This week on Meat and Three take a seat at the kids table, we promise to serve more than plain pasta and chicken fingers. Beyond the brightly colored boxes and school lunch trays, our team explores pressing questions surrounding the regulations and safety of ‘kids foods’.

This week on Time For Lunch, Hannah and Harry are getting down and dirty in the smell, but essential world of composting. We hear from Jayne Merner Senecal of Earthcare Farm who is an expert on turning kitchen scraps into gardening gold.

Covid-19 put school lunch in flux, as cafeteria trays were reconceptualized as brown bags and meal boxes. USDA waivers freed school cafeterias from former limitations about who they can feed and what food they can serve.

This week, we have an update on school lunch, as we mark one year of Covid-19’s impact on our food system. Jessica Fu from The Counter is back to explain some unexpected ramification of the USDA waivers that made school lunch free for all children under 18.

This episode is part of a special series in collaboration with Gastronomica: The Journal for Food Studies, guest hosted by Gastronomica editorial collective member Jessica Carbone.

Last month, FERN.org (The Food and Environment Reporting Network) reported that “school meal programs have lost more than $483 million so far during the pandemic.” What exactly is going on here, and why does this situation make the case for universal free school lunch?

As millions of kids returned to school over the past month, one of the biggest questions was how to provide nutritious meals to them. It’s become an even bigger problem as many school systems began the year with fully-remote schedules.

What do kids in Japan have for lunch at school? When in history were school lunches first served? Do you like to have pizza on Fridays? It’s that time of year where kids all around the world are going back to school!

Our guests are Alexis Agliano Sanborn and Chris Whittaker.  Alexis joined us on Episode 106 in 2018 to discuss the production of her new film “Nourishing Japan”. She is the producer and director of the film and now it is finally on view.

Join cohost Ethan and guest Dan Giusti to hear his fascinating story, going from Head Chef at Noma to the founder of Brigaid, transforming school food.