Hopkins Center Honors Great Kids Farm for 'Visionary Leadership'

Baltimore City Public Schools was recently awarded the Johns Hopkins University Center for a Livable Future’s 2009 Organizational Award for “visionary leadership in local food procurement and food education” during a ceremony at Great Kids Farm, City Schools’ organic farm and education center in Catonsville.

“Today we gather at Great Kids Farm to support the commitment and dedication of City Schools to local food production and education, all of which aims to nourish bodies and minds,” said Dr. Robert Lawrence, director of the Center for a Livable Future (CLF), at the Sept. 29 award ceremony.

The award recognized City Schools’ efforts to improve the food it provides more than 82,000 students in a number of ways. In 2008, the school system converted an abandoned former nature center into Great Kids Farm, a resource for students and community members throughout Baltimore City and beyond. At the start of the 2009-10 school year City Schools began offering fresh fruit with every lunch it serves and buying all of its fresh fruits and vegetables from regional farms. This year, City Schools also introduced a new Meatless Monday menu as part of an effort to broaden the range of foods it offers, increase the nutritional content of its meals and save money in the process.

After accepting the award on behalf of the school system, Neil E. Duke, chair of the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners, made a special point of thanking students, who have been intelligent and passionate in pushing for better-quality food.

Previous recipients of the CLF Organizational Award include the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Union of Concerned Scientists for their environmental protection efforts.

—Lionel Foster