Project Cool School Food & Wellness Wakeup Call
Location
We are introducing plant-based entrees (international bean-based dishes) into NYC Schools, the largest school food service operation in the country. These entrees are healthy and delicious and result in less global warming, hence “Cool Food”. The schools will use our “Wellness Wakeup Call” nutrition education program.
About You
Section 1: You
First Name
Amie
Last Name
Hamlin
Website URL
Organization
New York Coalition for Healthy School Food
Country
United States, NY
Section 2: Your Organization
Organization Name
New York Coalition for Healthy School Food
Organization Website
Organization Phone
607-272-1154
Organization Address
POB 737, Mamaroneck, NY 10543
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
Organization Country
United States, NY
Your idea
Name Your Project
Project Cool School Food & Wellness Wakeup Call
Country and state your work focuses on
United States, NY
Describe Your Idea
We are introducing plant-based entrees (international bean-based dishes) into NYC Schools, the largest school food service operation in the country. These entrees are healthy and delicious and result in less global warming, hence “Cool Food”. The schools will use our “Wellness Wakeup Call” nutrition education program.
Website URL
Innovation
What makes your idea unique?
We are a small grassroots non-profit that has achieved amazing results. Schools already understand that they need to offer more fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains. Our program focuses on the forgotten component – the entrée, and we do this with international, bean based whole food recipes. We promote plant based entrees which contain no cholesterol, are low it total and saturated fat, and high in fiber and phyto-nutrients – all encompassing the recommendations regularly made to improve the standard American diet. Standard entrees in schools are chicken nuggets, mozzarella sticks, hotdogs, cheeseburgers, and pizza. The concept of plant-based entrees is unique in schools. But more and more schools are adopting the idea as a result of our efforts. One school district in upstate NY now has plant-based entrees every day as a healthy choice in all of their schools as a result of a small grant we gave them to do this in one school.
Schools need to teach about nutrition as well, yet it is difficult for schools, with all of their testing requirements, to add additional curriculum. Our Wellness Wakeup Call program is nutrition education in the form of “easy to digest” sound bites read over the morning announcements each day. As a result, students can learn a little bit about nutrition every day in 30 seconds or less. Copies go home with children each month along with a healthy recipe. We encourage the family to review the messages together and make the recipe together.
Do you have a patent for this idea?
Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
What impact have you had?
We have been piloting the program at a school in Harlem for the last two years. Partnering with Candle 79 Restaurant, we have developed and provided plant-based entrees that we offer twice per week (we used to send a chef into the school kitchen), the school uses our Wellness Wakeup Program, and we hold a Family Dinner Night once per month for the students and family. This fun event provides hands on nutrition education, a cooking demo, a free dinner, and prizes.
We have just expanded to six new schools in the last week! This is a long term project and we are in it for the long haul. Our goal is a plant-based entrée on the menu as a healthy option every day, in all New York City schools and beyond. Schools, students, and parents are thrilled to be working with us, and more schools are contacting us all the time saying that they want our program. Students are excited that their schools are chosen for the program.
We have provided nutrition training to the food service staff in 7 schools and separate nutrition training to the teachers and other staff persons in those same schools already. In the fall we will be adding about 24 more schools – and we are in the process of continuing to provide nutrition education so everyone in the school can be on board.
This is a massive undertaking by a small group with a budget under $200,000!!!
Problem
Eight year old children are on cholesterol and blood pressure lowering drugs. Between 1/3 and ½ of all children in the US expected to get type 2 diabetes. 35% of cancer deaths are caused by diet. 50% of children 2 – 15 have fatty streaks in their arteries, literally the beginning stages of heart disease. Many low income children depend on school meals as a primary source of nourishment and it is important to offer them healthy food. This is combined with the serious problem of global warming. Animal agriculture is a major cause of global warming. Project Cool School Food addresses both the health and environmental impacts of a poor diet by offering plant-based entrees. Our project introduces students to foods and ideas they might not otherwise have access to, helping to develop life long preferences.
Actions
We are working closely with the NYC Office of SchoolFood, food service staff, teachers, administrators, and students to get feedback and make adjustments. Schools are creating promotional campaigns. We are holding contests between schools and the winning schools food service workers will get wonderful gift bags. Schools will be holding contests between classrooms to see what classroom has the highest percentage of participating students. By offering our Wellness Wakeup Call program, students will learn about healthy eating.
We also partnered with the prestigious James Beard Foundation and held a recipe contest. We solicited recipes from around the country and held a semi-final judging at the Food and Finance High School in Manhattan and finals at the James Beard House with students cooking the recipes and serving them to a prestigious panel of adult and student judges.
Results
We hope to see an increase, over time, of the number of students choosing our plant-based entrees for lunch, and the acceptance and interest in these entrees. If the numbers continue to increase, we know our plant-based entrees, which are international bean based entrees, are a hit, and will impact students by exposing them to different types of food, offering them something different from the standard offerings. We expect to teach students about different cultures by focusing on international bean based dishes. If the program is successful, then we will be able to continue rolling it out to additional schools and to add additional days at each school.
What will it take for your project to be successful over the next three years? Please address each year separately, if possible.
Our project is so successful already, many schools want to join. All the pieces are in place. The funding is needed so we can continue signing schools on and providing the trainings. The food itself fits within the pricing parameters of the existing school meal program, so there is no additional funding needed for the food – and this is what makes the project most sustainable and replicable – is that it is something all schools can easily do once the concept has been piloted and shown to be successful – something this funding could help make happen. The program will be able to continue indefinitely and we will be able to expand how many days we offer the entrée as we see students accept the food. The main difference, between years, is that we will continue to hone our messages to find ways to better market the entrees. True success in the end will depend on a school being fully on board and doing their part to promote the meals we are offering, and to control how many competing foods are available. It will depend on having the support of teachers and creating a culture of wellness in the school – all of which we are facilitating. We don’t see any significant difference of how the project will be different each year. We will continue trying new recipes, finding new ways to market, and continuing to get feedback from students. Adding to the success are the partnerships we have with Candle Café and Candle 79 Restaurants, the James Beard Foundation, and the New York City Office of SchoolFood. Essentially our efforts will be the same each year with more schools being added all the time.
What would prevent your project from being a success?
Can’t really think of anything other than lack of funding or lack of support from school staff or cafeteria staff. However, we believe we have this taken care of because the cafeteria staff is very interested in the gift bag prizes, and the teachers are so interested in the program that they are working to make it successful too. NYC Office of SchoolFood is totally on board. Schools want to get in the program. We are doing the right thing, and something that is appealing. The lack of funding is the one thing that could hold us back.
How many people will your project serve annually?
More than 10,000
What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?
$100 ‐ 1000
Does your project seek to have an impact on public policy?
Yes
Sustainability
What stage is your project in?
Operating for 1‐5 years
In what country?
United States, NY
Is your initiative connected to an established organization?
Yes
If yes, provide organization name.
New York Coalition for Healthy School Food
How long has this organization been operating?
More than 5 years
Does your organization have a Board of Directors or an Advisory Board?
Yes
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with NGOs?
Yes
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with businesses?
Yes
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with government?
Yes
Please tell us more about how these partnerships are critical to the success of your innovation.
Partnerships help to bring attention to our work, they bring ideas and supporters. We absolutely could not be doing this without the NYC Office of SchoolFood’s willingness to work with us. Candle 79 and the James Beard Foundation bring attention and credibility to our programs. Candle 79 developed recipes for us. We held our recipe contest at the James Beard House.
What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization?
Additional Funding, Increased Recognition, Additional staff. Our program has the ability to impact millions of children. What New York City Office of SchoolFood does, others watch. If they can do it, anyone can. Expansion beyond New York City is currently being explored. There are programs being created in some other large cities and it is possible that because we share an advisory board member she has put us in touch with the organizers in the other cities so that our program might have some impact there, and this is in the very beginning stages. Also in the beginning stages, we are working with a large organization on a potential partnership to bring our recipes to schools and institutions all over the country.
The Story
What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?
No defining moment, really, just a lot of hard work, with a vision. When my stepson was in 3rd grade (the first year he was in my life), I got involved in creating change in his school after seeing how bad the meals were there. My job at the time was working for environmental non-profits. I interviewed and endorsed candidates who made the environment a priority. These two experiences uniquely qualified me for the job as Executive Director of New York Coalition for Healthy School Food. We have run three pilot programs and created Wellness Wakeup Call – a nutrition education program written by registered dieticians in the form of “easy to digest” sound bites for K-5 and 6-12. Copies with recipes go home so parents can review messages with their children and try the healthy recipe together. We have created many more resources and have presented to many decision makers, parents, and students. We wanted to work with the NYC Office of SchoolFood. They are the largest school food service operation in the country, twice as big as the second largest (LA) and the second largest food service operation only after the military. As unlikely as it seemed that our small group could have a formal partnership with the NYC Office of SchoolFood, we do now. It started out after we hired a musician, Jay Mankita, to write songs and perform them in NYC Schools. As a result we have a wonderful CD – Eat Like a Rainbow that teaches about healthy eating. It then progressed to a partnership with a school in Harlem. We were serving food in the hallway to students and NYC SchoolFood invited us to get involved and come into the kitchen and cook. We’ve been at that school for over two years now, and now we are in 6 more schools as well, with many more to come in the fall.
Tell us about the social innovator behind this idea.
My name is Amie Hamlin. I have been the ED of NYCHSF for the last 6 years, since it started. My life has been shaped by the issues of racism, sexism, speciesism, and many other injustices. I am very interested in promoting plant-based foods for people’s health and for the health of the environment. I also seek to reduce the amount of processed foods that people eat. I also care about the animals. It really bothers me to see the suffering that happens on all levels – human health, environmental destruction, and animal suffering - as a result of a poor diet. As a young child I learned about the Underground Railroad, since our church was an Underground Railroad stop. In third grade I started a children’s rights crusade in my school. I thought it was wrong when adults said “just because I said so” and thought they should tell us why. In fourth grade, African American children were bused to my school. Every day a girl in my class cried and though I never knew why, I always tried to console her. As a young teen I faced sexism when I wanted to take shop and the school insisted I also take Home Economics. I fought this and won. The shop teachers weren’t too happy about it but I had the highest grade in my class and I changed their minds. When my step son was in third grade, my friend Jennifer Greene encouraged me to join her in joining the PTA and creating a nutrition committee. We were successful in getting 5 plant-based entrees added to the school menu. When I started this job, my first task was to write a Legislative Resolution for New York State. It is a recommendation, not a law, but it had to be written, introduced, and voted on just like a law. It passed unanimously! I then took the resolution to the New York State PTA and wrote a similar resolution which was voted on there and passed, becoming official policy and basis for action. The next year I wrote a NYS PTA resolution on trans fats which also passed. All the work we have done since then has been to implement the recommendations of the resolution. I feel compelled to create change and try to make the world a better place in some small way. It’s just the right thing to do.
How did you first hear about Changemakers?
Personal contact at Changemakers
If through another, please provide the name of the organization or company
50 words or fewer
 | HealthySchoolFood said: Hi Alexis, We have been piloting this project at one school in Harlem for over 2 years. We have collected data on how many children are ... about this Competition Entry. - 643 days ago read more > |
| Alexis Ditkowsky said: Hi Amie, Thanks for sharing your idea for Cool School Food. I'd love to hear more about how you track impact and how you follow up with ... about this Competition Entry. - 647 days ago read more > |
| HealthySchoolFood submitted this idea. - 654 days ago |
