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US city schools first to adopt Meatless Monday system 05 Oct 2009
The Baltimore City Public Schools system was recognised yesterday by the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (CLF) as the first Meatless Monday school system in the U.S.
The 80,000 young people it serves will begin each week with a Meatless Monday menu.
Dr. Robert Lawrence, Director of the CLF and Dr. Michael Klag, Dean of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, presented the Center's 2009 Award for Visionary Leadership in Local Food Procurement and Food Education to Neil Duke, Chairman of Baltimore City Board of Schools and Tony Geraci, Director of Baltimore City Schools Department of Food and Nutrition.
Dr. Lawrence said, "We are pleased to recognise the outstanding efforts by Baltimore City Public Schools for incorporating a Meatless Monday menu plan and bringing locally grown foods back into the lunchrooms."
Tony Geraci said the school hopes Meatless Monday can inspire people to understand there are other options than just "meat and potatoes" for every meal. He hopes Baltimore can lead the country in reconnecting the next generation with food cultivation and preparation.
The school system has introduced a wide variety of projects to ensure its students eat and learn about healthy, environmentally-friendly choices. School system staff have been working with local farmers to provide fresh produce, and with distributors committed to finding local suppliers. In addition, City Schools has introduced a teaching farm, Great Kids Farm, and is developing the resources to establish a garden at each of the systems' more than 200 schools.
"The Meatless Monday campaign, initiated in 2003 with Dr. Robert Lawrence and Dean Alfred Sommer, has become a growing international movement of individuals, organisations and communities committed to cutting out meat one day a week for their health and the health of the planet," said Sid Lerner, Chairman of the Monday Campaigns. Michael Pollan, noted food writer, author and professor of journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, commented, "If Baltimore can pull this off, it will be a sign that the effort is worth making!"
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