Greg Christian from The Organic School Project

Greg Christian is a successful chef, educator, and director. More importantly, he’s someone who really cares. Greg’s vision for the Organic School Project has been to reconnect school children with the source of their food. We were lucky enough to speak with Greg about The Organic School Project and the soon-to-be-released, Grow Teach Feed.

Q: You’ve got a fascinating background. Can you please tell us a little bit about how you came to be involved in The Organic School Project?

A: My youngest daughter had real bad asthma. The doctors could not help her. After two intensive care stints six months apart we turned to all organic foods as a last resort. I cannot prove it worked. All I can say is that we’ve had no more hospital visits since. So my two kids ate all organic foods. My oldest, Aja, would come home and tell me what the other kids ate in school. At first I did nothing, then nine years ago I stopped drinking, realized I cared about what all kids ate, and in meditation the ideas came… kids need to (GROW) organic food on school grounds… they need to learn about “foodness” and how it relates to nutrition, the environment, and culture (TEACH), and they need to eat food made from scratch daily in school that’s organic (FEED), and the last and most important piece is that we need to honor the current way our system works in order to move it towards something better.

Q: School food hasn’t always been as bad as it is today. How did we reach the point where – as a society – we came to accept nutritionally-poor, calorie-dense food as an acceptable option for our children?

A: Society bit. Sixty years ago we started to use chemicals in our farming – the farmers bit. Then we started to buy chemicalized/factoryized/processed foods-our ancestors bit. Then we glamorized this food through marketing – and we all simply bit. We all let this happen. And that’s why honoring this – owning our piece in it and stopping the blame game will make the change that much faster. Because when we ‘stop blaming’, the big companies will not be able to put up such a huge defense of the systems that collectively we have built.

Q: What are some of the changes you notice in children, particularly in those suffering from low self-esteem, when they start eating positively?

A: I coined the term ‘More Positive Foods’ to stay away from ‘healthy’ and words like that. Kids get nervous around words like ‘healthy’. And the big companies, who already believe that what they serve is healthy, get really nervous. To answer your question, when kids connect to Mother Earth through farming and gardening, they will try it, probably like it, and then feel better about choosing differently.

Q: Why is becoming involved in growing food at an early age such an important step in developing a positive relationship with food?

A: Bearing witness is a key step in healing community. When we don’t bear witness to our food being grown, our community falls apart. As we bear witness to the growing of food – and we connect to our ‘food source’ or Mother earth we ‘awaken’ a bit more. Even this ‘little bit’ is the opening we need to move self-efficacy – to moving kids towards better food choices, more positive foods, over time. Without a connection to the earth – good luck with moving self-efficacy.

Q: Can you describe what the reaction is from parents, caregivers, and educators who become involved with The Organic School Project?

A: We started in 2005. For the first few years the schools simply didn’t get it. The parents also struggled because they couldn’t – and in many cases still can’t – get past taking care of their own kids. I’ve always – and will continue to – ask parents (for even one minute a day) can you please think of all the kids in the world and take a break from concentrating solely on your own family’s concerns. The further out peoples ‘intentions’ stretch the better off society is as a whole. So, to answer your question, educators have struggled – and continue to struggle – with their own responsibility in teaching kids “foodness”. They see their role as helping children to read and write – not “foodness”.

Q: What are some basic pantry staples that are healthy, versatile, and capable of forming the base for a healthy home-cooked meal?

A: Raw foods to be cooked – and sometimes eaten in salads and other raw ways – not prepared foods.

Q: Kids love snack food. What are three moderately-priced healthy alternatives to the high fat, high sugar, low nutrition options that line the shelves of most grocery stores?

A: Easy – carrots, celery, and hummus.

Q: Many young children across North America suffer from obesity. What practical steps can parents and caregivers take to assist children in developing positive eating habits?

A: Engage them in the shopping for food, preparing of food, cleaning up after food, and gardening at home – every day-not just pancake Sunday…

Q: The soon-to-be-released Grow Teach Feed collection is a wonderful initiative in that it opens the Project up to a national audience. What sort of reaction have you had so far?

A: Grow Teach Feed comes out in less than a month. People are waiting. We will send a copy to the First lady – she will like it (if it gets into her hands).

Q: Despite the success of The Organic School Project there are still challenges that lie ahead. Can you outline what these challenges are and what plans you have for dealing with them?

A: Raising money is hard, so I need to figure out how to earn money through OSP initiatives. We also need to help people move beyond simply blaming others for the state of our current food system. This involves forgiveness of our current reality. The blaming has to stop-it hurts the whole movement.

Organic Guide wishes to thank Greg Christian for generously sharing his time and insights. To find out more about Greg and the work he and his team are doing to reconnect school children with the source of their food, please visit The Organic School Project.