks like it has wooden wheels? Compared to the plastic “Big Wheels” of today it is a piece of art in form and structure!
MaryJane, my copy of The American Girls handy Book arrived late yesterday. What a fantastic read this is starting out to be. I love how the authors turned around old ideas of what young girls could do. No doubt they were the early Suffragettes and quite possible, the supporters of the Womens Land Army for WWI. I am so glad you posted about this book. It is a keeper and I am excited to have it in my little library of the turn of the century.
Cindi says: I’ll bet that bike had way more fun in its lifetime than any fancy bike of today.
Connie Hester says: I bet it did too. 🙂
bonnie ellis says: I had the boys equivalent of that book when my kids were little. A little like the old Scout handbook. We had one tricycle in kindergarten. It was during the second world war and they were very hard to come by. We all found out what it meant to share!
Winnie Nielsen says: I believe this is the Western Equivalnet of our Eastern Blue Jay.
MaryJane says: Guy or gal:)?
I thought it looked like a kingfisher type of bird- I’ll have to check my bird books and will get back to you.
ok I think I found it, its a Steller’s Jay
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Stellers_Jay/id
love the Cornell bird site ! You can even listen the bird calls!
bonnie ellis says: When I was out West they were called Steller Jay and there were many of them. They are the Western equivalent of the blue jay in Minnesota. Nice picture.
Buy props used in MaryJane’s books and magazine!
5% of profits will benefit www.firstbook.org, a non-profit that provides new books to children from low-income families throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Here’s how:
MaryJane will post a photo and a description of a prop and its cost along with a few details as to its condition here: https://shop.maryjanesfarm.org/MaryJanesCurations. It’s a playful way to be the new owner of a little bit of farm herstory.
I always wonder where little birds live in the cold weather. Why don’t they just keep living in these cozy houses where they could build nests against the wind and wet weather?
I’ll bet Meg painted that birdhouse. tee hee…since she likes that color so much. It’s pretty. Many of our birds fly away for the winter but some very colorful ones stay too. They look nice in contrast to the snow.