Two stories in today's (5/7/09) Washington Post helped me greet the day positively and reinforce my sense that, step-by-step, we're making strides to improve the health of our children and the prevent childhood obesity.

Story one: If Big Mama Could See Me Now. Michelle Singletary, who usually muses about personal finance, wrote about the unexpected benefits of cooking more meals at home to tighten her family's belt economically. To their surprise, they may also be seeing their belts tighten, literally. Singletary writes about the value and importance of teaching her children to cook and eat (and enjoy) family meals together. I agree wholeheartedly. We are currently in danger of raising a generation of adults who are culinarily illiterate. We need to help our children at least develop kitchen survival skills.

Story two: Radical in the Lunch Line. This story profiled Tony Geraci, the new food service director for Baltimore City Public Schools. He is shaking up the foods and food choices throughout this school system with innovative programs to teach children about where their foods comes from, such as the Great Kids Farm, tucked behind strip malls and fast-food joints and purchasing locally grown produce. Geraci brings experience from New Hampshire where he launched a farm-to-school program in conjunction with the University of New Hampshire and righted a money-losing lunch program into the black. I applaud his efforts!