Christie Vilsack samples a healthy, made-to-order salad from Von Steuben High School’s revamped cafeteria line.

School nutrition folks in Chicago have been busy. Last May, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and locally-based Healthy Schools Campaign launched the city’s Go for the Gold campaign. The effort seeks to have 100 city schools qualify for USDA’s HealthierUS Challenge gold award. As part of that announcement, CPS revised its food menus and made other changes, as well. Read more »

Chicago Public School teachers submit Healthier US School Challenge applications for gold awards to USDA’s Audrey Rowe, Healthy Schools Campaign’s Rochelle Davis, and Chicago Public Schools’ Louise Esaian at a November event hosted by Healthy Schools Campaign.

While some might think that Chicagoans are only passionate about sports and pizza, they’re mistaken. In fact, lately it seems that residents of the Second City are as jazzed about the food their children eat at school as they are about their Bulls and Bears. Read more »

Chicago’s Chef Duenas showed 3rd graders how to make a delicious, nutritious salad as part of the First Lady’s Chefs Move to Schools.

When Chicago heard about First Lady Michelle Obama’s effort to match chefs with schools, the city popped! Inspired by a unique partnership between locally-based Healthy Schools Campaign and Chicago Public Schools, the city saw an impressive number of Second City chefs sign up to participate in the effort. Read more »

Chicago high school student chefs-in-training compete to create the healthiest, tastiest school meals at the fourth annual Cooking Up Change event held on November 4th.

Last week I attended a rollicking event on Chicago’s West Side.  Healthy Schools Campaign’s Cooking Up Change event—a benefit and competition between students to create healthy and tasty school meals—was attended by over 600 enthusiastic high schoolers, community leaders, local government leaders and Chicagoans with an interest in improving school meals. Read more »

FOX-Chicago News reporter Patrick Elwood reported live on the efforts of Greater Chicago Food Depository, Jewel food stores, and dozens of volunteers to raise food and money for Hunger Action Month.

At USDA Food and Nutrition Service, partnerships are critical to our success in reducing hunger in America. From school lunch to food banks, FNS programs operate more effectively with strong partnerships. Read more »

Angela Jones and Michelle Stewart with part of the donations collected by the Midwest Regional Office for the Feds, Farmers, and Friends Feed Families food drive.

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service Midwest Regional Office collected 4100 pounds of food to support the Feds, Farmers and Friends Feed Families Initiative. We decided to make it fun event and include some of our partners and rename the Food Drive the Yellow Brick Road Food Drive, a spinoff of the Wizard of Oz.  We successfully recruited help and support from the Girl Scouts, CITGO Petroleum and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.   With the support of our partners and our managers, the MWRO team was victorious in defeating that “Wicked Witch” of hunger. Read more »