This Former White House Chef Has a Great Idea for Fixing Schools

“Proper education is not possible without proper nutrition.”

Sam Kass speaks at TED Talks Live in New York City.Photo: Ryan Lash/TED

“What can we expect our kids to learn if their diets are full of sugar and empty of nutrients?” That’s the basis of former White House chef Sam Kass’ 2015 TED talk, which was released on the website last week. Kass, a self described “food policy guy,” believes that in order to improve schools, we must first focus on kids’ nutrition. Hungry students, he points out, struggle to learn.

Watch the TED talk here:

In the first season of the Mother Jones food politics podcast, Bite, we asked Kass about his work with the Obamas on school nutrition. He praised the administration’s efforts to promote healthy eating—but he also mentioned one thing the president could have done to fix food and didn’t.

Listen to the episode here:

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