Culinary arts vocational strand that provides food service
All middle and high schools could supply food service partially with a student program for training in culinary arts. Slow food, greenhouse horticultural programs, local farms, and restaurants could “adopt a school” and partner with district employees to provide fresh food options at lunch and snack times. Food service becomes a learning experience in real time, and ALL kids should be required to take cooking classes. Studies show cooking reinforces math skills.
And then where would the students whose parents earn their livings in school food services (many of them single moms) get their meals when their supporting parent is put out of work as aresult of your plan? Food banks? Shelters?
Perhaps spend o few minutes thinking about the human beings (sole support for kids) you are potentially impacting with your ideas sometime.
Dear Kay:
Your idea is great, but how about connecting it to an existing program instead? There is a great program already used in Washington called ProStart, supported by the Wash. Restaurant Association Ed. Foundation. If you would like to know more about career and technical education in the Seattle Schools, I’d be happy to talk with you. I am the chair of the business advisory committee for the CTE dept. at Seattle Schools. Dana Twight, M. Ed.
206-652-6208
Hi David,
Thanks for your comment. I have spent more than a few minutes thinking about the food service issue and had hours of discussions with the district food folks and other health experts. We must move towards FRESH and nutritious food service for our students. A vocational strand would STILL necessitate adult supervision and support. so while the job structure might change – jobs would still be available and OTHER jobs facilitating numerous vocational strands would be created as well. Anecdotal research indicates that right now about 20% of the prepacked breakfasts and lunches are simply tossed out at most schools. AND, our children are not prepared to be self sufficient in many life skills (like cooking) and nutritional curriculum is inconsistent of absent in most K-12 curriculums. Right now, we lose about 4 million dollars a year on our food service, and I strongly believe, if food is going to cost us, then it should be GOOD. We have all kinds of problems surrounding how kids relate to food from obesity to the opposite extreme. If we as a community work together to create food service that teaches as well as nourishes, we will actually create more opportunities for jobs and vital support of our students in the future. Let’s talk again.
ksb
Hi Dwight,
Yes – I know there is a program in place – my platform calls for expanding to EVERY school and creating vocational strands and culinary training as part of health and nutrition curriculum for every child. So – yes – the idea would be to build on what is in place, absolutely! KSB