Lilia Smelkova is Food Day Campaign Manager at the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
A student in Margate, Florida, participates in a Food Day challenge. Photo Credit: FLIPANY
Thousands of schools around the country are celebrating the fourth annual Food Day this week. Food Day inspires Americans to change their diets and our food policies. Every October 24, events all around the country bring Americans together to celebrate and enjoy real food.
Food Day is an opportunity to resolve to make changes in our own diets and to take action to solve food-related problems in our communities at the local, state, and national level.
All over America, activities are happening to ensure that kids are as familiar with vegetable peelers, cutting boards, and mixing bowls as they are with iPads, iPhones, and video games. Thousands of kids will discover a new vegetable, chop their first salad, or make their first soup on October 24.
- More than 650,000 students in Chicago, Cleveland, Des Moines, Detroit, Minneapolis, Omaha, and St. Paul will enjoy a locally sourced meal of chicken drumsticks, potatoes or corn, and apples in celebration of Food Day as part of a partnership with School Food Focus.
- In California, 15 school districts from around the state including Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego, and San Francisco will serve a lunch made entirely with California food. This program, called California Thursdays, is organized by the Center for Ecoliteracy and launched this week in celebration of Food Day.
- In Arkansas, over 100 schools are taking the Breakfast Apple Crunch Challenge facilitated by the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance and Share Our Strength.
The most important ingredient in Food Day is you! Use October 24 to start—or celebrate—eating a healthier diet and putting your family’s diet on track.
Students at Oxford Elementary show off artistic fruits and vegetables they created. Photo Credit: Sharon McNeil
- Take the Food Literacy Quiz or answer 14 Questions that Could Save Your Life and the Planet;
- Look on the map and see if there’s already a Food Day event in your community;
- Celebrate Food Day by enjoying a meal with family and friends using Food Day’s 20 Recipes to Get Kids Cooking or Dinner Party Kit;
- Use the Food Day School Curriculum to teach students the importance of eating real, fresh food, cutting back on processed foods, and advocating for a healthier community;
- Participate in the #FoodDayPlate contest on social media by sharing a photo of your healthy or sustainable meal on Food Day! Use the hashtag #FoodDayPlate to participate.
Lilia Smelkova is Food Day Campaign Manager at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Prior to joining Food Day, she worked for Slow Food International in Italy where she directed the launch of the first European network of sustainable school cafeterias. She holds a Master’s in environment and development from King’s College London, and a certificate in environmental management from UC Berkeley, where she co-authored a nutrition education study. Follow her on Twitter: @LiliaSmelkova.
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Mott Haven Academy students, New York City, in the school’s rooftop learning garden.
photo credit: Philip J. Greenberg
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