Say goodbye to burekas, rugelach, processed meat, and soda. Say thank you to Jamie Oliver, the well known British “Naked Chef”, who for years has been working towards revolutionizing the way public school systems supply food to our children. His ultimate goal is to create cost effective ways to bring healthier food options onto our children’s plates – and now his revolution is taking on Tel Aviv.
The Cafeteria Project has begun at Tichonet High School in Tel Aviv, where a foodie crew, led by chef Itai Farkas, is running various trials to explore the best ways to create healthier and affordable food options for Israeli high school students. The project is being led by Tel Aviv’s innovation team which is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, who sponsors grants to dozens of cities to assist mayors with innovative development.
Farkas, who was chosen to represent the Food Revolution in Israel, is up against a difficult feat. He needs to create a menu which abides by the public regulations system, is cost effective, healthy, and appears attractive to the growing Israeli teenagers. So far, he’s served up a variety of stews, meatballs cooked in hummus, chicken curry with carrots and brown rice, and chile con carne.
The teenagers response has been positive so far. They seem to appreciate less greasy cheesy toasts, and more homemade nourishing food choices.
It’s nice to see the cafeteria project is making efforts to make food high quality, healthy and affordable for kids. As of next year, school will be disabled from selling foods with trans fats, including burekas, rugelach and more. The project hopes to create a model it can share with other schools in the system to create a better place for all.
