First school district in modern times serves kids only organic, home-made, fresh food for lunch. The response is amazing.

The Sausalito Marin City School District partnered with The Conscious Kitchen, have developed and instituted a program that serves kids local and organic food for school lunches.

The program began in August, 2015, and has run throughout the school year.  School officials have noticed an increase in attendance and a decrease in disciplinary actions.  The kids are loving it.

The Conscious Kitchen is an educational program developed by non-profit Turning Green.

According to Turning Green founder, Judi Shils, “students everywhere are vulnerable to pesticide residues and unsafe environmental toxins. Not only does this program far exceed USDA nutritional standards, but it ties the health of our children to the health of our planet. It’s the first program to say that fundamentally, you cannot have one without the other.”

In addition to the food, students are given nutrition and gardening lessons to better understand the produce, where it comes from and what it actually is before it's prepared.  It allows them to take their knowledge and skills of producing organic food beyond the school grounds and into their own personal lives.

Justin Everett, the consulting chef with The Conscious Kitchen, said that "by embracing fresh, local, organic, non-GMO food, this program successfully disrupts the cycle of unhealthy, pre-packaged, heat and serve meals that dominate school kitchens.”

And it's a hit.