Off to School we go

By Uli Koester

Once again the Midwest Food Connection ventures forth to teach about healthy eating in elementary schools. With continuing strong support from five co-ops in the Metro area, and brand new funding from the Blooming Prairie Foundation, we have big plans. Our staff now comprises three energetic and talented teachers: Uli Koester, Program Director, Andy Reichert, who is starting his second year and Ginger Pearson. Andy will continue to teach in schools in St. Paul and eastern Minneapolis, while Uli and Ginger will split the rest of Minneapolis and teach in the western suburbs. Throughout the school year we will be bringing our innovative curriculum on natural foods and sustainable agriculture to children in grades K-5.

This summer the Midwest Food Connection (MFC) was honored to be included in the first round of grants awarded by the Blooming Prairie Foundation. For many years the warehouse of the same name supplied our co-ops with healthful food. After its sale a year ago, a foundation was established to support, among other things, "educational efforts in the organic industry and the co-operative community."

The grant we received will allow us to expand our programming both at schools we already teach and at new ones. We are planning month-long residencies at five schools, during which our staff will spend many days at one site, visiting classrooms, teaching in the lunch room, and leading assemblies. In addition, we will visit a good number of schools for which we previously simply did not have time.

Currently Lakewinds Natural Foods, Linden Hills Co-op, Mississippi Market, Seward and Wedge Co-ops all provide funding, and much of our work is at schools in their general vicinity. But this year we plan to reach out to co-ops in the Twin Cities that are not major funders and teach demonstration lessons in their local schools as well.

MFC also now has the resources to reimburse our local growers for hosting school field trips, and to help with busing costs if needed. Already five of these trips are scheduled this fall, and more will come in May.

Back in the classroom, our curriculum continues to excite children about healthy food choices. Our fall lessons teach about our local harvest and highlight fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. During the winter months we teach about how to stay well in the cold months by cutting down on sugar, sticking to healthy snacks, and eating traditional "foods from the root cellar." Come spring, we will pilot a new unit on foods from around the world, which will include and draw in many of our newer immigrants.

Particularly this year we are looking for new teacher contacts and new schools. If you, through a child or through work, are connected to an elementary school, let them know that we are available. Thanks to our generous funders, there is often no charge to the school. Our curriculum is hands-on, interactive, and fun, and serves a need increasingly not met by a curriculum focused on reading and math.

It is very likely that children you know will tell you about our visit to their class! If they don't, please leave a message for the Midwest Food Connection at the Wedge at (612) 871-3993, and we will call you to set something up. In the meantime, you may run into us in the produce aisle or at the bulk bins, or even at a school! Say hello! We love to share what we do.

Uli Koester started doing outreach education with the co-ops in 1994, and helped found the Midwest Food Connection soon thereafter. He is a licensed elementary teacher and has taught in his own classroom in Minneapolis and Valparaiso, IN. He gets a break from food by playing cello, hitting softballs, and wrestling with his kids.

Andy Reichert is completing his official schooling in elementary education at the University of St. Thomas. He has extensive experience leading programs for children at the U of M, at an alternative school in Estes Park, CO, and on the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon. Andy spends much of his weekend on his bike training and racing on Twin Cities' byways.

Ginger Pearson joins our staff this year after many years with the Minneapolis Schools. She holds a teaching license and has extensive training in nutrition and in Macrobiotic and other eastern cooking methods. She loves tennis, hiking, and cross-country skiing.