The First Watermelon Harvest
Sustainability, GardensToday was the day we at Pine Crest School have been waiting for: the first watermelon harvest. The seeds for "Farmers Wonderful," a seedless variety of melon, were sown on March 23. On May 5, we were blessed with "Bouncing Baby Wasandra," the first melon we noticed in the patch. The students watched with much anticipation as the melons grew and grew. The praying mantis egg sacs that were placed in the garden on March 21 hatched around...
Good-bye Pyramid, Hello Plate!
NutritionThe USDA has released a new image to support its Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the plate shown above. The iconic pyramid logo was introduced in 1992, but its reformulation in 2005 came with a lot of criticism. The new My Plate concept addresses some of those concerns with a more simplified program. The plate image is divided into four sections, in the ratio of amounts of each food you should eat. Fruits and vegetables should fill up half your plate...
Green Cup Challenge Winners
SustainabilityCongratulations to the students at The Winchendon School, a coed, college preparatory school in Winchendon, MA, for achieving first place in the Northeast Boarding School category of the 2011 Green Cup Challenge. A program of the Green Schools Alliance, the Green Cup Challenge invites all schools -- public and private, day and boarding schools -- to measure and reduce campus electricity use and greenhouse gas emissions, and supports campus greening efforts, including recycling and water conservation. Carbon footprint reductions are...
Summer Increases Food Insecurity for Many Children
NutritionMillions of children in America rely on free or reduced-priced school breakfast and lunch to meet the majority of their nutritional needs. During the summer, when schools are closed, many struggle to find adequate nourishment. Feeding America's Summer Food Program attempts to meet the needs of these children through community-based meal programs and food banks. About 70 of the food banks in Feeding America's nationwide network participate, reaching about 300,000 youngsters. But that's a tiny fraction of the number...
SAGE Organic Garden at Pine Crest School
Nutrition, Sustainability, GardensIf you know anything about SAGE, you know that our organic garden at Pine Crest School in Boca Raton, FL, is a thing of beauty and something of which we are immensely proud. Don Janezic, SAGE's Food Service Director at Pine Crest, lavishes attention on the soil, the plants and the compost that enriches them. The garden -- which recently won third place in its category in the Florida School Garden Competition -- isn't just a source of wonderful...
Farmer Melick's Asparagus
SustainabilityHunter Stagg, SAGE's chef/manager at The Peck School in Morristown, NJ, recently received his first delivery of spring bounty from a local farmer named Peter Melick. Stagg approached Melick several years ago about supplying produce to Peck, and the two became friends. Melick recently phoned Stagg and offered him some of the first picks of his Jersey asparagus. Stagg put it into a salad and served it to Peck students and staff. The fresh taste was "out of this...
Greening Your Plate
Sustainability, From Our KitchenSpring is a great time to take a look at how the food choices you make impact the environment. Earth-friendly food goes beyond organic food; it also includes how food is packaged, shopped for, prepared and served. Here are five great ways to “eat green”: Go for organic. Foods that are USDA-certified organic reduce pollution, because they minimize the use of pesticides. Choose organic for foods you eat most often, or ones that are the most affordable. Eat fewer processed...
Food for Thought at 'Future' Conference
Nutrition, SustainabilityThere was an incredible amount of brain power at the May 4 "Future of Food" conference at Georgetown University. (Watch video of the speakers here.) Some of the world's most important thinkers on the subject of food politics -- including Marion Nestle, Eric Schlosser, Will Allen and Vandana Shiva, not to mention the Prince of Wales -- shared (all too briefly, in my opinion) their thoughts on what we need to do to revolutionize our domestic and global food...
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At SAGE Dining Services®, our unparalleled expertise in nutrition, sustainability, and culinary trends produces exceptional dining experiences that delight the senses, inspire minds, and foster community.
