News

Friday, March 6, 2009

Stone Soup, a Schoolwide Cooked-From-Scratch Project, Will Take Place at Franklin Elementary on March 9 and 10

On Monday and Tuesday, March 9 and 10, Franklin Elementary School will host an all-school cooking event. During the two-day event, every Franklin student will become an honorary junior chef by helping to prepare a cooked-from-scratch recipe using seasonal, locally grown vegetables. On the first day, students will peel, slice, dice and tear, zucchini, carrots, kale, and a multitude of other seasonal vegetables to be used as ingredients in a harvest chili recipe. On the second day, the chili will be eaten by parents, teachers, administrators and the student-chefs themselves. Several local farmers who provided the produce will also be introduced that day to the school community.

This unique, school-wide cooking event is taking place under the direction of chef-educator, Andrea Martin, and sponsored by the Orfalea Fund’s s’Cool Food Initiative.

Named after the popular Grimm Brother’s tale in which strangers with a pot of water trick villagers into contributing items to improve the flavor imparted by a stone, the Stone Soup event is being piloted at Franklin with a view to initiating the project in other public elementary schools throughout Santa Barbara County. The Stone Soup event is one of a number of education and outreach efforts associated with the Orfalea Fund’s s’Cool Food Initiative whose mission is to create a community of healthy children across Santa Barbara County who make educated food choices throughout their lives. The s’Cool Food Initiative is working closely with several school districts, including Santa Barbara School District, to transform school food from highly-processed to cooked-from-scratch meals that utilize local produce. Kate Adamick, s’Cool Food’s Director, explained that “reforming school food is one of the most important things we can do to address the childhood obesity crisis. Studies have shown that a diet consisting of processed foods high in fats, sugars, food additives and artificial colors can negatively impact learning, while fresh, whole foods rich in vitamins, minerals and other protective factors such as fiber and phyto-chemicals commonly found in fruits, vegetables and whole grains can enhance a child’s ability to learn.”

For more information about this Franklin Elementary School event, please contact Kate Adamick at 805-280-9299. For information about the s’Cool Food Initiative, please go to www.sCoolFood.org or contact Melissa Bishop at (805) 565-7550 extension 111.