I don't know about you, but when I think about consumer trends, I usually think of changes to purchasing habits that are relatively short-lived. One year, or a few perhaps, before they are no longer de rigueur and buyers have moved on to the next latest and greatest. Of course, this is great for keeping things fresh and ensuring continued sales, and that's all good.While not wishing to put a 'downer' on this, for some people new trends are just a luxury. Even for such basic necessities as food. Nowhere is this more painful to witness than in our youth.Over the last decade, I've had the privilege of working with schools wanting to implement school food gardens. Some have been great success stories, others not so much. All are typically driven by several objectives: the desire to educate students aboutgrowing food, providing students with some autonomy to do things their own way (in their garden), and to provide fresh, nutritious food to school food programs. They're often spearheaded by a teacher 'champion' who for years has witnessed kids getting hangry' in class just before lunch. Likely, these students have had little, perhaps nothing, to eat before school, and are expected to sit and learn. Ain't gonna happen.
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