AUBURN VS. ALABAMA . . . in a food fight?

The Alabama – Auburn Food Fight is an annual competition between the student bodies of The University of Alabama and Auburn University. The Food fight winner is the student body, which donates the most food to their respective food banks (West Alabama Food Bank, Tuscaloosa and East Alabama Food Bank, Auburn).

Since 1994 Alabama and Auburn students, faculty, staff and community supporters go head to head to see which campus will collect the most food. Campus organizations begin collecting food for the four weeks leading up to the annual Alabama – Auburn football game in November. Student organizations at each campus compete with each other to see who will collect the most food and take first prize.

The Farm to School Program

This program supports efforts to provide healthier food options in school cafeterias:
http://www.ecotrust.org/farmtoschool/

No More Again

Another shut down in plans because of the oil spill. In Dauphin, Alabama there is the Alabama Deep Sea Rodeo that has been annually held since 1929. This deep sea fishing tournament usally brings a large number of fisherman and spectators which helps brings business to the local area such as shops and restaurants. This year business has already dropped because of lack of vacationers for when the beaches on Dauphine Island were forced to closed. Now they are missing on an attraction that is looked forward to every year. Already restaurants have failed claims against the CP company because of the oil spill is killing the number of customers as of course a lot of the specialities is local seafood, then of course there is the simply lack of customers down there at all. This is just another example of how the oil spill had effected the eating and other habits of Alabamaians.

Dark Hair *Check--Tan *Check--Grilled Veggies *Check?

So I am going through my GOOGLE ALERTS and I see that the Caldwell-West Caldwell school district, "working with food distributor Aramark, is striving to help children make better choices when the lunch bell rings by adding fresh fruit and vegetables to the menu." The district is located in Jersey on all places. JERSEY??!!!??? The state that has an ever-loving beacon of ignorance looming of embarrassment broad casted all over national television?? The guidos and juice heads get this before us. Great. Now people would be up in arms if Montgomery or, "The realest Gump-Town" had that junk on T.V. and then we get the privileges that only a few states get over specific spans of time. Some say it has nothing to do with the kids. It has everything to do with the kids. Actually, that is a lie. It doesn't it just kind of made me mad when I thought about Pauli D, Snookie, J-WOW, Joey, and Angelina sitting in the lunchroom, with a couple of grenades, eating healthier than us. Now that's a "situation."

The New School's "Edible Schoolyard"

I found this project via an article in The Atlantic about the Edible Schoolyard, a program at a middle school in Berkeley, California. The Atlantic article explains that a study has shown that students who grow their own food make better choices about eating. This particular program was founded by famed chef Alice Waters of Chez Panisse.

For a year or two in the past, another teacher at BTW and I have discussed the possibilities of having student-tended gardens on campus. We had in mind the unused green space by the teacher parking lot, which gets sun all day long. The soil would have to be improved, because it's basically sand and rock, but it could be done. Maybe it's time to think about something like that at BTW.

"Farm to Fork" at Montgomery's Hampstead

Teen Health: Why Dogs Are Good For Your Health

We got a new puppy! Her name is Biscuit and she's grown quite a bit these last two weeks we've had her, and she is just so adorable! Except when she runs around your legs biting at your heels or chases you around the house. I once played around with her realized I was actually getting being more active with her than I ever have with our other pets, who just happened to be cats. It made me wonder, "So are dog owners more active than pet owners?" I think we are. Dog owners have to walk their dogs, play games of fetch, and actually have to go out with their pets every once in a while. This is something I'm sure cat owners don't do, since felines love reclining and only walk when they want to walk. I even found this article from the BBC that supports my claim. This is only one more reason why dogs are way better than cats. It is also another way to get active. If you have a dog, then take it out for a nice walk in the morning if you can handle it, or just play a nice game of fetch. It'll get you moving and away from the house, not mention strenghthen the bond you share with Fido.
~Chan