Bringing Cooking Back to the School Cafeteria

When I first learned that very little cooking actually happens in our nation's school cafeterias, I was truly shocked and bewildered. What in the heck were the students eating if not food prepared in their cafeterias? I suspect that a great many people are unanware that food prep in the majority of school cafeterias consists of reheating processed and pre-packaged foods. In fact, according to The New York Times, less than 20 percent of the nation’s districts cook more than half oftheir entrees from scratch.

Yesterday morning, I came across an article about Sharon Barlatier, who manages one of the largest middle school cafeterias (2,000 plus students) in New York City. She has made big changes in the way food is prepared in her school, and is fighting hard to change the way  the middle schoolers she serves think about food. If you'd like to read the article, just check out the following link...

www.nytimes.com/2009/09/30/dining/30school.html