1
00:00:01,033 --> 00:00:05,866
♪♪♪

2
00:00:05,966 --> 00:00:07,400
Jeryl: When I was 
growing up, there were a

3
00:00:07,500 --> 00:00:08,866
lot more farmers in 
the United States.

4
00:00:08,966 --> 00:00:11,366
Most people lived on a 
farm or they had an uncle

5
00:00:11,466 --> 00:00:13,566
or a grandfather, somebody 
that was connected with

6
00:00:13,666 --> 00:00:15,866
agriculture, and 
that's not true today.

7
00:00:15,966 --> 00:00:19,300
Obviously food is what 
composes our body and

8
00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:22,766
makes us healthy, and so I 
think it's important that

9
00:00:22,866 --> 00:00:27,100
we understand how food 
grows, where it comes from,

10
00:00:27,200 --> 00:00:29,533
and all the 
processes and why eating

11
00:00:29,633 --> 00:00:31,866
certain things is healthy.

12
00:00:31,966 --> 00:00:34,500
Jeryl: This is not just 
a bean,

13
00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:36,966
it's the seed for the 
next generation.

14
00:00:37,066 --> 00:00:39,633
Christina: Jeryl Fry is 
the owner of Mohr-Fry Ranch,

15
00:00:39,733 --> 00:00:42,600
a family farming 
operation based in Lodi.

16
00:00:42,700 --> 00:00:44,266
These heirloom beans 
are one of

17
00:00:44,366 --> 00:00:45,833
their signature products.

18
00:00:45,933 --> 00:00:48,200
And soon, they'll be 
dished up for students in

19
00:00:48,300 --> 00:00:50,766
the Lodi Unified School 
District, thanks to the

20
00:00:50,866 --> 00:00:52,966
efforts of Zenobia 
Barlow and the Center for

21
00:00:53,066 --> 00:00:54,300
Eco-Literacy.

22
00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:57,033
Zenobia: There's nearly 
1 billion meals served in

23
00:00:57,133 --> 00:01:00,266
schools in the state of 
California annually,

24
00:01:00,366 --> 00:01:05,433
so there's huge potential for 
feeding children healthy food.

25
00:01:05,533 --> 00:01:07,566
Christina: The center is 
working with 71 school

26
00:01:07,666 --> 00:01:10,566
districts in California to 
serve locally-grown food

27
00:01:10,666 --> 00:01:13,333
one day a week - 
a campaign called

28
00:01:13,433 --> 00:01:15,300
"California Thursdays."

29
00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:17,166
Zenobia: In San Diego, 
for example, I think they

30
00:01:17,266 --> 00:01:21,233
have at least 212 campuses 
and they're serving

31
00:01:21,333 --> 00:01:23,900
antibiotic-free chili 
lime drumsticks

32
00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:26,200
and fresh vegetables.

33
00:01:26,300 --> 00:01:29,066
In Monterey, they have 
a Bay2Tray program.

34
00:01:29,166 --> 00:01:34,100
Instead of kids eating 
pollock from Alaska,

35
00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:37,366
they're eating local 
Monterey-raised fish

36
00:01:37,466 --> 00:01:40,400
in fish tacos.

37
00:01:40,500 --> 00:01:43,300
In Oakland, they're 
serving whole wheat pasta

38
00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:50,000
with kale and chorizo and 
that kale is from ALBA Organics.

39
00:01:50,100 --> 00:01:51,400
Christina: And here at 
Lodi High School,

40
00:01:51,500 --> 00:01:54,633
the heirloom beans grown by 
Mohr-Fry Ranch in Lodi are

41
00:01:54,733 --> 00:01:58,233
being turned into a 
hearty pasta fagioli dish.

42
00:01:58,333 --> 00:02:02,100
Sherene: So with the 
beans, they come to us

43
00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:05,100
like this - a raw product -

44
00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:07,333
and we have to 
soak them overnight.

45
00:02:07,433 --> 00:02:09,866
It's very important to 
soak them or the quality

46
00:02:09,966 --> 00:02:11,566
doesn't come out as good.

47
00:02:11,666 --> 00:02:13,133
Nancy: When we started 
California Thursdays and

48
00:02:13,233 --> 00:02:15,033
cooking from scratch, 
the kitchen staff were a

49
00:02:15,133 --> 00:02:18,866
little hesitant and unsure 
about what was going to be

50
00:02:18,966 --> 00:02:20,666
required to cook.

51
00:02:20,766 --> 00:02:22,533
It was a little bit of a 
transition for our staff,

52
00:02:22,633 --> 00:02:24,566
but once they could see 
the quality difference

53
00:02:24,666 --> 00:02:27,133
between a canned bean 
and a fresh bean

54
00:02:27,233 --> 00:02:29,566
and how beautiful 
these beans are,

55
00:02:29,666 --> 00:02:32,333
it really just got them 
excited about cooking and

56
00:02:32,433 --> 00:02:33,933
adding and introducing 
the students

57
00:02:34,033 --> 00:02:35,333
to that new product.

58
00:02:35,433 --> 00:02:36,800
Sherene: I think 
it's great.

59
00:02:36,900 --> 00:02:39,166
So many of our students 
don't get to eat fresh

60
00:02:39,266 --> 00:02:42,466
food like this because 
they can't afford it.

61
00:02:42,566 --> 00:02:45,233
So I think it's wonderful 
that we can offer these

62
00:02:45,333 --> 00:02:46,933
products to the kids.

63
00:02:47,033 --> 00:02:48,400
Very good!

64
00:02:48,500 --> 00:02:50,100
I can't stop eating it!

65
00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:51,666
Christina: The Lodi 
Unified School District

66
00:02:51,766 --> 00:02:54,500
began the transition to 
fresher, more local food

67
00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:55,766
a few years ago.

68
00:02:55,866 --> 00:02:57,466
Along with the beans, 
they're now serving

69
00:02:57,566 --> 00:03:00,700
hot dogs made in Lodi 
and sloppy joes using

70
00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:02,566
California beef.

71
00:03:02,666 --> 00:03:04,700
They found the biggest 
hurdle was bringing back

72
00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:07,400
kitchen equipment that had 
been removed - as well as

73
00:03:07,500 --> 00:03:09,933
training the staff 
to cook from scratch.

74
00:03:10,033 --> 00:03:13,833
Zenobia: Traditionally, 
if you looked at 50 years ago,

75
00:03:13,933 --> 00:03:16,300
freshly prepared 
meals were the norm, but

76
00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:19,933
as the processed food 
and fast food convention

77
00:03:20,033 --> 00:03:23,666
occurred across the 
country, schools stopped

78
00:03:23,766 --> 00:03:26,200
building kitchens 
and started serving

79
00:03:26,300 --> 00:03:27,733
heat-and-thaw meals.

80
00:03:27,833 --> 00:03:32,066
So this is the 
resurgence of sort of the

81
00:03:32,166 --> 00:03:34,333
old-fashioned way of 
cooking real food

82
00:03:34,433 --> 00:03:35,633
for real kids.

83
00:03:35,733 --> 00:03:37,433
Christina: And real kids 
say they can

84
00:03:37,533 --> 00:03:39,066
taste the difference.

85
00:03:39,166 --> 00:03:42,000
William: Today I ate some 
bread with this wonderful soup.

86
00:03:42,100 --> 00:03:43,000
It had beans in it.

87
00:03:43,100 --> 00:03:43,966
It's really good.

88
00:03:44,066 --> 00:03:45,566
It's very healthy for you.

89
00:03:45,666 --> 00:03:48,300
You know, they're 
like brown.

90
00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:50,233
It has a good flavor, 
especially with all the

91
00:03:50,333 --> 00:03:52,566
spices to make it better.

92
00:03:52,666 --> 00:03:54,333
All around it's a 
pretty good soup.

93
00:03:54,433 --> 00:03:55,633
Kaylie: Like, in 
elementary school we

94
00:03:55,733 --> 00:03:58,033
didn't have this, and 
the food was more bland.

95
00:03:58,133 --> 00:03:59,200
And like now it's not 
as bland and

96
00:03:59,300 --> 00:04:00,366
it's more diverse.

97
00:04:00,466 --> 00:04:03,033
It's not just like 
hamburgers and pizza.

98
00:04:03,133 --> 00:04:05,300
It's like bean soup 
and sloppy joes.

99
00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:06,600
It wakes me up more.

100
00:04:06,700 --> 00:04:09,933
Like a few years ago I'd 
fall asleep in class

101
00:04:10,033 --> 00:04:11,600
all the time, and now 
like after lunch

102
00:04:11,700 --> 00:04:14,266
I'm like awake and ready.

103
00:04:14,366 --> 00:04:15,800
Morgan: It's probably 
a little bit better to,

104
00:04:15,900 --> 00:04:18,900
like, eat healthy, so like 
hearing that things like

105
00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:20,566
they come from our 
backyard - like they came

106
00:04:20,666 --> 00:04:22,100
from our right out of our 
backyard -- it's kind of

107
00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:23,633
cool to think about that.

108
00:04:23,733 --> 00:04:25,133
Christina: Lodi 
Unified also put in

109
00:04:25,233 --> 00:04:27,700
self-serve salad bars 
at all their schools,

110
00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:29,766
offering students fruits 
and veggies that

111
00:04:29,866 --> 00:04:32,700
are 85 percent 
California-grown.

112
00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:34,866
Nancy: We get our arcadian 
mix, our salad mix,

113
00:04:34,966 --> 00:04:37,100
from the Salinas Valley.

114
00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:38,466
We have strawberries 
that have been

115
00:04:38,566 --> 00:04:40,800
grown right here, 
close to Watsonville.

116
00:04:40,900 --> 00:04:43,966
It is all sourced here 
that we can get in season.

117
00:04:44,066 --> 00:04:46,733
The fresh produce is not 
that much more expensive

118
00:04:46,833 --> 00:04:48,266
to bring it in local.

119
00:04:48,366 --> 00:04:50,700
The beans maybe were a 
little bit on a pound for

120
00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:53,300
pound basis, but by 
the time I add in the

121
00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:55,666
additional costs it isn't 
really that much of a

122
00:04:55,766 --> 00:04:57,900
difference for us.

123
00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:00,733
Maybe a few cents on a 
meal, but it is well worth it.

124
00:05:00,833 --> 00:05:02,833
Kyle: I like to know 
that the food I eat is

125
00:05:02,933 --> 00:05:05,700
fresh and not come from a 
company and processed and

126
00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:07,533
just left in a 
can and shipped.

127
00:05:07,633 --> 00:05:10,233
I like to know 
that it is fresh.

128
00:05:10,333 --> 00:05:13,633
Zenobia: The 71 school 
districts in our network

129
00:05:13,733 --> 00:05:17,966
are examples of people who 
are innovating and making

130
00:05:18,066 --> 00:05:21,800
commitments to do this 
in large or small ways.

131
00:05:21,900 --> 00:05:23,666
Nancy: My advice for 
other districts would be

132
00:05:23,766 --> 00:05:26,000
for them to start small 
if they're looking to

133
00:05:26,100 --> 00:05:28,733
introduce local foods or 
be a partner within the

134
00:05:28,833 --> 00:05:31,566
California Thursdays 
initiative.

135
00:05:31,666 --> 00:05:33,933
And by doing that they 
don't have to necessarily

136
00:05:34,033 --> 00:05:36,100
do the whole plate, but 
look at one item or a

137
00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:37,900
produce that they can 
bring in,

138
00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:40,366
or a farm that's close by.

139
00:05:40,466 --> 00:05:42,966
They may not be able to 
do their entire district,

140
00:05:43,066 --> 00:05:45,066
but they can start it 
with one school and

141
00:05:45,166 --> 00:05:47,933
expand from there 
and not be afraid of it.

142
00:05:48,033 --> 00:05:51,100
Because the families, 
the students, your staff,

143
00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:53,100
really connect with 
knowing where

144
00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:55,500
their food comes from.

145
00:05:55,600 --> 00:06:00,266
♪♪♪