Good Deeds: Bill Telepan Making Edible School Lunches

Last week NYMag asked a handful of chefs what they put in their kids' packed lunches. Bill Telepan, owner of his eponymous restaurant on the Upper West Side and one of the surveyed chefs, obviously cares about his daughter's lunch, but it's an Edible Manhattan article this month that really reveals just how committed he is. According to the piece, he is the only Manhattan chef directly volunteering his time with the New York public school system to put out healthier, better tasting lunches. In addition to meeting with school officials and creating new recipes for the cafeterias, he goes in three days a week to school kitchens to try to revamp the programs and train the staff. It's a long but worthwhile article about the challenges facing the school lunch program—Telepan tries and fails to bring in edible fresh meat—and how chefs can help.
· What the Kids Are Eating [EM]