The Cooking up Change 2010 National Healthy Cooking Contest is a presented in partnership by the National Farm to School Network and Healthy Schools Campaign as part of a national effort to transform the future of school food. The contest finals took place at Taking Root, the 5th National Farm to Cafeteria Conference. Learn more about:

National Farm to School Network
Healthy Schools Campaign
Taking Root

National Farm to School Network

Nourishing Kids and Communities. The National Farm to School Network sprouted from the desire to support community-based food systems, strengthen family farms, and improve student health by reducing childhood obesity. The Network is a collaborative of the Center for Food & Justice, Occidental College and the Community Food Security Coalition (CFSC). With funding from the WK Kellogg Foundation, the Network coordinates, promotes and expands the farm to school movement at the state, regional and national levels. Eight regional lead agencies and national staff provide free training and technical assistance, information services, networking, and support for policy, media and marketing activities. The Farm to School approach helps children understand where their food comes from and how their food choices impact their bodies, the environment and their communities at large.

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Healthy Schools Campaign

Healthy Schools Campaign is a nonprofit organization dedicated to making schools healthier places in which to learn and work. Healthy Schools Campaign’s programs focus on the health crises of childhood obesity and asthma. The organization works both nationally and in the Chicago public schools. Healthy Schools Campaign’s largest program is a multifaceted effort in Chicago to create school environments that support healthy eating, nutrition education, locally sourced food and physical activity. The program prepares parents, teachers, students, school nurses and principals to advocate at the school, district, state and national levels. Healthy Schools Campaign has trained hundreds of advocates in more than 150 Chicago schools and is partnering with the district to develop higher nutrition standards, expand a regional procurement program and reinstate recess. In addition, the lessons learned from this effort are informing national policy that has an impact on all our nation’s schoolchildren. Healthy Schools Campaign is also a leader in state and national efforts to green schools.

Healthy Schools Campaign launched the Cooking up Change Healthy Cooking Contest in 2007 to engage student chefs and the broader community in a dialogue about healthful, tasty school food and the need for more federal resources for our nation’s school meal program.

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Taking Root, 5th National Farm to Cafeteria Conference

Taking Root, the 5th National Farm to Cafeteria Conference, will take place in Detroit, Michigan from May 17-19. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from and network with hundreds of people from across the country who are working to get local food onto every table. Visit http://.farmtocafeteriaconference.com for more information. Join us for field trips to local farms, school lunchrooms and processing facilities; short courses covering topics such as media training and research and evaluation; an open space session; 32 workshops on issues such as federal and state policy, experiential education, sustainability and economic development and sessions geared towards youth, producers, and food service providers. All food will be organic or sustainably produced and locally sourced whenever possible.

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