I just spent this spectacular May morning in an elementary classroom surrounded by dozens of excited second graders who were busily putting their creative spin on whole-wheat quesadillas so their team could impress the judges enough to win the Recipe for Success Iron Chef competition.  This final step earns each of them a coveted “RFS Kid Chef” award.

Ordinarily the New York Times does a pretty good job covering the latest in health and nutrition.  And its editorial page regularly makes sensible pronouncements on matters of public policy issues involving food.

But when the New York Times gets something wrong, it REALLY gets it wrong.

If you’re looking for a way to make a difference in the way your students eat and think about food, here are some curricular resources to get you started. There are a lot of lessons out there related to food issues but these are some of Food Day’s favorites!

Food Revolution Day, organized by the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation on May 17, is a global day of action for people to make a stand for good food and essential cooking skills.

Mississippi is a state that has long struggled with high obesity rates, but it seems that a state mandate that included food education may have had an impact on reducing obesity levels among youth.

The Food Trust’s School Nutrition Education program provides more than 50,000 children annually with education on healthy eating and related fun learning activities. The program serves about 100 schools, where more than half of children are eligible for free or reduced cost school meals. Trust activities include classroom nutrition lessons, student-run fresh fruit and smoothie markets to teach students about healthy snacking and running a small business (shown in the photo below), parent workshops, field trips to local farms, and school-wide events, such as taste-tests and assemblies. The program also provides teachers with monthly nutrition education materials and lesson plans to incorporate nutrition into their curriculum.

Washington, DC, is the locus for national food policy, but few outside the city know that it has also become a hub for food education. Through programs like the Farm to School Network (run by local organization DC Greens), the Washington Youth Garden, Brainfood, and so many others, youth gain skills in gardening, cooking, and forming healthy habits inside and outside the classroom.