Pesticide-Free Zone - Brief Article

Sierra, Sept, 2000 by M.B.S.

Who knew fresh veggies could be so popular? The organic salad bar at Malcolm X Elementary School in Berkeley, California, is a big hit with the kids. Thanks to Berkeley's school board, which passed an organic food policy last year, all of the district's 10,000 students are being introduced to the joys of non-irradiated, non-bio-engineered, pesticide-free food--some of which students grow themselves in school gardens. Berkeley's Center for Ecoliteracy received a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is spearheading the effort.

A year into the program, 12 of the district's 15 schools (including Malcolm X) have organic gardens. The goal is for schools to grow 25 percent of the organic produce needed, with local family farms that practice sustainable agriculture providing the rest.