Official Press Release

Local K-8 Charter School joins National Movement by Cooking from Scratch and Serving Healthy Food to Students

Eugene, OR - Last week The Village School established a “scratch” kitchen and will provide students with meals that are cooked in the school’s kitchen with as many local, organic, whole and fresh foods as possible.

"We are thrilled to be given this opportunity. We hope to be a model and resource to other schools around Oregon." says Toña Aguilar one of the two new Meal Program Co-coordinators or as they like to say the “healthy lunch ladies.” Principal Bob Kaminski looks forward to the change, "This is perfect for the students. We can connect the school food program to our curriculum, the school garden and the local economy by working directly with Lane County farmers and businesses to supply us with ingredients."

The Village School is part of a national trend and will design a menu that uses organic milk, whole grains and more fruits and vegetables than is what is served in most schools around the country. They have decided to offer meat choices two days a week instead of daily but this has allowed them to source quality meat from a local rancher instead of frozen processed meat products from unknown sources.

This past year, the Eugene 4J School District cut all charter schools from its food service program. The Village School kitchen has only the basics - dishwasher, oven, two-burner stove, freezer, and refrigerator, but little else. The kitchen is in need of donations of commercial quality equipment, such as: serving utensils, pots, pans, energy efficient appliances and 200 school lunch trays. The staff have been working furiously to solicit donations from local businesses and organizations to prepare the kitchen for service in two weeks.

Organically Grown Company (OGC) knows that support from the community is essential to create a model program good for children and transferable to schools, and therefore OGC gave a $500.00 matching grant to help procure the materials and supplies to have a fully functioning commercial kitchen. Company owner Tom Lively said, "I’m excited about the Village School taking the HUGE step of bringing school lunch preparation back in house. No doubt this will be a big and challenging project.” Next The Eugene Coalition for Better School Food stepped up and gave $500 to The Village Kitchen. The first local restaurant to match the $500 challenge was Marché. There has also been one private donor that has done the same. The Village School has set up a registry with Curtis Restaurant Equipment in Springfield where you can purchase items at the store and they will deliver them to The Village School.

If you would like to support students eating healthy lunches at The Village School please contact Stacey Black at 541-913-9424 or staceygilligan@hotmail.com. You can also mail your tax-deductible contribution to The Village School 2855 Lincoln St., Attention: The Village Kitchen, Eugene, OR 97405. Someone will be in the school office to accept donations Monday- Friday, 8:00am– 4:00pm.

The Village School is a holistic, arts-integrated K-8 elementary and middle school that was founded in 2000 as one of Oregon's first charter schools. Inspired by Waldorf education, The Village School provides a program that fully integrates the arts within an academic curriculum, educating the whole child—head, heart and hands. Movement, Handwork, Music and Spanish language classes are an integral part of the student's educational experience. For more information visit www.EugeneVillageSchool.org