Join the School Lunch Revolution!

by Mara Fleishman, August 9th, 2009 | Permalink | Email this

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6 Responses to “Join the School Lunch Revolution!”

1. ronzig:

   I think Whole Foods is missing a great opportunity to take the School Lunch Revolution a step further. Not only can it better serve local communities, but it can also to make a little dough along the way… Why not sell freshly prepared meals (in bulk or individually packaged) to local schools that outsource their lunch programs to unhealthy caterers and even fast-food restaurants? I’m pretty sure parents at our school in Coral Gables, FL would gladly pay a reasonable premium for a healthy lunch program from Whole Foods. Your Prepared Food Dept. managers can get started right away by calling private schools in their vicinity to gauge demand and to better understand pricing sensitivities.

   
   August 9th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
2. Mere Terpeluk:

   I am so glad to hear that Whole Foods is finally getting involved in kids wellness. There are a lot of people doing a lot of things out there…but having you guys be a part of it, makes it legit. Sadly, people aren’t going to listen to the government telling them to create wellness councils and relying on the schools isn’t enough. I think people will listen to Whole foods and it is a huge step for Kids. Kudos.

   
   August 12th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
3. Fiona F. Tavernier:

   I volunteer with both my children’s school lunch programs in Orinda, CA. How can we get help to improve our menu? Our lunch programs are 100% parent-driven and the menus are selected by our team of parent volunteers. Though our menu is good, I feel like we could still replace some pre-prepared items with healthier versions. I would love ideas on how to improve an already exceptional lunch program.

   
   August 13th, 2009 at 9:21 pm
4. JWal:

   I think I must be missing something. Whole Foods is trying to rustle their customers for ‘donations’ at checkout to support this component of their website??? I was staggered at the request for funds posing as some sort of ‘charitable’ donation, which of course, it is not. It is simply a quest to fund a website, which will in turn line Whole Foods pockets. There is a massive problem with our school meals. I agree. But I doubt Whole Foods is going to make much contribution to this problem even with ‘fleecing’ their customers for website funding. In repsonse to ‘ronzig’…I think you missed the point. This is a PUBLIC SCHOOLS initiative. So why don’t you go retreat back to your cozy little private school and work directly with them. This is supposed to be for kids and parents that ordinarily CAN NOT afford that Whole Foods healthy stuff. Go back to your private school bubble – puleez. I’m absolutely sure your school in Coral Gables, FL WOULD pay a premium…but then there’s the rest of the population.

   
   August 17th, 2009 at 9:31 pm
5. Winnie Hsia:

   Hi JWal – sorry for the confusion about where the donations are going. Donations received through our store fundraising and online efforts will be donated to Ann Cooper’s Food Family Farming Foundation’s Lunch Box project, whose goal is to provide resources to public schools across the US with the tools they need to improve their existing school lunch programs. None of this money goes to fund any portion of the Whole Foods Market website.

   For more information on The Lunch Box: http://thelunchbox.org

   From the website:
   The vision of The Lunch Box project is to provide the elements needed to transition a processed food based K-12 school meal program to a whole foods environment where food is procured locally and prepared from scratch for the student population.

   
   August 19th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
6. Ashley:

   Who can I contact to learn more about Whole Foods’ involvement in the School Lunch Revolution and it’s partnership with The Lunch Box?

   
   August 19th, 2009 at 6:11 pm