The school district in the tiny community of San Juan Islands, off the Pacific Northwest coast (between Seattle and Vancouver), decided in 2008 to start their own ‘food revolution’. Tired of ‘ketchup being a vegetable and a pizza sauce’, they decided to reinvent healthy eating for kids.
The result is their amazing ‘Food for Thought’ program: an on-site chef, with students training alongside, produces healthy, home-cooked, and (where possibly) locally sourced meals for the school. Sustainability and healthy eating is the focus. It’s been an enormous boost to the community and kids alike.
Check out what they are having at their community dinner tonight (yum!): http://bit.ly/qwWOmc.
And, in case you’re curious, here are their menus this month: http://bit.ly/ntRYDt.
Just like the recent ban on ketchup in French schools (only once a week, and only on French fries), the San Juan islanders decided that they could feed their kids more healthily.
Now, if they can do it, why can’t we?
karenlebillon.com 
Your black bean tacos sound fantastic Kristine!!
Karen, another great post!!
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Good point, Kristine! That was my reaction too. North Americans consume way too much animal protein anyway.
In France, the meals alternate between meat, fish, and vegetarian. And vegetables are always served as the first course. So the overall amount of meat is relatively small. And if kids eat meat at lunch, they won’t eat it again in the evening.
ps We like black beans too…When I make pasta, I throw in a black beans just before they’re done cooking (they heat up nicely). Then I drain it and stir in raw spinach leaves (the steam wilts them just perfectly). Voila! With 30 seconds extra, you’ve turned a starchy, nearly vitamin-less meal into something really healthy.
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Looks like a tasty menu but Wow - that’s a lot of meat. I’m always on the look out for healthy vegetarian meals that my kids will gobble up. Our favorite so far is black bean tacos - never fails. Quick and cheap too. Black beans, corn, salsa warmed up in a pan served with whole wheat tortillas and the fixings: yogurt (not sour cream), a sprinkling of cheddar, and some avocado.
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