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WHAT IF??

Taking the easy way out should no longer be an option

What if we tried to educate and expose kids to more fresh fruits and veggies instead of assuming that they will never like them and then feeding them junk just so they will eat something? Hmmmmm…now that’s a thought.

The Chef Ann Foundation and Skoop have come together to help change how we view kids and real food by introducing more fruits and veggies to students through Project Produce $2,500 school grants.

The Background

Frustrated by the recent debate about healthy school lunch regulations and the lack of proactive, solution-oriented thinking, we started asking ourselves: What could we do to help increase consumption of fresh fruits and veggies in schools? We decided to look in our own backyard for answers.

Boulder is often made fun of for our healthy, food-loving, Gortex-wearing, fitness-obsessed population. But if you want to connect with the best of the best in health and fitness, Boulder is where you look. So when Alex Bogusky and Greg Stroh launched Skoop. a new powdered, whole foods-sourced, super nutrition company, we knew that their commitment to increasing access to the benefits of nutrient-dense foods would fit right in with our mission to help expose more kids to fresh fruits and veggies.

We met and explained the problem to Alex and Greg. We told them that together we wanted to create an opportunity to help support participation in and consumption of school lunch for schools wanting to serve healthier meals. We knew from experience in our own district here in Boulder that the more education and trial you have alongside your food program, the more buy-in you’ll get from the kids.

It didn’t take them but a minute to say, “Yes, let’s do this. We created Skoop to be part of a solution and provide real nutrition from real foods.” The Skoop business is built around a “Buy One, Give One” giving model which equates to a contribution of 10% of revenue. Skoop is the definition of triple bottom line business. Amazing.

How it Works

The Project Produce grant is pretty straightforward. Your school can apply here and if selected you will receive a grant for $2,500 to purchase fresh fruits and veggies. The produce needs to be distributed for free in some way to all students and needs to be accompanied by a lunchroom education component.

How it Works

The Project Produce grant is pretty straightforward. Your school can apply here and if selected you will receive a grant for $2,500 to purchase fresh fruits and veggies. The produce needs to be distributed for free in some way to all students and needs to be accompanied by a lunchroom education component.

Schools can choose from the sampling/educational program ideas that we have on The Lunch Box, like Rainbow Days, or come up with their own programming. We are excited to have schools share with us what works for them and their community. We will make sure to post the school program ideas so that eventually we will have a much larger section of activities for schools to choose from…with real feedback and outcomes from schools.

Looking to the Future

Is Project Produce going to solve all of the school lunch issues that we are facing today? No, it’s not, but it is a step in the direction of change and progress, and most importantly—a step in the direction of helping schools find solutions to increase participation instead of a solution that rolls back progress and serves up less healthy choices.

The problems that we face with school lunch are not simple. Helping teach kids to crave lettuce over chips is a process, but we need to commit to it, and we need to fight to make it the norm. Taking the easy way out should no longer be an option. Help us take it off the table by supporting Skoop and Project Produce today!

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