Eat REAL Blog
Food System Justice Is Racial Justice
When it comes to the U.S. food system, healthful options have become a luxury that millions of Americans don’t have access to or cannot afford. This food insecurity disproportionately affects BIPOC communities due to long-standing structural racism, discriminatory policies, income disparities, and limited economic opportunities. The levels in which our food system needs to be
What Kids Eat May Have Lasting Effect on Gut Health
We know that eating nutritious, real foods is good for our health and that a diet full of ultra-processed foods can lead to many chronic health conditions. A new study from researchers at the University of California, Riverside, indicates that what kids eat during childhood could have lasting effects on their gut microbiome health well
Food Justice and COVID-19
Eat REAL is proud to be featured in Mother Jones’ recent article “How the American Diet Turbocharges COVID-19.” Our chief science officer, Dr. Robert Lustig, spoke with the magazine about how processed food-related diseases exacerbate the COVID-19 virus. “We’ve known that processed food is dangerous, but we’ve always assumed it was for chronic diseases,” says

Our Impact In Action
Eat REAL donates 3,200 meals to Bay Area families in the Canal Community before Holiday Break

Our Kids Deserve Better: The Latest USDA Proposal is a Major Setback for Child Nutrition
During a health crisis, all kids deserve healthier meals at school yet the recent USDA proposal puts our kids’ health at risk

Support Real Food Access for Children this Giving Tuesday
Giving Tuesday is a global day of giving, and this year, falls on Tuesday, December 1st. It’s a moment amid the holiday season that showcases the power of people coming together to do good by supporting the causes they are passionate about, either financially or by sharing their message to amplify the mission. By supporting

Building a Healthier Planet for our Children
2020 has been a challenging year for all – As we head toward the holiday season and end of the year, Eat REAL is taking time to reflect on all that we are grateful for, the amazing work we have accomplished, and our exciting plans for 2021. Our work wouldn’t be possible without the passionate

Healing Communities With Real Food
As our country comes together in a time of healing, Eat REAL helps communities by working with schools to increase real food access for children. Our certification program teaches the importance of healthful food and aides schools in transforming their meal programs so that all children can access real, healthful foods. The healing power of

Made From Scratch: Healing Our Bodies and the Planet
Meals made from scratch with nutritious, real food ingredients are better for our health and the health of our planet. Processed foods are energy-intensive to produce and often contain chemical additives that can harm human health and the environment. They are commonly packaged in plastic that ends up in landfills where it pollutes the planet

Limiting Added Sugars to Improve Your Health
Reducing added sugar in your diet is an effective way to improve your metabolic health and reduce your risk of developing processed food-related diseases.

Tackling Children’s Hunger with School Meals
Hunger, malnutrition, and food insecurity continue to rise in the United States as the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic consequences rage on. School breakfast and lunch programs are critical for feeding children during the crisis as they serve more than 141 million meals each week. For millions of children, school meals account for up to

National Farm to School Month
We’re celebrating National Farm to School Month to encourage systemic changes to our food system so that all children have access to real, nutritious foods critical to their overall health and wellness.

Mt. Diablo Unified School District Achieves Eat REAL Certification
Eat REAL is pleased to announce that Mt. Diablo Unified School District (MDUSD) has completed their two and a half year journey to becoming Eat REAL Certified. Located in Contra Costa County, CA, the District is made up of 52 schools serving over 31,000 students. MDUSD worked hard to overcome numerous challenges through a rigorous

National School Lunch Week
Today begins National School Lunch Week, celebrating our school heroes and the essential programs they manage. Amidst a global pandemic and economic uncertainty, school meal programs are now more important than ever. The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) serves nearly 30 million children every school day. With unemployment continuing to rise, these meals have become

Eat REAL COVID-19 & Nutrition Alert October 2020
JOINED BY REAL FOOD ADVOCATE CHEF DOMINIQUE CRENN NONPROFIT EAT REAL ISSUES ALERT ON THE IMPORTANCE OF NUTRITION IN THE BATTLE AGAINST COVID-19

Staying Healthy in a Broken Food System.
Our broken food system has led to an obesity epidemic and left millions of Americans with chronic food insecurity. Poor diet and diet-related illnesses are not the results of bad individual choices – inequitable access to healthy food is to blame. Millions of Americans cannot afford fresh produce and high-quality proteins due to economic oppressors

Fight Climate Change with Your Food Choices
The food we eat is one area of our lives where small choices can make a massive impact.

Protect School Food Heroes During COVID-19
School food service professionals have been essential in feeding America’s at-risk youth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Millions of children rely on school programs for the majority of their nutritional and caloric intake. Our school food heroes facilitated summer meal programs throughout the pandemic and are now working to deliver these vital meals in remote and

SHIFT:TECH Tech for Good Virtual Conference
“Be a force for good for the people you wish to serve.”
–Nikkia Reveillac, Head of Research at Twitter

School Meals During Remote Learning
School meal services are more critical than ever as food insecurity grows due to the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. With many kids going back-to-school in a remote learning environment, fewer at-risk students are receiving school meals. 96% of the school foodservice providers Eat REAL surveyed believe that food insecurity is increasing, while 81%

USDA Waiver Extensions – What does it mean?
The United States Department of Agriculture has extended waivers to provide free meals to all students 18 and under through December 2020. The welcomed action is in response to growing food insecurity due to the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. 100% of the foodservice providers we surveyed agree that universal school breakfast and lunch

Fight Food Insecurity with Access to Healthy School Meals
Basic nutrition is a human right that all children in America deserve. The recent New York Times Magazine article, “America at Hunger’s Edge,” highlights the broken system – exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic – that leaves millions of Americans with chronic food insecurity. Access to healthful food has become a privilege that one in eight

Eat REAL 2020 – SCHOOL FOOD SERVICE PROFESSIONAL SURVEY
The COVID-19 CRISIS GOES BACK-TO-SCHOOL:
Universal School Lunch, Increasing Food Insecurity, Budget Impacts of COVID-19
Among Top Concerns for School Food Service Providers

Investing in school nutrition would fight hunger, racism, and COVID-19
Eat REAL Board Members Tesha McCord Poe and Dr. Alan Greene’s Op-ed feature in Fast Company.

The Farmlink Project’s First School Delivery!
Originally Posted on The Farmlink ProjectBy Olivia Groell August 25, 2020 On August 5th, The Farmlink Project and Eat REAL worked together to launch The Farmlink Project’s new initiative of “students helping students.” This is how Nora LaTorre, CEO of the public health nonprofit organization Eat REAL, described the concept of college students facilitating the

USDA Extends Free Meals for Kids Through December 31, 2020
The USDA announced the extension of free school meals for all children through Dec 31, 2020

Optimize Your Immune System by Eating REAL
https://youtu.be/k7UXuGPuC_g Optimizing your immune system is the metabolic version of “work smarter, not harder”. As Dr. Greene talks about in his video above, by feeding and treating your body right you allow your immune system to really focus on keeping you healthy and protecting your body against harmful viruses and other pathogens. He offers 4

Eat REAL Impact Update, August 2020
It’s hard to believe we are nearing the end of another month. The world is full of uncertainty and difficulty, but our team is focusing and working harder than ever on Eat REAL’s model to nourish and heal our communities and planets. COVID-19 Support Program To date, we’ve connected a network of 2,067 schools/ 85

The Importance of School Meals
For millions of children across the country, school meals contribute up to 50% of their daily caloric intake. The impact these meals have on their development and day to day health is even more significant than previously thought. In 2013, the Obama-Era Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act went into effect. This legislation increased the nutritional

Eat REAL Virtual Volunteer Summer Internship Program
The launch of our Summer Virtual Volunteer Intern Program was an incredible success, furthering our community engagement and shaping our youth outreach program. Six interns joined us to create educational social media campaigns for their peers, inspired by the Eat REAL standards. Their projects highlighted the importance of eating real whether through incorporating more plant-based

Eat REAL + Bay Area School Foodservice Directors COVID-19 Zoom Meeting
Five Northern California School District Food Service directors and teams met with our team to discuss current challenges, collaborate on solutions, and work together to ensure their students would continue to have access to nutritious meals throughout the upcoming school year.

Eat REAL Summer Intern Program Sneak Peek: Motivational Workshop with Dr. Riva Robinson
Kicking off the final week of our intern program, guest speaker, Dr. Riva Robinson led our intern cohort through an inspiring conversation of self-value by outlining her five truths she wished she’d known as a young adult. We appreciate how she takes a holistic approach to health integrating healthy eating, active lifestyle, mindful moments, connections,

Eat REAL and Farmlink Partner to Bring 9.5 tons of Organic Produce to MDUSD Community
NONPROFITS EAT REAL AND FARMLINK PARTNER WITH MT. DIABLO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT & USDA TO DISTRIBUTE OVER 19,040 POUNDS OF FRESH PRODUCE TO FAMILIES IN NEED.

Show us your masks!
Eat REAL’s Dr. Alan Greene walks through masks safety and tips to ensure you are wearing and using your mask properly. We also have an exciting update on our mask distribution program!

Black Lives Matter
Black lives matter. We stand for equality and justice. Racism and ignorance are never okay. We will listen, learn, stand up, and do the work necessary together to create lasting change.

Eat REAL, a Women-Led Organization, Awarded a $10,000 Grant by Visa and IFundWomen
Grant provides an opportunity for Eat REAL to increase safe food access for low-income communities during the COVID-19 crisis

Moms & COVID-19
Food Insecurity
Moms and mother figures around the country are achieving what can seem impossible during this pandemic. We at Eat REAL, are making sure they know they have other options. You can help by donating today.

Impact Update May 2020
You’ve helped us deliver thousands of masks per week to frontline workers and volunteers in a network of >1,500 schools – thank you!

Thank You School Lunch Heroes!
To all foodservice staff across the nation, THANK YOU. You are keeping families fed. You are ensuring that when schools are able to open again, students will be healthy and ready to learn.

Eat REAL is a 2020 World Changing Idea by Fast Company Magazine Award Winner
Eat REAL Certification in Schools is named as a 2020 World Changing Idea Finalist in the Food Category by Fast Company Magazine. Eat REAL is thrilled to be recognized and to be among other visionary organizations.

IG LIVE: Top Chefs, Athletes, and Artists are taking over Eat REAL’s Instagram
We are all about inspiring families to boost their immune systems through healthy eating. Now, more than ever is the time to get in the kitchen, try new things, and celebrate the joy of cooking. To help bring that inspiration and fun, we’re excited to announce that over ten incredible chefs, artists, athletes, and companies

Eat REAL, a Women-Led Nonprofit, Awarded a Grant from Visa and IFundWomen to further its impact during COVID-19
Eat REAL is honored to receive one of four Visa and IFundWomen Grants for Women-Led Small Businesses.

Design Thinking During COVID-19
We believe in the power of design thinking. We’ve seen firsthand how powerful it is for COVID-19 relief efforts. Learn how we leveraged design thinking to launch the #RainbowTacoChallenge in partnership with IDEO here: https://www.ideo.com/post/help-promote-food-access-for-families-in-need Share this post Share on facebook Share on google Share on twitter Share on linkedin Share on pinterest Share on

Eat REAL’s #RainbowTacoChallenge Promotes Food Access, Joyful Cooking with Colorful Foods, and Social Connectivity
Dozens of celebrity chefs, athletes and artists join in and voice enthusiastic support for the initiative, which officially kicks off on ‘Taco Tuesday’ — April 14

Wear a Mask Like a Pro
Learn simple tips and tricks from Eat REAL’s Chief Pediatrician, Dr. Alan Greene, in this Mask 101 video.

Eat REAL Helps School Heroes Safely Serve Half a Million Crisis Meals to Kids Every Week
Equipped with protective gear, guidance and support, essential front-line workers can safely serve meals to millions of kids that depend on school meals during the COVID-19 crisis

Make sure kids can eat by keeping school heroes safe
In less than 2 weeks, we’ve helped half a million meals be served safely to low-income and suddenly no-income families through our new Protect School Heroes initiative.

Letter From Our CEO
March 2020
The proposed standards are still in the public comment period. For the next two weeks, the USDA will continue to collect comments before approving, amending or declining the rollbacks.

It’s Time to #DoRight
URGENT: Just last week, the USDA proposed unprecedented rollbacks to our country’s school food standards. According to these reduced standards, a hash brown is now considered a piece of fruit. Allow me to state the obvious: A hash brown is not a fruit. As a new mom, I feel an obligation to stand up on behalf of

Announcing our First Cohort of School Districts Pursuing REAL Certification!
Eat REAL’s K-12 certification program will support 185 more schools this and next school year as they continue to raise the bar towards more nutritious, delicious and sustainable meals for students