♪♪♪

Jeryl: When I was
growing up, there were a

lot more farmers in
the United States.

Most people lived on a
farm or they had an uncle

or a grandfather, somebody
that was connected with

agriculture, and
that's not true today.

Obviously food is what
composes our body and

makes us healthy, and so I
think it's important that

we understand how food
grows, where it comes from,

and all the
processes and why eating

certain things is healthy.

Jeryl: This is not just
a bean,

it's the seed for the
next generation.

Christina: Jeryl Fry is
the owner of Mohr-Fry Ranch,

a family farming
operation based in Lodi.

These heirloom beans
are one of

their signature products.

And soon, they'll be
dished up for students in

the Lodi Unified School
District, thanks to the

efforts of Zenobia
Barlow and the Center for

Eco-Literacy.

Zenobia: There's nearly
1 billion meals served in

schools in the state of
California annually,

so there's huge potential for
feeding children healthy food.

Christina: The center is
working with 71 school

districts in California to
serve locally-grown food

one day a week -
a campaign called

"California Thursdays."

Zenobia: In San Diego,
for example, I think they

have at least 212 campuses
and they're serving

antibiotic-free chili
lime drumsticks

and fresh vegetables.

In Monterey, they have
a Bay2Tray program.

Instead of kids eating
pollock from Alaska,

they're eating local
Monterey-raised fish

in fish tacos.

In Oakland, they're
serving whole wheat pasta

with kale and chorizo and
that kale is from ALBA Organics.

Christina: And here at
Lodi High School,

the heirloom beans grown by
Mohr-Fry Ranch in Lodi are

being turned into a
hearty pasta fagioli dish.

Sherene: So with the
beans, they come to us

like this - a raw product -

and we have to
soak them overnight.

It's very important to
soak them or the quality

doesn't come out as good.

Nancy: When we started
California Thursdays and

cooking from scratch,
the kitchen staff were a

little hesitant and unsure
about what was going to be

required to cook.

It was a little bit of a
transition for our staff,

but once they could see
the quality difference

between a canned bean
and a fresh bean

and how beautiful
these beans are,

it really just got them
excited about cooking and

adding and introducing
the students

to that new product.

Sherene: I think
it's great.

So many of our students
don't get to eat fresh

food like this because
they can't afford it.

So I think it's wonderful
that we can offer these

products to the kids.

Very good!

I can't stop eating it!

Christina: The Lodi
Unified School District

began the transition to
fresher, more local food

a few years ago.

Along with the beans,
they're now serving

hot dogs made in Lodi
and sloppy joes using

California beef.

They found the biggest
hurdle was bringing back

kitchen equipment that had
been removed - as well as

training the staff
to cook from scratch.

Zenobia: Traditionally,
if you looked at 50 years ago,

freshly prepared
meals were the norm, but

as the processed food
and fast food convention

occurred across the
country, schools stopped

building kitchens
and started serving

heat-and-thaw meals.

So this is the
resurgence of sort of the

old-fashioned way of
cooking real food

for real kids.

Christina: And real kids
say they can

taste the difference.

William: Today I ate some
bread with this wonderful soup.

It had beans in it.

It's really good.

It's very healthy for you.

You know, they're
like brown.

It has a good flavor,
especially with all the

spices to make it better.

All around it's a
pretty good soup.

Kaylie: Like, in
elementary school we

didn't have this, and
the food was more bland.

And like now it's not
as bland and

it's more diverse.

It's not just like
hamburgers and pizza.

It's like bean soup
and sloppy joes.

It wakes me up more.

Like a few years ago I'd
fall asleep in class

all the time, and now
like after lunch

I'm like awake and ready.

Morgan: It's probably
a little bit better to,

like, eat healthy, so like
hearing that things like

they come from our
backyard - like they came

from our right out of our
backyard -- it's kind of

cool to think about that.

Christina: Lodi
Unified also put in

self-serve salad bars
at all their schools,

offering students fruits
and veggies that

are 85 percent
California-grown.

Nancy: We get our arcadian
mix, our salad mix,

from the Salinas Valley.

We have strawberries
that have been

grown right here,
close to Watsonville.

It is all sourced here
that we can get in season.

The fresh produce is not
that much more expensive

to bring it in local.

The beans maybe were a
little bit on a pound for

pound basis, but by
the time I add in the

additional costs it isn't
really that much of a

difference for us.

Maybe a few cents on a
meal, but it is well worth it.

Kyle: I like to know
that the food I eat is

fresh and not come from a
company and processed and

just left in a
can and shipped.

I like to know
that it is fresh.

Zenobia: The 71 school
districts in our network

are examples of people who
are innovating and making

commitments to do this
in large or small ways.

Nancy: My advice for
other districts would be

for them to start small
if they're looking to

introduce local foods or
be a partner within the

California Thursdays
initiative.

And by doing that they
don't have to necessarily

do the whole plate, but
look at one item or a

produce that they can
bring in,

or a farm that's close by.

They may not be able to
do their entire district,

but they can start it
with one school and

expand from there
and not be afraid of it.

Because the families,
the students, your staff,

really connect with
knowing where

their food comes from.

♪♪♪