Greg Christian, founder and chairman of the board of Organic School Project (OSP), is proud to announce OSP is returning to Louisa May Alcott School, a K-8 Chicago Public School located at2625 N. Orchard Street, for the 2008/2009 school year. Beginning in September, OSP will provide students their Wellness Services Model by executing their signature “Grow. Teach. Feed.™” philosophy within the school. Students will cultivate a garden, be educated on healthy lifestyles, mindfulness, and environmental stewardship through an integrated wellness curriculum, and also will exclusively be fed an organic and locally sourced breakfast, lunch and snack. As the Chicago Public Schools continue to look for innovative ways to support the important relationship between good nutrition and academic achievement, the learnings from OSP’s program will be used to develop and maintain long term programs that will directly benefit the health of all students.
Throughout the 2006-2007 school year OSP, in conjunction with Benedictine University of Lisle, Illinois and primary investigator Deepa Handu Ph.D. R.D., studied the effect of the program on nutrition knowledge, eating behavior, intention and Body Mass Index (BMI). The study was conducted among 1,178 youth attending one of three selected Chicago Public Schools that were a part of the OSP pilot program, and found that nutrition knowledge and intention improved in all subjects,. Children’s average BMI decreased from 22.48 to 19.45, while adolescents’ BMI mean decreased from 26.87 to 25.09.
“The results from the ’06-’07 pilot program indicate that OSP was successful in making nutrition related knowledge and behavior changes in a short period of one year,” says Handu. “Successful continuation of this project will help sustain these improvements and make more significant changes.”
For 2008-2009, OSP is expanding the study through the inclusion of an additional variable: the consumption of organic foods at Alcott School. Handu will study the impact of a holistic approach to obesity prevention, combining nutrition education, gardening and the intake of organic foods in order to associate the cause of health epidemics with environmental contaminants throughout the food system.
“The Alcott family of students, parents, and staff are very excited to welcome back Organic School Project to our school,” says principal, David J. Domovic. “We have already met and look forward to a great school year filled with healthy food, and meaningful instruction related to wellness.”
The “Grow. Teach. Feed.™” curriculum will include: planting and harvesting a garden, monthly healthy lifestyle workshops, a yoga centered wellness curriculum, composting in the lunchroom, recycling and using environmentally friendly products. All of these components teach children the natural processes that form the chain of life.
“OSP has fought hard to have our message heard and we’re so honored the Chicago Public School (CPS) system shares our vision to positively educate students,” says Christian. “We’re blessed CPS will allow us access to young minds in order to help them create standards to base their lives on, and to create a lifelong learning process for all those involved.”
ABOUT OSP
Founded by Greg Christian, a Chicago professional chef with more than 20 years experience, as a result of witnessing his daughter’s health battle, Organic School Project (OSP) strives to combat health epidemics such as childhood obesity, early on-set type II diabetes and behavioral problems, through an integrated wellness systems model and programming for schools that connects youth with the earth and enables them to make more positive choices for themselves and the planet. OSP’s primary program offering to combat youth health epidemics and build a sustainable future is the Wellness Services Model. The Wellness Services Model (WSM) is an education and food service systemic change approach to obesity prevention, comprised of three major components: Grow. Teach. Feed.™
