Great article from the NY Times about how renowned chef Alice Waters (founder of Chez Panisse and local food advocate) is improving the food at the American Academy in Rome by incorporating - what else? - local, regional, sustainable choices. The article describes how Waters is helping to change the perception of the importance of good food - and local food - in schools (and at the Academy in particular). Apparently, the food was so bad at the Academy that the Fellows had simply stopped eating at the school. Here's more from the article:
The model has been tried before — Ms. Waters has been a pioneer in the field — but rarely with such immersion. Some universities, like Yale, now offer sustainable-food options in their dining halls. Ms. Waters has been collaborating with Berkeley public schools to create a lunch program in which students learn to grow and cook local produce and consume it in their cafeteria.
The article goes on to explain how Alice Waters is hoping to further the cause of sustainable food throughout the country, even lobbying President Obama to start a local White House Garden (an idea that is still under consideration).
