Rachael Ray Plants Up Healthy Eating in CowPots

Mayor Bloomberg and Rachael Ray Announce New Programs To Promote Healthy Eating

Gardening, Cooking and Nutrition Instruction to Show City Youth How Food is Grown and How to Bring that Food from Garden to Table

Last week Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Rachael Ray kicked off a series of initiatives to help New York's youth eat healthier and understand where their food comes from.

The new programs, supported by Rachael Ray and her Yum-o! organization, will help schools build a garden or connect them to an existing garden and provide cooking and nutrition instruction to young New Yorkers.

And they made the announcement in the vegetable garden at PS 29 in Brooklyn, which the school is using to teach students about healthy eating – and tying it into science and nature curriculums.

And what did Rachael plant her basil in? CowPots, naturally! These new manure-fiber growing pots from The Liquid Fence Company are made from – you guessed it – composted cow manure -- are 100% biodegradable. And as you can see from the photo, Rachael planted the pot directly in the ground. No pushing the plants out of a tight pot. No disturbing the tender shoots and leaves. No fuss. Just stronger, healthier plants off to a better start.

Racheal is passionate about SchoolFood - a program she create to offer exciting, delicious and nutritious lunch menus for 1,600 NYC public schools, serving 1.9 million students. On April 28 she launched her latest SchoolFood menu item called “Cheesy Mac and Trees,” a healthy take on traditional macaroni and cheese, filled with whole wheat pasta, real cheese, skim milk, red bell peppers and broccoli florets.


So teach your children well - and to eat well, too!
Suzi
Garden Media Group

Got poo?

Dirt Du Jour, one of my favorite garden newsletters out of Southern California, just did this little piece on CowPots.

"Dairy farmers Matt and Ben Freund wanted to figure out how to manage the manure pollution on their farm. A methane gas digester did the trick, but there was a by-product from that process - a solid, weed-free cardboard-like pulp. CowPots were born.

Great if you like to start your seeds indoors, but the bigger goal is to get the nursery industry to make the switch to something organic and compostable. The way they see it, reducing pollution, creating a product from a byproduct, and getting plant propagators to use CowPots completes the recycling circle.

And we all know the nursery industry could stand to get a little greener. Home growers can find out about CowPots here. Nurseries and growers can click here. "

Mama's Health Picks CowPots

Mama’s Favorite item of the Week: CowPots
CowPots are a revolutionary pot made with 100% renewable composted cow manure. CowPots are manure-fiber based seed starter pots, which allow for unrestricted root growth creating stronger, healthier plants. These earth-friendly “pots you plant” are an exciting high-performing alternative to plastic and peat pots.
I like CowPots because they give back to the planet. By collecting and using manure to create a truly “green” product, Cowpots help farmers preserve clean, open spaces.
Yay for CowPots!
- Mama