The kids may not have initially liked the food...tastes can be hard to change. But Jamie DID get documented results in England in the schools his program was used in...less sick days and better test scores in some groups.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/...-dinners-meals
I'd rather see efforts to get the kids to like the food (gardening on-site, for example, integrated with science and math lessons, as Alice Waters enacted in the Edible Schoolyard program), and even resource shifting away from programs in place to raise test scores that maybe don't work as well. Obviously resources are limited, and budgets do need to be taken into account, but I think spending the money on healthier food (which may reduce sick days and improve children's health in addition to improving test scores) may be a better use of those funds than other test-score focused initiatives. And if the buying power of a LOT of schools resulted in a large, guaranteed market for fresh foods (as that buying power does today for convenience/processed foods), the contract costs for those foods could be negotiated to lower levels. So I think the money issues can be solved.
Here is a quote on results from another edible schoolyard school:
Quote:
A small alternative school in Appleton, Wisconsin changed their menu to emphasize fresh fruits and vegetables, whole-grain products, entrees free of chemicals and additives and energy drinks. The results were dramatic. For the next five years this school had no expulsions, no dropouts, no drugs on campus, no weapons, and no suicides. It was the only school in Appleton that had a perfect record. Although the food costs were higher, the school saved money because it no longer had to pay for a full-time police officer, and with better discipline, it was able to increase class size from eight to fifteen students. The entire Appleton school district in now phasing in a healthier lunch program for its fifteen thousand students.
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/a...ldhood-obesity
Here is a summary from CA on results related to "environment-based learning", like edible schoolyards:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/he/gardenoverview.asp
So while it's true the kids may not like the food AT FIRST, and budget issues might require some work to overcome, I do think both of those problems can be solved.