Edible Indy Fall 2017 | No. 26 by Edible Indy

edible INDY

Issue 26

Celebrating the Bounty of Bloomington, Carmel, Columbus, Indianapolis and Beyond

Eat. Drink. Read. Think. Local.

Food Figh ht: The Stru uggle too Con nnect Youth with Real Food d. Andrew Luck | Water | Schoool Luncches Member of Edible Communities

Fall 2017

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Contents '(3$570(176bb 6

CELEBRATING FOOD

10 ON THE ROAD: After a summer spent on and off the road, we decided to take a break from this regular feature for a candid look back at the lunch lady in all her glory 12 DRINK: Salubrious smoothies for every taste 38 NOW IN SEASON: How two brothers are repurposing old shipping containers into hydroponic gardens for local schools 40 FARM: Introducing farm-fresh goodness to the Lake County Juvenile Detention Center 34 AT HOME: Recipes for mouthwatering lunches 48 LAST BITE: Same meal, different plates

FEATURES 14 INDIANA SCHOOL LUNCHES: School lunches in Central Indiana and beyond 20 THE FARM-TO-SCHOOL MOVEMENT: What it takes to get locally sourced foods onto the plates of Indiana schoolchildren 27 YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT DRINK: An in-depth look at what’s in the water (and what’s not) 30 NUTRITION AND YOUNG ATHLETES: Insight from Indianapolis Colts Andrew Luck and Anthony Constanza, DV ZHOO DV D WZR WLPH 2O\PSLF 7ULDOV PDUDWKRQ TXDOLŤHU RQ KRZ EHVW WR IXHO WRGD\ŅV \RXQJHVW DWKOHWHV

RECIPES 32 Sweet Potato with Almond Granola 34 Chicken Curry Noodle Salad with Peanut Sauce 35 Bison Taco Hand Pie with Cilantro Cream Barley 35 Black Bean and Corn Salad 36 Chicken Souvlaki Kebabs with Naan Bread and Cucumber Greek Dip 36 Almond Butter Protein Balls 37 Roasted Tomato Basil Soup with Avocado Grilled Cheese Croutons 37 Mini Grilled Fruit Salsa Goat Cheese Shells Also in this issue, a guide to garden grants for local schools.

Cover photography by Heather Schrock, This page photography by Jennifer L. Rubenstein edibleINDY.com

Hoosier Thoughts

eaching our children about eating well is high on our list. Everyone needs to know the importance of what is in their food and where it comes from, how it affects their brain and body and, most importantly, how everyone deserves to eat clean, fresh and local meals, daily. Our oldest daughter goes to a public school where they have what they consider healthy food programs, yet nacho cheese in a can is still an option, teaching gardens sit empty and drinking water not as readily as available as it should be. This infuriates every bone in our bodies. Food is medicine. It is brain food. It is the base to make our world a better, brighter, place. As you read through this issue you will see the struggle is in our backyard and that progress and solutions to make this community more healthy can happen. It is in our hands to make a difference. It is in our hands to provide these youths with guidance, confidence and the tools to lead this change, but it starts with us. This is our 2017 social justice issue: Food Fight. Exploring the struggle to connect youth with real food. Hoosier Hugs,

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PUBLISHER: Rubenstein Hills LLC EDITOR IN CHIEF; Jennifer Rubenstein CFO: Jeff Rubenstein MANAGING EDITOR: Shauna L. Nosler DIGITAL CONTENT MANAGER & EDITOR: Rachel D. Russell COPY EDITOR: Doug Adrianson DESIGNER: Cheryl Angelina Koehler WEB DESIGNER: Edible Feast STAFF Caryn Scheving, Graphics Heather Shrock, Photographer Brogan Dearinger, Intern Sarah Longenecker, Intern

Jennifer and Jeff

Letter from the editor

hile researching this month’s feature H20, I learned some startling facts. Perhaps the most shocking is this: Every year, the average American uses 167 disposable plastic water bottles … by the time they reach 75 years of age, that same average American will have gone through more than 12,000 bottles. And of those 12,000 water bottles, more than 9,000 will end up in landfills or our oceans—why? Many people don’t recycle and, unfortunately, not all plastic is recyclable. According to the EPA, each week Americans buy enough plastic water bottles to circle the Earth five times—yeah, FIVE TIMES! Unfathomable, if you ask me. Still, we continue to buy. But what if we didn’t. What if everyone had their own “water” bottle and were disciplined enough to fill those bottles from refilling stations (similar to water fountains) … stations that we, as consumers, as Americans, as concerned individuals, should call for in our public buildings, including our schools. Last month, I took my oldest daughter to college in Iowa. And while I was there I did what most parents do when they drop their child off: checked into the dorm, moved furniture around, got to know the city and shopped for necessities—none of which were disposable water bottles. Why? Because the university has refill stations throughout campus. She is a student athlete and drinks more water than most, but it’s nice to know she’s part of a generation that’s learning to reuse rather than toss out. Who knows, maybe by the time she’s 75, the average American won’t use any disposable plastic water bottles at all—wouldn’t that be something?! I hope you’ll join me and consider banning disposable water bottles from your daily life … drink up! Just please, do so responsibly.

Shauna

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Celebrating the Bounty of Bloomington, Carmel, Columbus, Indianapolis and Beyond

Central Indiana Craft Beer Guide

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EDIBLE INDY TEST KITCHEN SPONSOR Market District CONTACT US Edible Indy PO Box 155 Zionsville, Indiana 46077 317.489.9194 info@edibleindy.com Edible Indy is published quarterly (March, May, September and November). Distributed throughout central Indiana and by subscription elsewhere. Subscriptions are $32 for one year and can be purchased online at EdibleIndy.com or by check to the address above. Every effort is made to avoid errors, misspellings and omissions. If, however, an error comes to your attention, then you probably have not had enough wine with your healthy food. Please accept our sincere apologies and, if it’s important, please notify us! Thank you.

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Edible Contributors As this issue’s focus is youth and food, we asked our regular contributors to share a memory—be it good, bad or indifferent—about the school lunches they once loved, loathed or simply tolerated. Here’s what they had to say:

I packed a sandwich and some snacks in a vintage lunch box almost every day in high school, but I’d always wait in line for French fries. Whenever I did eat school food, I brought my own hot sauce—the food was never flavorful enough. —Brogan Dearinger was our summer editorial intern. She holds a degree in journalism and international studies from IU and hopes to someday be an editor of a travel magazine. By parental edict, my sandwich was always bologna on whole wheat, plus carrots and celery sticks. Nobody wanted to trade sandwiches with me. —Cheryl Angelina Koehler does design work for Edible Indy and eight other Edible Communities magazines and also publishes Edible East Bay from her home in Berkeley, California. She is the author of Touring the Sierra Nevada and has written on food and travel for numerous publications. My favorite school lunch was pizza. Who could resist greasy, rectangle-shaped pepperoni pizza with a carton of warm chocolate milk? But mostly I brought my lunch, which left more money for pencils, notebooks and markers in the school store. School supplies were my real educational passion. —Charity Singleton Craig is a writer, bringing words to life through essays, stories, blog posts and books. She is the author of My Year in Words and coauthor of On Being a Writer. She is regularly published at various venues, including In Touch Magazine and Tweetspeak Poetry. She also is the owner of Frankfort Writers Center, offering writing services and services to writers. @charitysingletoncraig | CharitySingletonCraig.com Up until fifth grade, I walked home for the same lunch every day: soup and sandwich. When my family moved to Indianapolis, a whole new world of midday menu choices opened up via the school cafeteria. —Julie K. Yates is a freelance writer and food blogger from Fishers. She enjoys writing about anything edible as well as sharing the stories of individuals who pursue culinary-related experiences. Enjoying local cuisine while traveling is also a passion. Visit her blogs: YatesYummies.com and OrangesAndAlmonds.com | @YatesYummies My school lunch memories are from the 1960s. My Michigan-rooted family had moved to Florida, so in the lunchroom I encountered strange Southern fare like collard greens and black-eyed peas. All these years later, what I remember most is peanut butter cookies and yeast rolls still warm from the oven. —From his treehouse in Ojai, California, Doug Adrianson handles copy editing for about 30 Edibles all across the U.S. and for other clients. Doug holds a journalism degree from Northwestern University and worked 25 years in daily newspapers, mainly at the Miami Herald and Los Angeles Times. He is also a rite-of-passage guide for teens and adults and teaches the Council communication practice for OjaiFoundation.org and CenterForCouncil.org. 4

edible INDY Fall 2017

Our elementary school started serving lunch when I was in the third grade. There were no lunch menus. You took your chances. You waited in line for your foil-topped tin container. On good days, you opened it and revealed pizza. On bad days, you bit into the pizza and discovered it was a pizza burger. —Lori Darvas is a Carmel-based freelance writer, wife and mother. When she’s not freezing on the spectator side of a soccer field, she can be found cooking, crocheting or spending countless hours browsing the internet. Her freelance career helps her pay at least some of the bills her teenage daughters accrue. Photo: Lori and her dog, Ginger. In junior high I declared to my family “I am vegetarian.” After that, the school lunch meant less to me than ever. I found myself in a pack-and-go world. A hilarious memory I have is the lunch lady saying “Can’t you just pick the sausage off of the pizza?”— When not spending time with friends and family, writing, hanging out at gyms or practicing law, Rachel Russell manages and edits Edible Indy’s digital world. She is crazy about parks and the outdoors. She is a 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher, has her cycle certification and her Zumba® license. Photo: Rachel with her cousin, Kait. @rachelgetsindy | RachelGetsIndy.com I still remember when they added chocolate shakes to our school and all the rave was dipping fries in the shake ... and that was daring! Oh, the simplicity of food back then. —Jennifer Rubenstein, Publisher, Edible Indy | @edibleindyjenn Goulosh. Read my piece on The Lunch Lady and you’ll understand. —Shauna Nosler is a freelance writer and contributing editor for many organizations including USA Track & Field, the Indianapolis Star and the national news organization U.S. News & World Report. A fledgling pescetarian, she’s passionate about the oceans and all sealife and as the managing editor for Edible Indy, she’s determined to help Hoosiers eat more seafood. PHOTO: Shauna and her son, Maximus. @shaunanosler | ShaunaNosler.com |TheMidwestMermaid.com Not pictured: Sarah Longenecker, our other summer intern whose lovely photos grace many pages of this issue. Sarah is a senior at Eastern Mennonite University in Virginia. Heather Schrock. A freelance photographer and regular contributor to Edible Indy—credit the cover photo to her amazing talents. +HDWKHU6FKURFN FRP _ #KHDWKHUDVFKURFNb

Sample, Sip, and Savor all that Indiana has to offer.

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Edible Indy celebrates food and you. Food + Social Media = Our Foodie Party. These social media shoutouts toast the food we love, the food you share and the joy of experiencing something new. Tag #EDIBLEINDY and maybe your masterpiece will score a seat at our Celebrating Food table.

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Real Food for Indiana Youth: Edible Indy &UHDWHV D 1RQSURŤW 2UJDQL]DWLRQ By Jennifer L. Rubenstein

fter four years of telling the real stories of our food community, my husband and I are excited to introduce our new nonprofit organization: the Edible Indy Foundation. This foundation is our continued commitment to connect Indiana youth with real food.

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Edible Indy Foundation Manifesto We believe all children are entitled to sustainable and nourishing food. Yet in Indiana, one youth in five goes hungry on a regular basis and 432,000 rely on a free or reduced-price lunch program—in the Indianapolis Public Schools, 77 percent of students fall into this category. We believe all youth should have empowering opportunities that include education on growing, producing and developing foods that can nourish the whole self. We will help Indiana’s youth learn where real food comes from and the impact it has on their daily life. We believe food is medicine and poor nutrition impacts childhood behavior, development and growth. Feeding Indiana’s future generations with knowledge will grow the minds, bodies and communities of the future. We will work directly with individuals, communities and organizations statewide to access available opportunities that reach the minds of Indiana’s youth. The core strategy of our foundation is to provide micro-grants and resources to further these goals. ——— In early 2018, the foundation will launch its grant application program via the Edible Indy website. To learn more about the foundation you can find us on Facebook and Instagram @edibleindyfoundation or feel free to reach out via email to jennifer@edibleindy.com. In fulfilling the mission of this foundation, we invite you to join us and Pia Urban Café in a paella pop-up dinner benefiting Outreach Inc., Hope for the Homeless, on Thursday, October 26, 2017. Maria Bertram, owner of Pia Urban Café, and her father, José Cartagena will cook up an authentic Puerto Rican paella dinner. José will transport his family paella recipe and paella pan from Puerto Rico for this one-of-a-kind dinner that will include mojitos, a lesson on making the famous dish for a crowd, plus a few other surprises! José, a retired professor and college president, now spends his time investing in the community where he lives in Puerto Rico. Paella is a traditional meal for many of the people who live near Pia Urban Café. By supporting this dinner not only will you get a delicious meal, but you will also help feed the homeless. The proceeds from this event will directly fund Outreach, a faith-based nonprofit organization in Indianapolis. Outreach serves homeless youth between the ages of 14 and 24 through their drop-in center and high school program. Outreach is committed to helping Indiana’s youth experience positive life transformation and achieve stability. Tickets are limited for this event, so grab them while you can!

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Digging in the Dirt Helps Kids Develop Healthy Habits By Shauna L. Nosler | Photos courtesy Joris Van Zeghbroeck, Garden Educator, Big Green Indianapolis

ig Green Indianapolis, formerly The Kitchen Community, is on a mission to strengthen communities by accelerating the real-food movement. One of the ways they’re doing this is by introducing Learning Gardens to local schools. The actual gardens are modular raised beds standing 19 inches tall, so kids are eye level with the plants growing in the edible gardens. Established in underserved schools throughout the U.S., Indianapolis is the sixth city to launch the program.

Edible Indy: What is a Learning Garden? Theresa Vernon, Regional Director, Big Green Indianapolis: Learning Gardens are outdoor classrooms where teachers inspire students to engage in creative learning. Our mission is to connect children to real food—food that nourishes the body, nourishes the producer and nourishes the planet—encouraging them to make healthier food choices. There’s no better way to do that than handson learning in a Learning Garden. EI: Are there any gardens “up and running” here yet? Vernon: Since November we’ve built 20 Learning Gardens in the IPS and Beech Grove City districts and have 10 slated for fall, all in the Metropolitan School District of Warren and Metropolitan School District of Wayne. EI: How’s the support been? Vernon: Support to launch in Indianapolis was overwhelming— from Mayor Hogsett’s office to the school districts and the city’s philanthropic community. The Herbert Simon Family Foundation pledged to match dollar for dollar any funds brought in to help us reach our 2020 goal. EI: That’s amazing! What about the schools? What’s their response? Vernon: Here’s what the schools are saying: “Hopefully, the idea of a Learning Garden and outdoor growing and outdoor learning will just become the norm for so many of our elementary schools here in the city,” says Cold Springs School Assistant Principal Tom Hakim. “It could have a potentially a huge impact.” “The Learning Garden is a godsend for our pre-kindergarten through sixth-grade students,” says Stacy Coleman, principal at William McKinley School 39. “Roughly 85 percent qualify to receive free or reduced-price lunch and many don’t have access to fresh food at home.” Want to start a Learning Garden of your own? Learn more about Big Green Indianapolis and read the full interview with Vernon on EdibleIndy.com. 8

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Why I don’t eat sandwiches

Lasting Lunch Lady Impressions By Shauna L. Nosler | Photos by Jennifer Rubenstein

’ve never been a fan of lunch, mostly (although I’m sure there are other reasons) because of the lunch lady who ran the kitchen in my elementary school and her unforgiving fingers—or, to be more precise, her fingertips. She was nice enough, I suppose, although I can’t recall any meaningful conversations with her. I imagine most of our interactions consisted of her holding out a spoon and me responding with a carefully thought-out “yes, please” or “no, thank you,” depending on what was dripping from the end of said spoon. Still, like I said, she was nice enough. I mean, I don’t have any strange or scary memories of run-ins with her or any of the women who made my midday meal, Monday through Friday, September through June, year after year … but … she did leave a lasting impression (so to speak) on me and literally shaped eating habits that have stuck with me all these years, at least when it comes to lunch. Because of the lunch lady, I don’t eat sandwiches. Well, that’s not entirely true—as an adult I have been put in situations (company lunches, for example) where cold cuts and sourdough bread were served, and forced my way through at least part of the premade

edible INDY Fall 2017

concoction. But for the most part, I don’t eat sandwiches unless, that is, a paycheck is on the line. I haven’t always been like this. Before the lunch lady made her lasting impression on my young self, I used to love ham and Swiss on pumpernickel. And truth be known, every now and then I sort of crave one. But nowadays I don’t eat ham, so the sensation of sinking my teeth into the dark German bread layered with thick slices of ham and Swiss is nothing more than a childhood memory. See, because of the lunch lady, rather than eat PB&J like most American children, I used to eat goulash. Instead of turkey on rye, I ate spaghetti. And on meatloaf day, I was the only child with a knife and fork in hand rather than the alternative ham and American cheese hoagie. Yes, on that fateful day in second grade, when I looked at the sandwich on my lunch tray and there, deeply imbedded in the top slice of balloonish-style white bread, were the lunch lady’s fingerprints. Ever since then, I have steered clear of sandwiches. And so, to this day, I still find lunchtime a challenge. Thank God for salads. And goulash, of course.

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Drinks

8ĒU_Vġ Z_ R 8]Rġ Recipes courtesy of Natural Born Juicers Photography by Sarah Longenecker

EYV 7ĒUZV Makes 1 serving ½ avocado Small handful of spinach 1 teaspoon hemp seed ½ teaspoon coconut oil 1 frozen banana 2 tablespoons maple syrup 1 cup oat straw nettle infusion*

Blend all ingredients until smooth.

* To make the oat straw nettle infusion, boil 1 cup water and pour over 1 teaspoon nettles and 1 teaspoon oat straw per serving. Let cool overnight and serve cold.

The Athlete Makes 1 serving 1 cup cashew milk* 1 frozen banana 4 frozen strawberries 1 tablespoon almond butter ½ teaspoon coconut oil WDEOHVSRRQ KHPS SURWHLQb 1 tablespoon honey (or to taste)

The Adventurist Makes 2 servings 1 cup carrot juice 1 Thai coconut* 2 teaspoons coconut oil 2 frozen bananas 1 cup frozen mango Blend until smooth.

edible INDY Fall 2017

Blend until smooth. * To make 1 cup cashew milk, soak 1 handful cashews in water to cover for 30 minutes. Rinse and blend with 8 ounces water until smooth.

* Thai coconuts are easy to work with. Start by hacking open a square at the top of the coconut and strain the coconut water out into a jar. Use the water to thin the smoothies as needed, then save or drink the rest! Crack open the whole coconut using the bottom of a large knife blade. Scrape meat out with a spoon, making sure you pick off and discard any hard pieces of shell that come with it. Add the coconut meat to the blender to make your smoothies.

Healthy smoothies for a healthy life

Dare to try something different Most of the fun of traveling is trying new restaurants. Here in Hamilton County, bold tastemakers are changing the local dining landscape. From seasonal apple and pumpkin treats to nontraditional breakfast dishes, and bigger-than-the-bun breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches to pirate and barbecue fusion, you’re going to like what Hamilton County has on the menu.

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The proof’s in the pudding, but the pudding is whole grain, and nobody likes it

The School Lunch Tray By Rachel D. Russell with contributions by Shauna L. Nosler

edible INDY Fall 2017

he American school lunch … it’s been riddled with stigma since inception. Does anyone else remember the chili on Monday that became the hot dog topping on Tuesday and then the nacho condiment on Wednesday? How about the mixed vegetables that were clearly mechanically forged into perfect squares, the slimy canned pears that came in two halves or the pizza crust that was reminiscent of cardboard with cheese that seemed to melt in one sheet? Chances are, if you went to school in the U.S., you remember, like I do, those less-than-palatable lunches. And now, not only do many school lunches taste and look bad, most of it isn’t good for you, either. “You are what you eat.” —Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

So what’s a country to do? Nutrition standards for school meals are set by the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program (NSLP). Established by the USDA, and signed into effect by President Truman, the program went through a major facelift, including many substantive changes, in 2012. The essence of the changes came down to this (the rule is almost 80 pages and received almost 65,000 public comments before it was published so I’ve cut to the chase): This rule requires most schools to increase the availability of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fat-free and low-fat fluid milk in school meals; reduce the levels of sodium, saturated fat and trans fat in meals; and meet the nutrition needs of school children within their calorie requirements. These improvements to the school meal programs, largely based on recommendations made by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, are expected to enhance the diet and health of school children, and help mitigate the childhood obesity trend. The changes were motivated by programs like First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign and the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA), both in 2010, which were established to promote good eating habits early in life and to fight our nation’s childhood obesity problem—according to the American Heart Association, between 1971 and 2011 childhood obesity prevalence tripled. But while we all appreciate the need for change, change never comes easy. Under the rules, states maintain control about what specific foods to serve, so they can create their own menus and can determine, for the most part, how to serve those items … as long as they follow rule requirements. There are resources available to schools on how to meet these requirements via webinars and conferences and info at ChooseMyPlate.org, but the ubiquitous struggle to deliver it all within cost parameters while still meeting nutritious requirements is tough.

“ The National School Lunch * |o \y q \ nigi \· \¸q ig meal program operating in over 100,000 public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions. It provided z q q|z\· d\x\zeigÉ x| çe| or free lunches to more than ½» yq·q|z epqxg iz i\ep ep||x g\ qz ¼º»¼Ì z »ÃÃÂÉ |zo i¸ expanded the National School Lunch Program to include reimbursement for snacks served to children in after-school educational and enrichment programs to include children through 18 years of age.” —National School Lunch Program fact sheet

What’s in a menu Meals have to be exciting, but they also have to taste good while adhering NSLP standards, including daily and weekly minimum requirements for fruits, vegetables, grains, meat or meat alternate and milk, as well as weekly minimum requirements for dark green veggies, red-orange veggies, legumes and starches. Additionally, there are calorie, fat and sodium limits. (Mind you, some of the requirements will take time to come into effect—like sodium reduction, which has a timeframe extending all the way out until 2023 before the needed reductions are fully made.) Like most federal programs, if you want federal dollars you need to follow requirements. And schools in the Hoosier State—like the other 49 states— want and need those dollars. The Indiana Department of Education’s Division of School and Community Nutrition Programs is in charge of following the NSLP. But helping schools around the state follow the requirements, and schools actually being able to do so, isn’t easy. edibleINDY.com

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“It is an incredible challenge to come up with healthy food items that meet my standard as a registered dietitian, meet the requirements the government has set and gets the kids’ approval,” says Elizabeth Edwards, school nutrition director for a consortium of five pre-K through eighth-grade schools in Indianapolis. But, admits Edwards, her standards are different than many others working in her same role for neighboring districts. “I know several other RDs (registered dietitians) working as directors who do not have the desire to change and or see the need for change or reform to the school food programs.” Edwards points to the amount of sugar kids are served in a typical school breakfast and says she can’t comprehend how any RD can be OK with it. “A grainbased sugar-added entrée, side of fruit or raisins, an OJ and chocolate milk is a despicable amount of sugar,” she said, adding that it’s not her intent to blast other RDs directly or indirectly, but rather to set a high standard herself and lead by example. Of course finding healthier alternatives kids will eat isn’t an easy task. “It’s probably no surprise,” she says, “that fresh, raw vegetables are a tough sell, but so are most dishes that aren’t a hot dog, pizza or nachos. I’ve had many recipes I thought would be a hit that ended up being flops.” Along with the issue of taste, Edwards and her fellow RDs face massive budgetary restraints. “Many new recipes fail when I cost them out,” she says. “We have very limited funding. Last school year, for each student qualifying for free meals, we received $3.22 in reimbursement per lunch, $2.04 per breakfast and $0.86 per snack.” And those amounts, she says, are all the maximum reimbursement allowed. “This reimbursement is the only income we receive—school nutrition programs are almost always separate from the school [budget] and operate on their own.” To make it even tougher, some schools aren’t even getting the funds they deserve. In October 2015, the School Nutrition Association in conjunction with the School Superintendents Association penned a letter to Congress stating “school districts do not receive the full reimbursement from the USDA for the increased costs associated with the new meal standards.” (The requirements added $0.10 to the cost of lunch and $0.27 cents to breakfast, but schools reported only receiving $0.06 per lunch and nothing for breakfast.) And the challenges for states and schools isn’t the only issue—what about the students?

qni \n i zi xi The website DoSomething.org asked American students to upload their lunch photo, name it and answer a survey about what they thought of the meal quality. They could vote on their lunch with “eat it” or “toss it,” and they could also vote on others’ submitted lunch photos in the same way. Out of this useful social experiment—these are the people who actually eat school lunches, after all—a report was compiled. You can, and you should, go to the website and read it, but the most important facts are these: 70 percent of all school meals were determined to be “trashworthy by users” and 57 percent of what students considered nutritious meals were voted as “eat it.” And to be fair, rule changes were still being rolled out as the 576,846 votes were being cast, and not everything students had to say was bad. There was someone who called their lunch “the heaven bowl,” but in the end it’s hard to see past the posts or indiscernible eats with titles like “road kill patty” and “pork slop.” (What about the “pizza puck”? … that’s what one of my friends called it in high school.) 16

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Another obvious problem facing states and schools, including menu planners like Edwards, isn’t just the cost of school lunches, it’s food waste. Under the new rules, the goal is to offer kids more nutritious foods, not just serve them. Schools call it “Offer versus Serve (OVS),” with the idea of keeping waste down. Yes, the school lunches provided today are healthier than the ones provided 10 years ago, but just because they’re healthier doesn’t mean they’re being eaten. A study by the Harvard School of Public Health estimates since the induction of the HHFKA, roughly 56 percent more food is being thrown away. And some blame the new requirements for creating what they call unpalatable lunches (remember that pork slop?). In April of this year, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue signed a proclamation to do away with the “healthy federal school lunch standards set in place by the Obama administration.” “This announcement,” said Perdue, “is the result of years of feedback from students, schools and food service experts about the challenges they are facing in meeting the final regulations for school meals … if kids aren’t eating it then it’s defeating the purpose.” In a follow up, the Agriculture Department released a statement declaring its desire to restore local control of guidelines on whole grain, sodium and milk.

-|yi \ zá d qx qz \ g\ \zg ziq pi \ the school lunch While school lunches still don’t meet the nutritional standards nearly most of us wish they would, there are organizations that care and are doing their part to improve the school lunch scene as well as the food mindset of children. I’ve written about the Patachou Foundation, which focuses on feeding food insecure children wholesome meals and creating healthy habits. And in this issue you’ll read about Earthonauts, a program dedicated to teaching at-risk youth the importance of good food. And we’ve included an entire section on food grants available to schools. Also, there are many school gardens throughout the state, which you may be lucky enough to see on your drive to work or at your child’s school, and The Indiana and National Farm to School Networks are there to help with toolkits about local food sourcing in schools, which can be found on their websites. The School Nutrition Association, a nonprofit dedicated to “advancing the quality of school meal programs through education and advocacy,” is also trying to do its part. These are just a few organizations that want kids to eat good food. If I could sit down with Harry Truman right now, I wonder what he would say about where the school lunch program has been and where it’s going. Some questions that come to mind: Should the federal government define school lunches? Should schools take more responsibility in teaching our youth how to eat properly? Should school meals adhere to strict nutritional guidelines? And what are those guidelines? The questions are endless, but bottom line, while well-meaning parents, educators, nutritionists and even politicians can and do fall on both sides of the school lunch debate, we all need to come together and ultimately decide what’s best for our children is good, healthy food, and somehow, someway we need to make sure they’re getting it.

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i i\ epig pi \y| z |n hashtags dedicated to school x zepi É \ \y\ igÉ piz p| qnqigÌ | qnqig \ p| |yi |n pi yi qe\z n||g service companies felt pride in p\ pi i i i qzoÉ pqep \ \xy| zqgiz qnq\dxi | y i i Ì *i p\ pq e|·\oi |n p| | q· e\ i iz| op | nqop n| Ë i\xn||g n| \· our children. Speak up, you can make a difference. —Jennifer L. Rubenstein, Publisher

@ nick_disessa_182

i \oi yi qe\z .ep||x zepi @nick_disessa_182 captioned this photo “I’m a 180lb. athlete. This isn’t even half of what my lunch should be.” and added #schoollunchsucks @southpanola_foodservice

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@schoolfoodrocks captioned their photo, “Did you know that all Greenville County Schools locations offer a Soup and Salad Bar with Scratch-Made Soup every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday? This is #RealSchoolFood done right.”

@Brigaid says, “Learn more at ChefsBrigAid.com”

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Brazil’s program is the second-largest in the world, serving 42 million Brazilian children. By amendment in 2006, the right to food is now explicitly recognized in the Brazilian Constitution as a constitutional human right. And in 2009, the government passed a law requiring cities spend at least 30 percent of their budget for school meals on produce from family farmers. But, there are quite a few government requirements that have to be run with grace, and not everyone is able to accomplish this. Overall, Brazil has moved itself up when it comes to feeding programs and it can’t be just luck. A sample school meal in Brazil includes items like pork with mixed veggies, black beans and rice, salad, bread and baked plantains.

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Schools in France are required to have food and nutrition as part of the curriculum. School lunch menus are rotated every two weeks, the only recommended beverage is water, red meat is only in four out of 20 meals and vending machines do not exist or are banned from school premises. The European Commission put together School Food Policy Fact Sheets for each European country and the last ones were published in 2011. If you want to drown in depression from how good French kids have it at lunch compared to American kids, visit KarenLeBillon. com and see how great they eat.

I stumbled upon MyKoreanSchoolLunch.tumblr.com, a blog by an English teacher living abroad in South Korea who documented several of the school lunches they were served from a period of about 2010–13. School lunches IHDWXUHG LWHPV OLNH VRXS ZLWK SHUKDSV ŤVK IRU H[DPSOH tofu, rice, potstickers, fresh veggies, something fried (yet small) and almost every meal had kimchi (which has been proven to be good for many aspects of health).

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Can Indiana schools provide fresh, local, seasonal food to students?

=`TRĈj D`fcTVU DTYĒ] =f_TYVd By Charity Singleton Craig | Photography courtesy of Conscious Kitchen

chool lunches have a bad reputation. Just ask my teenage sons. The meat looks suspicious, the vegetables are overcooked and even the “normal” food, like pizza or tacos, doesn’t look all that normal. Tacos in a bag? Rectangle pizza? And that’s saying nothing about the nutritional value. If a school lunch doesn’t look or taste good, how can it be healthy—especially if it comes from a freezer with no clues to its origin? Here’s a thought: what if the food served in schools was grown and produced locally? Certainly, that would be healthier, and it seems like an easy enough concept. But is it?

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4R]ZW`c_ZR dVcgVd eYV T`f_ecj¦d «cde `cXR_ZT dTYĒ] ]f_TY Conscious Kitchen, a Sausalito, California, nonprofit, began as an offshoot of the student-led activist group Turning Green. Founded by Judi Shils, the group is comprised primarily of college students, who became engaged in sustainability causes around the world. “A board member said we’d lost our footing in our own community,” Shils explains, and that led them to consider the food being served in their local public schools. Hence, Conscious Kitchen was born.

In the beginning, Conscious Kitchen partnered with wellknown chefs in the Bay Area to organize Eco Top Chef competitions in local middle schools. The goal was to create a meal costing $2.25 or less per person, which follows the Conscious Kitchen’s five guiding principles, FLOSN: fresh, local, organic, seasonal and non-GMO. “Everyone looked at me like I was out of my mind,” Shils says. But during the events, the chefs created good meals with budgetary constraints and within the guidelines. And the students, says Shils, were “in heaven.” The chefs also made enough food for the parents and administrators to try, and everyone loved it. It was then, Shills says, they knew they were onto something and soon, a one-week pilot program was born where chef Justin Everett prepared and served an entirely FLOSN menu for Bayside MLK Jr. Academy’s 156 students. That successful week prompted the school superintendent to give the Conscious Kitchen program a green light, and Bayside MLK began offering an entirely FLOSN menu. Within a couple of years, Conscious Kitchen expanded to Willow Creek Academy, a public charter school with 350 students in grades K–8, and soon after, the Sausalito Marin City School District became the first in the country with an organic lunch. This year, Conscious Kitchen is partnering with Good Earth Natural Foods School Lunch Program to provide FLOSN meals to 14 additional Marin County Schools. In addition, two schools in the West Contra Costa Unified School District have committed to work with Conscious Kitchen during the 2017–18 school year.

2cV ]`TRĈj d`fcTVU ]f_TYVd Rô`cURS]V0 One of the biggest hurdles Shils has had to overcome is cost. “I’m tired of hearing that it’s unaffordable, particularly from moms,” she says. All the schools she works with are public schools where some, if not all, of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches. According to the Conscious Kitchen website, the program serves two meals cooked from scratch each day at a cost to students of $1.35 for breakfast and $2.85 for lunch. During our interview, Shils said the actual cost to prepare a lunch is closer to $4.50. Since the USDA reimburses only up to $3.33 for lunch and $2.04 for breakfast for children on the free and reduced-price program, schools have to make up the difference with fundraising, increased participation by children who can afford to pay or other school budget allocations. “But we can’t afford not to do this,” Shils says. “Our food elevates the children. It levels the playing field. If they can’t think and are sick, they aren’t going to do anything in life.” But that’s California. Would such a program work in the Midwest? Shils says yes. “How will we do it in Iowa or Indiana?” she asks. “Everything’s not going to be perfect. If cost is a problem, we have to figure out how to get around it. But I believe where there is a will there’s a way. We have to figure out how to get there.” What if a school wants to commit to some of the FLOSN principles, but doesn’t believe they can get the buy-in of school administrators or can’t afford to follow the guidelines completely? For Shils, modifying the local, seasonal and fresh guidelines may be necessary when working in parts of the country that don’t have as much agriculture or have shorter growing seasons. But the organic principles are non-negotiable.

HR_e e` dVcgV WcVdY ]`TR] WĒUd Z_ j`fc dTYĒ]0 Shils recommends beginning with an assessment of your school’s current program by asking: •

What are the costs?

•

How many children are paying full price?

•

How many receive free or reduced-price meals?

•

What food is currently being served?

Then, to successfully transition to your new lunch program, you need to get everyone on board: administrators, parents, local producers and especially food service directors, which Shils says often are the hardest to convince. She suggests organizing a food council of others interested in helping win support from key stakeholders. Next, identify your school’s priorities and establish one or two goals. The IFSN suggests identifying menu items you’d like to WUDQVLWLRQ WR ORFDO SURGXFWV DQG ŤQGLQJ D IDUPHU RU GLVWULEXWRU WR connect you to local items. Finally, implement your program by pooling resources, planning for potential roadblocks, following procurement guidelines and possibly even organizing fundraisers to help cover transition costs. Also, host a tasting event, sponsor an eco-chef contest or test your program with one meal or a week of meals to give everyone a chance to interact with the food and get a sense of what a better school lunch program could look like. While Conscious Kitchen currently exists only in California, Shils hopes to establish a nationwide network of schools that model a FLOSN meal program. Contact Conscious Kitchen through ConsciousKitchen.org for more information. You can also contact the Indiana Farm-to-School Network, FarmToSchool.org/ our-network/Indiana, to learn about Hoosier schools that provide locally sourced, healthy lunches for kids.

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“There’s no compromise,” Shils says. “We might not be for every school. Other companies might be a better fit. But I don’t work with schools who don’t go all out.”

4R_ hV U` eYZd Z_ :_UZR_R0 The Indiana Farm to School Network (IFSN) offers a different approach to providing a locally sourced, healthy lunch for kids. Rather than mandate specific guidelines for what public schools should serve (beyond the USDA requirements), the IFSN acts as a support system to help local farms, markets and schools work together to better the health of children, farms, communities, the environment and the economy. But strictly regulated procurement rules prohibit food service directors from exploring purchases from local farmers. Still, the IFSN compiles lists of certified local growers and producers, provides procurement guidance for the informal and micro buying programs that making buying from local farms easier and offers training for food service directors and employees to help them create menus using fresh, local products.

3fe hZĈ TYZ]UcV_ VRe WcVdY ]`TR] WĒU hYV_ Ze¦d dVcgVU0 According to Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) Wellness Specialist Maggie Schabel, the first step many schools take toward transforming their lunch program is to offer tasting events, where farmers are invited in to talk about local products and children are given the opportunity to try them. In addition, educating students about growing methods and the nutritional value of a vegetable or fruit, and possibly even allowing them to grow it in a school garden, makes them more willing to try new things, Schabel says. Purdue University Urban Garden Program Manager Ginny Roberts recommends schools introduce a farm-to-school meal program by introducing one fresh, local food at a time, rather than 22

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trying to transform the whole plate. Jessica Smith, whose This Old Farm food hub provides locally raised and processed meats to schools, echoed the sentiment. She often suggests schools start with one meal a month, then one meal a week, and so on, rather than attempting to go all in from the start. “If the goal is 100 percent, they’d quickly find failure and stop altogether,” she says. “Instead, they should look for progress along the way. In a sense, each introduction to connection with the land for these —Judi Shils kids is a success.” And schools are beginning to make progress. Logansport Community School Corporation served kale smoothies on their lunch line during the 2015 Farm to School Month with kale grown in their school gardens and based on recipes developed by the high school culinary class. Bartholomew Consolidated Schools use a variety of fresh, local produce from local farmers, orchards and their own school gardens in their cafeteria serving lines. And this past year, Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation students raised their own cows, took them to This Old Farm for processing and used the meat in the school cafeterias. Whether Indiana schools eventually achieve Shils’ FLOSN guidelines or simply help kids understand how to make better food choices, providing a locally sourced, healthy lunch in our public schools goes beyond logistics. “It’s bigger than food,” Shils says. “Really, it’s about everything. We’re raising a new generation of school leaders with a different mindset who are more open to new ideas.”

“We’re raising a new generation of school leaders with a different mindset who are more open to new ideas.”

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Photography courtesy of Haws®

What’s one thing we can’t live without? Hint: it’s not Facebook

HĀO By Shauna L. Nosler

Water.

We cannot survive without it. Humans need it. Animals need it. Plants need it. Our planet needs it. Water comprises 55 to 75 percent of our body weight and covers just over 70 percent of the Earth’s surface. But, like the air we breathe, it’s something we often take for granted. Yet it’s an essential component to our physical and mental well-being, and more than anything else we consume, it can affect our health and overall functioning—adversely when we don’t get enough. And unfortunately, most of us aren’t drinking enough. Water makes your body work more efficiently. It regulates body temperature, carries oxygen and vital nutrients to cells and takes away waste (like excess sodium). Water hydrates our eyes, nose and mouth, keeps our joints properly lubricated and helps preserve blood volume. Along with being good for our body, water’s good for our mind. The brain is 73 percent water, and insufficient hydration can adversely affect mental health including cognitive functioning and overall disposition, especially in children. And water’s good for the pocketbook too. Not only is it calorie-free, caffeine-free and sugar-free … here in the U.S., it is often available for free. Of course not all water is created the same and just because it’s free doesn’t mean it’s good. In December 2010, the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act was signed into law by President Obama. Among other requirements, the act calls for all schools to provide access to free drinking water during mealtimes, but the act doesn’t stipulate any specific requirements on water quality nor provide funding for the mandate. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),

Under the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, schools must make free potable water available where meals are served. No other federal regulations address accessibility of water on school campuses.

however, recommends schools do a little bit more by allowing students to have water bottles in class or go to the water fountain when needed. Additionally, the CDC proposes schools provide access to clean, properly maintained water fountains (or other hydration stations) throughout the school—not just where meals are served.

Are water fountains the answer? The International Plumbing Code thinks water fountains are, well, out of style. In their 2015 manual— followed by most all U.S. city planners—the authors recommend cutting the number of water fountains installed in new buildings by half. And although they only made this recommendation a few years ago, some builders have been steering away from water fountains for a while now. In 2007, when the University of Central Florida built a 45,000-seat stadium, they didn’t put in one water fountain. Not one! The school claimed the fountains were too expensive and instead sold water bottles for $3 apiece. On opening day, temperatures soared, vendors ran out of water and 60 people were treated for heat-related illnesses. Consequently, the university installed 50 drinking fountains. Fortunately, the large majority, if not all of Indiana schools have water fountains in school as well as within their football stadiums. But just because there are water fountains doesn’t mean kids drink out of them, nor does it mean the water’s safe to drink. In 2016, a $1.63 million grant provided by the Indiana Finance Authority was awarded to the Indiana Geological Survey to help test water in schools. Currently, there are over 700 edibleINDY.com

public schools where water samples from drinking fountains, kitchen sinks and other fixtures are being tested for lead and other contaminations. Once data is compiled, state officials will compare measurements against the Environmental Protection Agency’s lead action levels and make recommendations to schools on whether drinking fountains need to be removed, replaced or refurbished—but the cost burden rests solely on the schools. As it stands right now, they will not receive funding to help cover replacement or repair. But do kids drink from water fountains? I asked a few schoolaged kids, “Do you use the water fountains at school?” Their responses are mixed. “Yeah, but I let it run for five seconds to make sure whatever was on there is no longer on there. And it has to get cold.” “No way. There’s too much black and green stuff around the faucet part.” “No. Not unless I’m really, really thirsty.” “Only certain ones. Everyone knows which ones are OK to drink out of.” “Nope. I mean, I’ll fill my water bottle up with it but I won’t actually drink out of it.” So what are kids drinking if they’re not drinking from water fountains? The good news—until you consider the effects on the environment and landfills—is that some kids are buying plastic water bottles. But the bad news: Far too many are opting for soda, juice or some other kind of high-calorie and often caffeinated beverage. In one CDC report, a researcher stated, “The less young people trust water fountains, the more sugary beverages they drink.” Many experts believe these drinks are a major contributor to childhood obesity as well as diabetes, heart disease and gout. A study by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found kids are 60 percent more likely to be obese if they regularly consume sugary drinks. And, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), one third of all U.S. children and teens are obese. How do we get kids to put down sugary drinks and opt for water? Are drinking fountains the way to go? The AAP thinks so. In a 2009 study, researchers followed 32 elementary schools for one year—17 of the schools had water fountains installed and teachers taught lessons on the importance of water consumption. By the end of the

school year, the risk of becoming overweight was reduced by a whopping 31 percent in the group with the water fountains, leading the AAP to publish an article titled “Water Fountains in School Can Prevent Overweight.” That same study also found water consumption increased when children were given new water bottles.

What about bottled water? In the U.S., bottled water has the second-largest share of the beverage market, beating out both milk and beer. (Coming in first is soda, which is consumed nearly twice as often as bottled water.) Problem is, while we want to encourage people to drink more water—be it from a water fountain or a bottle—the latter has become a huge environmental concern with nearly 80 percent of plastic water bottles ending up in landfills. It takes a lot of oil—as much as it does to fuel 100,000 cars for a year—to create the billions of plastic water bottles Americans use each year, not to mention shipping them all over the world, according to the Earth Policy Institute. These environmental worries have prompted some schools to advocate a ban on one-time-use plastic water bottles and many are installing water fountains that double as filling stations making it easy for students and faculty to continually refill their own personal, reusable container. Similarly, in an effort to cut down on litter that leads to excess waste, 20 national parks, including the Grand Canyon, have banned sales of bottled water. The bottled-water industry is lobbying Congress to overturn the ban. Clearly, the water bottle vs. water fountain debate has many angles and it’s easy to find oneself agreeing, and disagreeing, with issues on both sides. But, one fact remains: Kids need to drink water. A lot of water.

How much water should kids drink? The amount of fluid people need depends on a number of factors: age, weight, gender, activity level, air temperature and humidity. For example, under the guidelines set by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, girls aged 14 to 18 should take in eight cups of fluid each day, where boys in the same age range need 11. And that’s just for the moderately active; increase the activity level and the amount needed significantly increases—especially if activity is strenuous and takes place outside during the summer.

AgeRange Range Age

Gender

4 to 8 years years 99toto1313years

Girls and Boys Girls Girls

5 7

14to to18 18years years 14

Boys Girls

8 8

Boys

Total Water (Cups/Day)

Girls

SOURCE: The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine 28

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photography by Jennifer L. Rubenstein

Total Daily Beverage and Drinking Water Requirements

photography by Jennifer L. Rubenstein

How much does that water you’re drinking cost? In the U.S., drinking your daily eight glasses of tap water costs $0.49 per year—drinking the same amount of bottled water, $1,400. &RPELQHG $TXDŤQD PDUNHWHG E\ 3HSVL&R DQG 'DVDQL PDUNHWHG E\ &RFD &ROD PDNH XS URXJKO\ 25 percent RI DOO ERWWOHG ZDWHU VDOHV ERWK DUH SXULŤHG PXQLFLSDO ZDWHU For $60,000 you can buy a bottle of Acqua di Cristallo—it comes in a 24-karat gold bottle, contains bits of gold dust and is the world’s most expensive bottled water. For that same $60,000, you can purchase 20,067 cases of Crystal Geyser Alpine Spring Water.

But are kids drinking enough? Are they consuming the recommended amounts? Unfortunately, the answer is no. According to a recently released nationwide study by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, more than half of children and teens in the United States are not properly hydrated—and the study suggests this is because they’re not drinking enough water. Which, in theory, is an easy enough issue to fix: Just drink more water. … “Just Do It” like the notorious Nike slogan that prompted many youth and adults alike to get up and get moving. But like exercise, drinking water isn’t always a choice people make—given the choice to get out of bed earlier and hit the road for an early morning run or sleep in, many people choose the latter.

Similarly, given the choice to drink a glass of water or grab a soda, many opt for the soda. And kids … well, it’s hard to blame them for preferring the more enticing and heavily marketed soda or so-called “energy drink.” Bottom line: Proper hydration is both a public and individual health concern. Parents, schools, cities … everyone has a responsibility to make sure clean drinking water is provided throughout the day for all children. And if reeducating people to use water fountains—be it for periodic sips or to refill a reusable bottle—is the key, then we need to do so. Of course the first step, as many would agree, is making sure the water we provide in those fountains is free—free and clear of pollutants as well as free to consume.

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Nutrition and the Young Athlete

POOR CHOICES

GOOD CHOICES

Andrew Luck and Anthony Castonzo’s advice on eating for optimum performance By Shauna L. Nosler | Photography by Jennifer L. Rubenstein 30

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“It’s more than just exercising. It’s what you fuel your body with. It’s what you eat, what you drink, how much sleep you’re getting, what you’re doing to relax.” —Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck

veryone eats. And we are what we eat—or so the saying goes. Of course not literally. I mean I know people who love bananas, but I have yet to see a human turn into a walking, talking banana. Still, the old adage is true. At least in theory. If you eat nutrient-rich whole foods, your body and mind is relatively well-fueled, healthy, strong and full of energy. If you eat dull, insalubrious and unhealthy foods, you’re more likely to be lethargic and lackluster. But knowing the benefits of eating well doesn’t always provide enough motivation to do so, especially for today’s youth, athlete or not. And while proper nutrition is important for everyone—no matter age or activity level—it is especially crucial for young athletes.

Parents play a key position Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck knows all too well how nutrition impacts performance, both on and off the field. “Food,” he says, “can give you an advantage or disadvantage. I know when I’ve had a bad meal and how it makes me feel the next day.” But although Luck ate well as a child, it wasn’t until college that he started to become conscious of the types of foods he ate and the repercussions. “We never talked about nutrition,” he says of his childhood days, partly spent in England and Germany. “Growing up in Europe we ate fewer processed foods, and I was fortunate to have my mom, even subconsciously, put good food on the table.” He and his siblings always ate a good breakfast, had normal paper-bag lunches and ate together as a family whenever possible. Of course by the time he reached high school, eating together became more difficult with he and his siblings involved in different activities—but even so, they still ate wholesome, nutritious meals even if they weren’t always at the same time. Jackie Dikos, a two-time Olympic Trials marathon qualifier and certified specialist in sports nutrition, understands how varied schedules can make cohesive mealtimes difficult, but she says with some advanced planning it can be done. “Forethought is required to have a family meal prepared and timed right to be eaten together instead of piecing together a meal in shifts from the concession stand,” says Dikos. “Convenient purchases such as plain frozen brown rice and preparing ingredients in bulk, such as baked sweet potatoes or hard-boiled eggs, for future use can take some of the pressure off a rushed family mealtime.” But ultimately, at least for the youngest—athlete or not—it’s their parents who play the most important role when it comes to influencing what their child does or does not eat. “We’re all products of our environment,” says Luck, adding he was fortunate to have a mom and dad who didn’t shove the idea of proper nutrition down their throats, but provided it nonetheless.

Dikos echoes the NFL All-Pro quarterback’s observations. “Parents,” she says, “shape the future of their children in so many ways, including food choices. The language parents use when they talk about their own health and weight, family meals, stocking the fridge with healthy options and setting an example by eating healthy foods are just some of the many ways parents impact their children.”

Is breakfast really the most important meal? Similar to Luck, teammate Anthony Castonzo grew up in a family where good, wholesome food—albeit even inadvertently—was almost always on the table. “Mom did a ton of cooking,” says Castonzo of his childhood. “My parents owned a restaurant so we were accustomed to eating a ton of different things … crab legs, steak, pasta … and we had salad with every dinner and lunch.” And like Luck, Castonzo always did, and always does, eat a healthy breakfast. Breakfasts that at times have consisted of a dozen hard-boiled eggs: six whole and six whites only. “As a junior (in high school) I was 6-foot-6, 195 pounds,” says the now 6-foot-7, 311-pound offensive lineman who played both basketball and football in high school, but eventually stopped playing basketball because he’d lose too much weight. “I knew I wanted to play sports in college and knew football was my best shot, so I stopped playing basketball.” Once Castonzo arrived at Boston College, he said he knew he needed to gain weight to be effective in his position on the field, but he also knew he needed to increase muscle mass—not fat. “I was very serious about nutrition,” he said. “You lose mobility if you gain fat.” So Castonzo—although he had guidance and good direction from the athletic department’s strength and conditioning coaches—did his own research and learned what foods to eat, and which ones to avoid. “I was a biochemistry major … I took things I learned in school and formulated a plan. I knew what was good and what wasn’t and learned what I could eat,” he said, adding the most important thing a young athlete can do is to research and understand what they’re eating. Dikos agrees. “Proper nutrition education can be a huge confidence booster for the athlete pressured by weight goals,” says Dikos who recommends athletes speak with a professional trained in sports nutrition to best ensure their diet choices are on par with their goals. “Confident fueling magnifies confident performance,” she says, and working with a trusted source on a customized fueling approach can be liberating for the athlete who experiences anxiety over the number on the scale. edibleINDY.com

4 Tips for Young Athletes When choosing foods to fuel your body for optimum performance, here are four things Dikos recommends for all young athletes:

3XW ZKROH IRRGV ŤUVW Choose fresh and dried fruit, nuts and seeds, lean proteins, beans and lentils, avocado and other whole-food sources over prepackaged counterparts. Plan ahead: Keep the pantry and fridge stocked, prepare food in bulk ahead of time and purchase ingredients such as plain frozen brown rice to keep meal time fresh, nutrient dense and convenient.

Eat balanced meals: Aim for a source of quality carbohydrates, lean protein and healthy fat with meals and snacks as often as possible.

Hydrate: As a sign of proper hydration, urine should be clear or light, not bright, yellow.

“You can’t out train a bad diet.” —Indianapolis Colts’ nutritionist 32

edible INDY Fall 2017

Photo courtesy the Indianapolis Colts

Almond Granola Sweet Potato Recipe and photograph courtesy of Finish Line Fueling Here’s a simple, quick-to-ﬁx option as breakfast, an afternoon treat, or even before a demanding workout or practice. Dikos suggests baking sweet potatoes in advance and storing in the refrigerator to make preparation easy, and fast.

1 large sweet potato baked 1 tablespoon almond butter ¼ cup plain grass-fed, whole milk yogurt ¼ cup buckwheat oat granola* Dashes of cinnamon, nutmeg, or allspice (optional) Drizzle of honey or maple syrup (optional) Salt to taste

Warm a leftover sweet potato in the microwave. (If baking fresh, pre-heat the oven to 425° F. Wash a sweet potato, poke it with a fork on several sides, place on a baking sheet, and bake until it reaches the desired softness.) Slice potato down the center and top with almond butter and any spice desired. Top with yogurt and granola. Serve immediately.

As for breakfast, rather than get too hung up on a specific time when breakfast should be eaten, Dikos suggests viewing it more like a window of time when that first meal shouldn’t be missed. “Breakfast,” she says, “can be used as a tool to support an early morning workout.” But, depending on the athlete, it might be postponed for after the workout and utilized as a post-workout recovery meal. “An athlete with high-energy demands may need to consume virtually two breakfasts, one before the workout and another after,” suggests Dikos. “It supports great training and recovery, mental clarity throughout the day and makes the athlete a better decision maker in the food choices they make throughout the day.”

“Planning ahead is the key to a healthy future for aspiring athletes.” —Jackie Dikos, RD., CSSD., CLT. | NutritionSuccess.org

Improve performance and establish lifelong eating habits Both Luck and Castonzo have been fortunate to have their hard work and athletic prowess award them the opportunity to play a sport they love and turn it into a career—but becoming a professional athlete, or even a collegiate athlete, isn’t a reality for most kids. Which is why it’s so vital that exercise combined with healthy lifelong eating habits be a priority regardless of their future in organized athletics. Through his partnership with Riley Children’s Health and the Change the Play program Luck encourages young people to make good choices about nutrition and exercise—choices that will help shape them into healthy adults. The program challenges youth to “focus on fun ways to learn about exercise and healthy eating, both at school and at home,” says Luck. And fun is key. “If it’s not fun, a kid’s not going to do it.” But, he says, that goes for young athletes as well—they too should enjoy their activities and have fun while playing whatever sport they’re involved in while maintaining balance.

“As an athlete,” says Luck, “you need to look for things that make you better, and moderation is important,” especially, he adds, when making food choices. And it’s that “looking for things that make you better” that can make all the difference in a young athlete’s performance, which is why Castonzo’s advice when it comes to nutrition is equally simple. “Educate yourself,” he says. “Find out what’s in the food and how it affects your body. “In the off season, I used to watch some of the young guys at the IMG Academy who were there training for the Combine. Some were so diligent with their diet,” he says. “Others, not so much.” And of the guys who were indolent when it came to their food choices. Castonzo says no matter how good they were on the field, he guarantees none of them are still in the NFL. “Fueling your body wrong will catch up to you,” he says. Quoting one of the Colts’ nutritionists he recommends everyone remember these seven words: “You can’t out train a bad diet.”

Additional resources for young athletes: For recommendations from renowned sports dietitian Nancy Clark | SuperKidsNutrition.com For advice from the “Biggest Losers” personal trainer Bob Harper, NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson and ’99 World Cup Soccer Champion Brandy Chastain | SuperHealthyKids.com For a performance-based grocery shopping tips, VQDFN RSWLRQV DQG VSHFLŤF UHFLSHV IRU WKURZHUV VSULQWHUV and jumpers | USATF.com

*More nutrient-dense recipes—including one for buckwheat oat granola—can be found in Dikos’ upcoming book, Finish Line Fueling. The book, published by Skyhorse Publishing, will be available on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble this November. edibleINDY.com

Recipes

Healthy, fun lunch ideas that will make anyone green with envy

9`^V^RUV £=f_TYRS]Vd¤ Recipes by Jennifer L. Rubenstein | Photography by Heather Schrock

4YZT\V_ 4fĝj ?ĒU]V DR]RU Serves 3–4 2 tablespoons olive oil 1–2 chicken breasts 1 teaspoon sweet curry 1 teaspoon turmeric ½ teaspoon ginger ½ teaspoon garlic powder ½ teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons butter 1 red peppers, chopped 1 small bok choy, chopped Udon noodles, cooked Peanut Sauce (recipe follows) 34

edible INDY Fall 2017

Green onions, sliced

PEANUT SAUCE

Peanuts, chopped

½ cup creamy peanut butter 2 tablespoon rice vinegar 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 tablespoon brown sugar 2 tablespoon water

Cilantro 5HG SHSSHU ťDNHV RSWLRQDO Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Sprinkle chicken breasts with curry, turmeric, ginger, garlic powder and salt. Cook each side 4–5 minutes and remove. Add butter, red peppers and bok choy. Cook 3–4 minutes. Shred chicken and add it back into pan along with noodles. Top with peanut sauce and cook for 5 minutes. Place in a bowl and top with green onions, chopped peanuts and cilantro. For extra heat, add red pepper ťDNHV 6HUYH ZDUP RU FROG

Mix all ingredients until smooth. If sauce is too thick, stir in 1 tablespoon of water at a time until you reach desired texture. Keeps in refrigerator for up to 3 days.

3Zd`_ ERT` 9R_U AZV hZeY 4Z]R_ec` 4cVR^ Serves 4 1 pound ground bison ¼ cup water 1 teaspoon chili powder ¼ teaspoon paprika ½ teaspoon cumin ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon pepper ¼ teaspoon garlic powder ¼ teaspoon onion powder All-Butter Pie Crust (recipe follows) 2 cups Cotija cheese Cilantro Cream (recipe follows) Preheat oven to 400°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In a sauté pan, cook ground bison. Drain grease from pan. Add water and seasoning ingredients. Cook 5 minutes. Set aside.

Make all-butter pie crust and cut dough into 2- by 3-inch rectangles. Place spoonful of bison in center of a rectangle. Top with cheese. Place a second rectangle on top. Brush crust with water, Pinch together to seal. Cook for 10–12 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve topped with cilantro cream.

ALL-BUTTER PIE CRUST From Edible Seattle

CILANTRO CREAM

~ FXSV DOO SXUSRVH ťRXU ¼ teaspoon salt 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted farmstead butter, chilled, diced into 1-inch cubes and chilled again 4–5 tablespoons water, chilled in fridge

1 cup fresh cilantro ½ fresh lime, squeezed ¼ cup whole-fat yogurt 2 tablespoon heavy cream 1 teaspoon cumin ½ teaspoon garlic powder Salt and pepper to taste

%OHQG ťRXU DQG VDOW LQ D PHGLXP PL[LQJ ERZO 6SULQNOH FKLOOHG EXWWHU FXEHV LQWR ťRXU DQG SUHVV LQWR WKH GU\ LQJUHGLHQWV ZLWK ŤQJHUWLSV blending until the mixture looks like fresh breadcrumbs or damp sand. Ideally, no lumps of butter any bigger than a pea will remain, nor ZLOO \RX KDYH DQ\ GU\ ťRXU OXUNLQJ LQ WKH ERWWRP of the bowl.

Combine all ingredients in food processor. Blend until smooth. Keeps in refrigerator up to 3 days.

Add cold water 1 tablespoon at a time, blending gently with a large fork until dough forms into a ball. Roll crust out to about ¹/8 inch thick.

3Rc]Vj 3]RT\ 3VR_ R_U 4`c_ DR]RU Serves 4–6 ¼ cup barley, cooked 2 cups cooked black beans 1 cup roasted corn ¼ cup peppers, chopped ¼ cup tomato, chopped ¼ cup cilantro, chopped 1 teaspoon cumin 2 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon pepper ¼ cup vinegar 2 tablespoon olive oil Mix all ingredients together. Allow to sit for 1 hour. Serve chilled as a salad, dip or salsa. edibleINDY.com

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12–15 small kebabs

8–10 servings

CHICKEN SOUVLAKI 1–2 chicken breasts 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1 teaspoon rosemary salt 1 teaspoon dried basil 1 teaspoon garlic powder ½ teaspoon black pepper Olive oil 10–15 grape tomatoes, halved 1 cucumber, chunked Naan Bread (recipe follows) Cucumber Greek Dip (recipe follows)

2 teaspoons active dry yeast ¼ cup lukewarm water 1 tablespoon raw sugar + a pinch

¾ cup lukewarm milk 3 tablespoons milk 1 egg, beaten 2 teaspoons salt ł FXSV EUHDG ťRXU ¼ cup butter, melted In a small bowl, combine yeast, water and a pinch of sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves. Allow to sit for 5–7 minutes, until yeast blooms. In a separate bowl, mix together remaining sugar, milk, egg and salt. Add ťRXU DQG \HDVW PL[WXUH 0L[ GRXJK XQWLO it pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Knead for 6–8 minutes, or until smooth. Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a towel. Allow to rise in a warm place until doubled, 30–45 minutes. After dough has doubled, punch it down. Remove pieces size of golf balls and roll into balls. Place on a baking sheet. Cover with a towel. Allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 additional minutes. Preheat a sauté pan with olive oil over low to medium heat. Roll balls into a thin circles. Fry each circle 2–3 minutes on 1 side. Brush WKH XQFRRNHG VLGH ZLWK EXWWHU ťLS DQG FRRN for an additional 2–3 minutes. To make kebabs you will need bamboo or metal skewers. Cut cooked chicken breast and Naan Bread into chunks and alternate chicken, tomatoes, cucumbers and naan. Drizzle cucumber dip over kebabs.

CUCUMBER GREEK DIP 1 cup Greek yogurt ¼ cup cream cheese 2 teaspoons lemon juice ½ cup cucumber, diced 2 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped ½ teaspoon garlic powder Salt and pepper In a food processor, mix together yogurt, cream cheese, lemon juice, and seasonings. Gently fold in cucumbers by hand. Allow to VLW IRU PLQXWHV WR HQKDQFH ťDYRUV 6WRUH in refrigerator up to 5 days.

2]^`_U 3fĥVc Ac`eVZ_ 3RĈd Makes 30–40 balls ~ FXS ťD[ PHDO 2 cups almond butter ~ FXS VXQťRZHU VHHGV ¼ cup coconut oil ¼ cup honey 3 tablespoons maple syrup Finely chopped pistachios, coconut, coco powder, hemp seeds, for rolling Mix all ingredients except rolling ingredients in a food processor. Pulse together until mixture is smooth and mixed well. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Make small balls out of mixture. Place on parchment paper. Freeze for 30 minutes and remove. Place balls into freezer bags and freeze for up to a month. Eat straight from the freezer. 36

edible INDY Fall 2017

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3 pounds tomatoes, halved 2 poblano peppers, deseeded and sliced 3 tablespoons olive oil ½ tablespoon kosher salt ½ teaspoon pepper ½ teaspoon dried thyme 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 sweet onion, chopped 3 garlic cloves, minced ½ teaspoon dried tarragon ½ cup heavy cream ¾ cups vegetable stock ½ cup fresh purple basil leaves Goat cheese Avocado Grilled Cheese Croutons (recipe follows)

FRUIT SALSA

Preheat oven to 425°F. Place tomatoes and peppers in a single layer on parchment-lined baking sheets. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme. Roast in oven 30 minutes. Remove baking sheets. Set aside. In a saucepan, heat butter over medium heat. Add onions. Cook 3–5 minutes. Add minced garOLF b&RRN DGGLWLRQDO PLQXWHV ,Q D EOHQGHU RU IRRG processor, add in tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, tarragon and cream. Blend until smooth. Stir thick mixture into saucepan with vegetable stock and simmer for 20 minutes. Top with purple basil and goat cheese. Serve with Avocado Grilled Cheese Croutons.

Makes 24–30

0LQL ŤOOR VKHOOV 1 grilled mango, diced 2 grilled kiwis, diced ½ cup strawberries, diced 2 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped 1 tablespoon purple basil 1 teaspoon honey WHDVSRRQ YDQLOOD EDOVDPLF YLQHJDU RU DQ\ VZHHW ťDYRUHG balsamic) Honey lavender goat cheese Cinnamon Mint leaves for garnish &RRN PLQL ŤOOR VKHOOV DFFRUGLQJ WR SDFNDJH DQG FRRO &RPELQH DOO IUXLW in a small glass bowl. Add chopped mint and basil and mix. Drizzle honey and balsamic vinegar over and mix gently. Allow to sit for 30 PLQXWHV WR LQIXVH ťDYRUV Fill cooled shell with 1 teaspoon goat cheese. Top with fruit salsa. Garnish with cinnamon and a mint leaf. HONEY LAVENDER GOAT CHEESE 8 ounces goat cheese 3 tablespoon honey 1 tablespoon dried lavender Place ingredients in food processor. Process until smooth. To improve ťDYRU DOORZ WR VLW IRU PLQXWHV RU PRUH &DQ EH VWRUHG XS WR D ZHHN in refrigerator in a tightly sealed container.

AVOCADO GRILLED CHEESE CROUTONS ½ avocado ½ teaspoon chili pepper 5 pieces French bread ¼ cup white sharp cheese, shredded Preheat over to 425°F. On a cutting board, scoop out half avocado and smash. Sprinkle with chili pepper and smash again. Place French bread on baking sheet, spread avocado on top of French bread lightly and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 5–7 minutes, or until desired crispiness. Remove and cut into small croutons.

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Now in Season

How an old shipping container became a school garden

=`RUd of Knowledge By Julie K. Yates | Photography by Julie Yates and Sarah Longenecker

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his is amazing! We need this and we have to figure out how to get it!” were the words Ben Carter, director of career and technical education for Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) first uttered upon seeing a Rubicon Agriculture Living Learning Lab AgroBox—a onetime industrial shipping container riding on a flatbed railroad car. “It sparked my interest in the learning opportunities that were possible,” he explained. With a sleek white interior and gleaming silver gauges measuring all aspects of a controlled environment, it looked like an engaging place to capture the attention of chemistry and biology students. An added bonus: The hydroponic mini-farm had the capability of producing leafy greens and other vegetables at a fast rate while using fewer resources than a traditional outside garden. And the resulting produce can be used to supplement a school’s food-service program. Rubicon Agriculture is headed by CEO Chris Moorman and is the combined brainchild of his brother Eric Moorman and two friends, Pat Burton and Jesse Robbins. After graduating from Purdue University, Chris worked for several years as a commodity trader before taking a yearlong trip around the world. While on a 27-hour train ride through South Africa, he met a man who repurposed used shipping containers into prefab homes. As his travels continued, he kept noticing empty shipping containers in various ports and realized

edible INDY Fall 2017

that although they were worthless without a cargo, there must be an upcycling idea for them somewhere.

:UVR 6^VcXVd One Saturday morning out of sheer boredom, the friends attended a “Doomsday Preppers” convention at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. The booths featured equipment needed to survive and become self-sufficient if society should collapse due to a catastrophic emergency, and they found themselves absorbed by a display on hydroponic farming. With their individual varied skill sets, such as knowledge of programmable logic controllers and pumping systems, the idea of using recycled shipping containers to hydroponically grow produce came together. By July 2015, Rubicon Agriculture became a business: A source for securing the used containers from Burlington Northern Railroad was found and after constructing an initial prototype, the partners came away with an increased knowledge to build viable, successful AgroBoxes. Today, these 40-foot shipping containers—which take up the space of six parking spaces—are outfitted with LED lighting as well as automation for controlling water recirculation, temperature, ventilation and pH levels. A television screen and camera are installed so the interior can be monitored at all times and long-distance learning

opportunities with other institutions, such as schools or nursing homes, can be facilitated.

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What Happens When Kids Grow Their Own Food?

Carter became aware of Rubicon Agriculture through Kim Brand, president of an IPS Community Partner, 1st Maker Space. “Every student has an inherent desire to make something,” said Brand, “and with IPS’s commitment to a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) curriculum, it was a natural connection. I also knew Byran High School in Omaha had been using an AgroBox since August 2016 to teach urban agriculture methods.” Even though agencies such as Indy Food Council cite that approximately 90 percent of items offered in area grocery stores are grown and produced somewhere other than Indiana, “Agro still employs a lot of people in the state,” said Moorman. “And,” he added, “the fact that urban areas such as Indianapolis are seeing a rise in food deserts, where certain city neighborhoods are without nearby grocery stores, indicates a real need for educating future workers for controlled-environment agricultural (CEA) jobs.” Carter agrees. “I like to think about future career opportunities for students. Some statistics say that by 2020, 10 percent of produce farming will be conducted by CEA means.”

Besides the produce grown in the AgroBox’s controlled environment, Shortridge students also have the opportunity to experience traditional outdoor gardens. Overseen by parent volunteer Cathy McElroy, a chef at Duos in Indianapolis, the gardens are not only a riot of color and beauty, but also an irresistible ploy to encourage students to eat their vegetables. McElroy’s mantra is “Love Fresh Food” and her enthusiasm is contagious as she talks about the courtyard garden and street-side raised beds. Edible Indy: Where did the idea of creating a student garden come from? Cathy McElroy: The neighborhood surrounding the school is a food desert; there are no grocery stores nearby. In the cafeteria, all the kids see is plasticwrapped food. Why would we expect them to know about fresh food without seeing where it comes from? EI: Has the administration been supportive? CM: I was one of several who nominated Principal Shane O’Day for United Way’s Hubbard LifeChanging Educator Award, which he recently won. He realizes that the gardens promote healthy living and afford students the opportunity to be food conscious.

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EI: How is it funded?

Shortridge High School was selected for this innovative learning opportunity to debut at the start of the 2017–18 school year. Since produce grown in the AgroBox is served to students in the cafeteria, funding was secured within the IPS Food Service Department using monies from a USDA Farm to School Grant in addition to a vocational education Perkins Grant. There will be cross-curriculum opportunities such as advanced manufacturing and program logic controlling as well as partnerships with Purdue University and Ivy Tech that will enable students to gain certifications. As for future vocational applications the AgroBox offers schools? Moorman’s eyes lit up as he explained the possibilities. “Five shipping containers can be stacked on top of each other; a café and or store could be housed at ground level with farming on top,” he said. Currently though, while there is no such system in place, one thing’s for certain: Shortridge students will soon get to experience this cutting-edge technology.

CM: At first, I either contributed plants myself or solicited donations from nearby business. This past year I applied for and received a grant from the Foundation for Complex Health Care Solutions. Research shows that when kids grow their own food, they will eat it and the foundation felt the garden program promoted preventative measures to maintain good health.

Rubicon Agriculture | 6505 W. U.S. Highway 40 | *UHHQŤHOG _ 5XELFRQ$J FRP

Shortridge High School outdoor garden overseen by Chef Cathy McElroy

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Farm

Launch Pad to a Better Life Purdue volunteers teach sustainability to at-risk youth By Lori Darvas | Photography by Carole Toplain

edible INDY Fall 2017

here’s a quote floating around the internet. The verbiage varies, but the gist is the same: You can count the number of seeds in an apple, but you can’t count the number of apples in a seed. A group of current and former Purdue University students are endeavoring to plant the seeds, figuratively and literally, to feed generations of some of the state’s neediest residents. They are members of Earthonauts, a nonprofit group aiming to inspire sustainability in everyday lives. Their first focus: urban communities with tenuous sources of fresh food. “The idea behind it is to promote sustainability in communities,” says Chris Kulesza, an Earthonauts vice president and Purdue PhD candidate in political science. For the past year, the group has been working with residents of the Lake County Juvenile Detention Center in Crown Point. There, Earthonaut volunteers work with small groups to present hands-on lessons in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) as well as sustainability. These lessons focus on more than growing food: They also stress the need to be both economically and socially sustainable, so their efforts will continue long after the teachers have gone home. “We want Earthonauts to be more than growing tomatoes,” says Jocelyn Dunn, a Purdue PhD program graduate, who co-founded Earthonauts last year with Purdue graduate Katie Chustak. “Maybe we can pair with a small restaurant where the kids learn financial responsibility and teamwork. Maybe they can grow lavender and make essential oils. We’ll teach the environmental resource aspect and how to sustain any project. We’ll show them how to have the community behind them and make sure it’s benefitting the community.”

Growing minds These are lofty goals, Dunn acknowledges, but even the mightiest tree began as a small seed. For now, she and other Earthonaut volunteers are visiting the Detention Center every couple of months with lessons for young people whose primary food source may be the corner convenience store. They bring plenty of interest-piquing science demonstrations, like the lightbulb that used a potato to make a complete circuit, and colorful handouts that summarize lessons through pictures and short paragraphs. “For the most part, the kids love it,” says Jack Thomas, the Detention Center’s education department head. “It’s something different for them. They’re getting exposed to things they would never get in their regular school setting.” One of their first ventures was a hydroponic garden set up in the Detention Center’s cafeteria. The flower garden uses hydroponic technology to grow flowers using water and nutrients, reusing the water and cutting down on the need for soil and space. There were a few bumps along the way—the center does not have much natural light and lamps had to be added—but there were also learning opportunities for the residents, who can enjoy the sound of water and blooms in their cafeteria. “I worked with the kids on the hydroponics,” says Geraldine Giglio, the facility’s director. “When they had their hands on the roots and in the water, they were ecstatic.”

Lesson plans Teachable curriculums are the backbone of the program. Dunn and other volunteers all have other jobs and commitments, but in their spare time they are working on lesson plans that can be reproduced and taught in classrooms and community centers. They rely on hypothetical situations to encourage participants to think beyond the obvious. An upcoming lesson on a Mars mission, for instance, asks the residents to consider how they would feed themselves during the months-long travel to the neighboring planet. What should they pack? How would they communicate? How are they going to return? The residents have different reactions, says Chris Kulesza. There might be some blank stares and nodding off. But there also might be enthusiasm and questions. “Plenty of them are very intellectually curious and pick this up quickly,” Kulesza says. “When we meet with them, it is very obvious that several of them want to go back [home] and do something [productive].”

Planting those seeds Erich Huebner, a Purdue graduate and Earthonauts executive board member who now works in the university’s research computing department, has a special place in his heart for the program. His hometown of Dyer is a Crown Point neighbor, and he has a unique understanding of the area’s challenges. He keeps in touch with the Detention Center’s directors and teachers, compiling surveys and gathering lesson feedback. Granted, not everything is an option for Earthonauts lessons. Explosions are out. A garden is a possibility, although the facility needs money and volunteers to make it happen. “We could probably get the plants and seeds,” Giglio says. “Our staff is devoted to watching the kids—watching them with the tools and watching them with the seeds, but we need volunteers to come in and work with them.” Perhaps the hydroponics will come back into play. Perhaps the residents will spend time digging in the dirt and go back home to their families and say, “Let’s plant our own garden.” “Even if we can plant something where something would grow, that would be great,” Huebner says. “If we can influence that out-of-the-box thinking that leads to more healthy eating and sustainable choices, that would be amazing.”

What’s in the Name Earthonauts takes its name from the concept that everyone is an astronaut traveling together on a spacecraft called Earth. Participants are encouraged to develop astronaut traits, such as resourcefulness, adaptability and self-care. Founder Jocelyn Dunn comes by the association honestly, having spent eight months in a remote part of Hawaii as part of the HI-SEAS mission, a joint effort by NASA, University of Hawaii at Mānoa and Cornell University, that replicates a trip to the planet Mars. The Earthonauts curriculum often incorporates outer space into its lessons, but it also uses space exploration as an analogy for sustainable living. In space, there are no fastfood restaurants, says Earthonaut volunteer and Purdue graduate Erich Huebner. If astronauts—or Earthonauts, in this case— are hungry, they need to figure out a way to feed themselves with the resources at hand. The group is currently road testing its lessons at the Lake County Juvenile Detention Center in Crown Point, but its long-term plan sees its outreach expanding to both kids and adults, especially in those communities where fresh food and other sustainable resources are scarce. The young people who participate in Earthonauts at Crown Point may be the pioneers who dig out sustainable options for their families and neighbors. “We really thought [the Lake County Detention Center] was a good place to start,” said Kulesza. “If you’re talking about community development, getting to young people is the absolute key. Knowing that these kids are going back to their communities means this is an opportune place to do projects like this.”

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How grants can help schools provide healthier lunches at a lower cost

Food Grants for Schools By Brogan Dearinger

cross the U.S. and throughout many Indiana cities and towns, there is a push for healthier food in our schools— but, most will agree, school lunches still have a way to go. Here’s a list of a few grants designed to help schools afford more nutritious lunches and better food education—all of which are available in central Indiana.

Farm to School Grants

Let’s Bring Salad Bars to Schools grants

Funded by the USDA, these grants help schools gain access to local foods. There are four types of grants, each with different eligibility requirements: implementation, planning, support service and training. | FNS.USDA.gov

Any school that participates in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is eligible. AWARD: Schools that are accepted will be sent all the necessary salad bar equipment as soon as funding allows. | SaladBars2Schools.org

Implementation grants: help schools and school districts develop already existing farm to school initiatives. AWARD: $65,000–100,000

School Food Support Initiative

Planning grants: for schools that do not have current farm to school initiatives. AWARD: $25,000–45,000 Support service grants: for organizations working with schools to implement farm to school initiatives. AWARD: $65,000–100,000 Training grants: help organizations working with schools with training and technical assistance. AWARD: $15,000–50,000

Community Facilities Grants and Loans Funded by the USDA Rural Development, these grants and loans can be used to purchase or upgrade equipment. Schools can apply for a grant, loan or combination of the two. Grants are awarded with the highest priority being small, low-income rural towns. Loan interest rates are based on population size and median household income, but range from just over 3 percent to 4.5. AWARD: up to 75 percent of the proposed equipment and or assistance cost, depending on the area’s population and median household income. | RD.USDA.gov 42

edible INDY Fall 2017

Funded by the Chef Ann Foundation, Whole Kids Foundation and Life Time Foundation, this program provides schools with technical assistance, workshops and recommendations for how to improve their lunches. Any school that participates in the NSLP is eligible. AWARD: Along with the technical assistance, schools can apply for a one-time grant of $50,000. | TheLunchBox.org

U.S. School Garden Grants Funded by the Whole Kids Foundation, these grants assist schools with planting and maintaining an edible garden. Any public or nonprofit private K–12 school is eligible. AWARD: $2,000 | WholeKidsFoundation.org

Team Nutrition Training Grants Help give training to the professionals who prepare and serve meals in schools. AWARD: up to $500,000 per school district. | FNS.USDA.gov

BROCCOLI BILL S

DOWNTOWN

15009 N Gray Rd Noblesville

865 Massachusetts Ave Indianapolis

Indy's Full Service Juice & Smoothie Bar naturalbor njuicers.com

BROAD RIPPLE VILLAGE location coming soon

Safer School Garden Grant Funded by Safer Brand, this grant helps students start a garden at their schools. Applications are submitted by students and are due between September first and December first. AWARD: $500 | SaferBrand.com

Annie’s Grants for Gardens Funded by Annie’s, these grants help schools establish and maintain gardens. AWARD: varies based on available funds. | Annies.com

Bonnie Third Grade Cabbage Program Instead of a monetary grant, Bonnie Plants provides cabbage plants to help third-grade classes grow a garden. Participating classes can enter a contest to win a scholarship. Classes can register on a rolling basis. AWARD: $1,000 scholarship | BonnieCabbageProgram.com

The Samull Classroom Herb Garden Grant Funded by the Herb Society of America to help classroom’s start herb gardens. AWARD: $200 | HerbSociety.org

Saturday

• • Hosted by • •

10am - Noon

Georgetown Market 4375 Georgetown Rd. Indianapolis

Sign up today! Class size is limited. $10 per child / $5 additional child or $20 per family (3+ children) *Each child or family will receive a $10 Georgetown Gift Card

December 2:

Bread in a Bag + Jam = Delicious

EdibleIndyKidsTable2017.eventbrite.com

F o r m o r e i n fo r m a t i o n , v i s i t E d i bl e Indy.com

edibleINDY.com

Get Poppin’

with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra Film Concert Series

&HOHEUDWLQJ WKH EHORYHG ŤOPV Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Recipes created by Just Pop In! Photography by Jennifer L. Rubenstein

Edible Indy Fall 2017 | No. 26

Articles inside

FARM: Introducing farm-fresh goodness to the Lake County Juvenile Detention Center

DRINK: Salubrious smoothies for

Sweet Potato with Almond Granola

THE FARM-TO-SCHOOL MOVEMENT: What it takes to get

CELEBRATING FOOD

NOW IN SEASON: How two brothers

ON THE ROAD: After a summer spent on and off the road, we decided to take a break from this regular feature for a candid look back at the lunch lady in all her glory

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT DRINK: An in-depth look at what’s in the water (and what’s not

NUTRITION AND YOUNG ATHLETES: Insight from Indianapolis Colts Andrew Luck and Anthony Constanza