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Last Wednesday a bill was filed that would put fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables onto the menus of school cafeterias nationwide. The bill allocates $20 million for the purchase of salad bars, $20 million towards grants for “farm-to-school” partnerships, and $100 million to upgrade cafeteria equipment. The bill dovetails with an overhaul of the national food lunch program that is expected to begin in 2010. Some 31 million students each lunch at school each year, and there is agreement that most of those meals are actually bad for their health. My guest today is Lisa Bennett, co-author of Smart By Nature: Schooling for Sustainability. It is a handbook that students, parents, and school staff can use to put farm-fresh-foods onto lunch plates, and gardens into playgrounds. It explores four areas of sustainability: food, the campus, community, and learning.

GUEST: Lisa Bennett, communications director with the Center for Ecoliteracy and co-author of SMART BY NATURE: Schooling for Sustainability

For more information, visit www.ecoliteracy.org.