Lunch programs in the public school system is a serious issue faced by families across the United States. On this months's episode of It's More Than Food, host Michel Nischan speaks with industry leaders who are revolutionizing the food model that currently exists in the education system. Toni Liquori, the Executive Director of School Food FOCUS, Kirsten Toby, co-founder of Revolution Foods, and Bill Telepan, Executive Chef of Wellness in the Schools come together in a discussion about the food model that currently exists in the public school system and the ways in which they are changing this model to one that is sustainable, scalable, and nutritional. Revolution Foods has served more than 50 million fresh and healthy meals across the country to date, Wellness in the Schools creates programs that provide healthy eating and environmental awareness, and School Food Focus is transforming food systems to support student nutrition. These organizations are combating the poor foods in school districts with healthy, nutritional, and replicable food models to provide real food for kids and to help them to develop an understanding of good eating. Tune in to this special conversation and hear how lunch programs are changing every day and for the better!

"It has to be affordable and it has to be scalable." [15:00]

"School food isn't different than what most people eat across the country because of what our food system is." [22:00]

"We produce all of the fresh food centrally in each of the regions we operate in. It's a commissary, and that's why we have 1,000 employees. We're cooking everything fresh, every day and then delivering the meals to schools in a format that they can reheat and serve, so at the school site you don't need to change the equipment or labor requirements." [28:00]

"Feeding kids just isn't that important to people." [39:00]

How can Erica Wides afford two places to live? She doesn't drink bottled water, or any other bottled beverages for that matter. Let's Get Real is here to pull you out of that rabbit hole of foodiness, or in this case, drinkiness, that has been perpetuated by beverages that claim to make you smarter, faster, or are 'enhanced' with electrolytes and exotic flavors like 'dragonfruit'. All of this, says Wides, is BS. Tune in for a debunking of drinks such as Gatorade, Neuro, Arizona Green Tea and bottled water like Dasani (it's actually just tap water from Atlanta!), all of which waste your body's resources as well as the environment's. So before reach for that next Vitamin Water at the gas station fridge, listen up and get real about hydration. This episode is sponsored by Fairway Market.

Nick Agneta, Architect