New Pi Soilmates’ Food & Garden Educator Scott Koepke Asked to Talk to Congress for The Pew Charitable Trusts
Iowa City, Mar. 8, 2016 – The Pew Charitable Trusts flew New Pioneer Food Co-op Soilmates’ Scott Koepke out to Washington, D.C., last week to support the reauthorization of the Child's Nutrition & Farm To School Act!
Scott shared these words about his visit: "My D.C. lobbying trip was one of the peak experiences of my career. I'm so blessed to work for New Pioneer Food Co-op, a company that values the health of everyone and supports this type of outreach for children. We're making a healing difference on this planet! I visited the offices of both of our senators, and two of our representatives. I'm thrilled to report that both sides are reaching across the aisle to work toward providing healthier food for school kids.”
The Pew Charitable Trusts representatives chose Scott because they love the passion he articulates in his New Pi Soilmates outreach classes with thousands of kids in the Iowa City, Coralville, and Cedar Rapids area schools each year on messages of balanced diets, food production, and food waste management, and the academic evidence showing a direct link between school gardens and better nutritional habits. Koepke taught New Pi Soilmates organic garden and food education classes for free in 40 local schools just in the past year, has helped start pilot cafeteria compost projects at Summit School in Cedar Rapids, North Central Jr. High in North Liberty, & West High’s 9th Grade Cafeteria in Iowa City, and New Pi donated $20,000 to local school & community garden projects this past year!
Scott continues: “I was able to present research I've participated in at the UI College of Public Health showing that there's a direct, causal link between the presence of school gardens and better nutritional habits (not to mention the stories I have of parents approaching me in public to say that their kids took my New Pi Soilmates classes and now the whole family is gardening and composting!). This is not the time to turn back to the days when there were NO nutritional standards for school lunch programs. And, again, I'm blown away by the bi-partisan spirit on renewing the Children's Nutrition Integrity Act."
Shopping the Co-op directly supports New Pi’s food and garden education and outreach work. New Pi Soilmates classes are provided free to the schools and community, funded by New Pioneer Food Co-op, which has grocery stores everyone’s welcome to shop in Iowa City, Coralville, and Cedar Rapids. Sales at New Pi’s stores support its mission: “To stimulate the local agricultural production of natural and organic foods,” and make work like Koepke’s possible. Stay tuned to New Pi’s blog for more details about his D.C. trip forthcoming.
New Pioneer Cooperative Society was founded as a natural foods cooperative grocery in Iowa City in 1971, opened its Coralville branch in 2001, and opened a third store in Cedar Rapids in December of 2014. New Pi is a thriving food co-op with over 33,000 members-owners. The stores provide local, organic, and natural foods to the Corridor and everyone is welcome to shop – owner or not. New Pi is located at 22 S. Van Buren St. in Iowa City, at 1101 2nd St. in Coralville, and at 3338 Center Point Road NE in Cedar Rapids. Please visit www.newpi.coop for more information.
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