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Changing Our Food Culture

Food culture is a term we use to describe how we eat, what we eat and most of all, why we eat the way we do. For most of us, eating habits sank in early and remain unchanged. At Open Hand, we find that getting people to change habits can be difficult; when you’re raised on a diet of processed food, even the freshest produce can seem weird. That’s why a change in food culture has to start with kids and Berkeley’s own Alice Water has penned a prescription for change in today’s NY Times:

Many nutrition experts believe that it is possible to fix the National School Lunch Program by throwing a little more money at it. But without healthy food (and cooks and kitchens to prepare it), increased financing will only create a larger junk-food distribution system. We need to scrap the current system and start from scratch. Washington needs to give schools enough money to cook and serve unprocessed foods that are produced without pesticides or chemical fertilizers. When possible, these foods should be locally grown.

You can read the whole editorial, here.

In Praise of The Garden Project

In the San Francisco Bay area, the mantra of “local and sustainable” is heard so often that one wonders if the meaning gets lost. Here at Project Open Hand, we know that there is more than just buzz behind the local, sustainable movement; there is something quite real and good about fresh fruits and vegetables harvested and distributed locally. 

In early January, we forged a relationship with The Garden Project, a program at the San Francisco County Jail that trains former offenders and at-risk youth on their 125 acre organic farm. We are very fortunate to be receiving weekly deliveries of some of the freshest and most beautiful vegetables we have ever seen. Perhaps we are just food-crazy but there are few things more appealing than fresh, leafy collard greens still covered in soil or untrimmed broccoli, adorned with leaves. When you see produce this fresh, it will make you question the wisdom of machine trimmed florettes in a microwaveable plastic bag. Just saying… 

We are so proud to be distributing the collards and the broccoli along with kale, dino kale and Swiss chard and to the folks at The Garden Project, on behalf of our chefs and our clients, a hearty and sincere, thank you! 

Changing the Food System

Here’s an interesting story about one man’s quest to improve the school lunch program in Baltimore. The goals will sound familiar: more whole grains and local produce, less processed, breaded junk. The man behind this admirable quest is Tony Geraci and he is winning converts, one piece of fresh fruit at a time:

An arrangement with Baugher’s Orchards in rural Carroll County, MD had brought 82,000 pieces of the fruit into Baltimore’s schools for opening day. “I just had two first-graders tell me that they had never had a fresh peach,” Geraci said. “And that’s my point. Kids need to know what real food is.” Pointing to a second-grader who was digging in, he added: “When I see this kid right here with a face full of peach juice, it brings joy to my heart. Look at that smile. Look at that face. That’s why I’m here.”

The article is a few months old but still relevant. You can read it, here.