Lulu Cohen Farnell is the founder and president of Real Food for real Kids, an organisation created in may 2004 and dedicated to changing the way children eat and perceive food. The RFRK team is working to improve meals at over 60 daycare centres and schools with a population of over 2500 children and this number goes up every day. RFRK is the forefront of the movement to transform the National daycare and School Lunch Program into one that values children’s health over the financial health of a select few agribusiness corporations. Lulu’s lunch and snack menus emphasize regional, organic, fresh foods, and nutritional education. Through its work, RFRK helping children build a connection between their personal health and where their food comes from.
Real Food for Real Kids believes that when food is offered as a valuable, enriching, hands on activity and when children and teachers share, enjoy and experience the food from the garden to the kitchen to the table— something amazing happens. They want to taste everything! They get lured in by the sight, the smell and the taste of something new: it all appeals to their senses. It is with this spirit that Lulu and Real Food for Real Kids has created momentum. Rather than focus on the dangers posed by junk food and factory farming, they focus on the benefits of eating a diet filled with tasty, locally produced food. It’s all about the carrot, not the stick with Lulu and Real Food for Real Kids.
Real Food for Real Kids has countless tales of kids whose taste buds knew nothing but hot-dogs, chicken nuggets and fish fingers being turned onto a full palate of flavours. Parents are amazed that their kids are eating quinoa, couscous, brown rice and legumes – things they never though their kids would go for. We use fresh herbs & spices and cook everything from scratch every day – a far cry from the re-heating of frozen highly processed food usually provided to the kids.
For two years running (2005/2006), Real Food for Real Kids® has received the City of Toronto Green Award of Excellence for their pioneering efforts.
To bring Real Food to your kids when they are at daycare or at school – contact RFRK @ (416) 410-KIDS (5437) 0r Info@rfrk.com