Guiding principles for Princeton Studies Food have inspired innovative frameworks for two schools—Princeton Public Schools and the Thaden School, a new independent school for grades 6-12 in Bentonville, AR—both under the direction of Princeton alumni. The schools, working with Princeton Studies Food co-founder Karla Cook, are looking to use their work to assist other schools, with one goal of templating and sharing a low-resource version of the National School Lunch Program, a $13.8 billion taxpayer-funded service that feeds 29.7 million children every school day.
Steve Cochrane ’81, superintendent of Princeton Public Schools, with the Board of Education, is elevating food and land use to the level of previous sustainable energy efforts in the cafeteria, operationally and in the curriculum. Here’s information on the new plants-rich framework for school meals at PPS. Follow him on Twitter @pps_super.
Clayton Marsh ’85, former deputy dean of the college, now founder of Thaden School, a grades 6-12 charter school in Bentonville, AR, has begun year three of operation. Thaden School has as one of its foundational pillars our Science, Society & Dinner course (story here) that was introduced on campus in 2016 and taught by Prof Kelly Caylor (now at UC-SB) and James Beard award-winning chef Craig Shelton. Follow Thaden School on Twitter @ThadenSchool.

Their work brings to mind the years-long K-12 efforts of:
Nancy Easton ’88, who founded Wellness in the Schools in 2005, a program that seeks to promote healthy eating and living, specifically targeting youth in the public school system. The program is now in at least 50 schools and continues to partner with various teachers, chefs, parents, and students to offer programs and opportunities for kids in public schools to access and learn about healthy food, the environment and fitness.