you started the edible schoolyard. a movement that transcends your first schoolyard that happens to be here, the city and county of san francisco. talk to us a little bit about that. [laughter]. >> are you speaking of the garden project at the san francisco county jail? >> that was a second step. i met katherine sneed about 20 years ago. she had this project, the garden project at the san francisco county jail. she called me up one day and said, you know, we are growing vegetables out here and if we grow vegetables the way you like to have them grown, would you buy them from us? i said sure. she said, the only thing>> local jail owned and operated. you were that definitive? >> i have had lots of experiences with farming, over the phone, you don't know what to expect. she said i want you to come out and see this project before you make a decision. i went out to the jail in san baru.n. o. she had 7 acres of land planted. she said tell alice about what is going on here. this one guy said hey, you know, i have only been wo

we worked with public schools to talk about edible schoolyards and different frameworks for educations well as the fact that there are no shortcuts in this life. those short cuts, of course, magnified in the course of regulation and financial problems that we experience in a macro economy. the seasons, the seeds, you cannot necessarily put a narrative of education like these here at the public schools. that is a long winded introduction. of course, that all came home in washington, d.c. michelle obama decided to plant a garden of her own in front of the white house. suddenly everyone said the san francisco was mainstream. a mainstream movement. good that we took the lead, forgetting completely that we were ahead of the curve and the first to get locked. i had the pleasure of being with the first lady. about 10 months ago, sharing with her the story of our victory garden. we told her to pay attention to what is coming next in san francisco. we knew that we had to keep stretching, raising the bar. that is what we are doing here today. we have got 15 of these victory gardens that are now

we don't have time to talk about the work you have done in edible schoolyards in new orleans. the slow food nation is going to happen in san francisco this labor weekend. how can people get involved, not only slow food nation, but with also get involved in this whole movement? i want to learn more, i have to know more. is there a book you recommend? a website? a brochure we can pick up or a phone number? >> we do have a brochure. there are lots of brochures. certainly the website of slow food nation is a way to get connected and understand what is happening in international movement. that is what is most important. this isn't just the united states. this is an international organization in 131 countries. we are having this conversation around the world and that is what needs to happen. we need to unite in that way. there are all kinds of incredible books. fast food nation is no. 1 homework piece. michael pollen's books bring us into the big picture around food. of course my own books. but we have to really think about what we are eating everyday. really pay attention to this.

. >> the genesis came from the idea of the edible schoolyard? did the reaction, what was the reaction of the parents? were the parents suspect? were they concerned you were invading on the curriculum? did they think this was a waste of time for their kids? how did people respond? >> we did everything we could bring them into this delicious way of thinking, both the kids and the parents. so we weren't, we used to bring math classes over to chez panisse and feed them lunch. the teachers were having a meeting and i wanted them to incorporate these ideas. we had to feed them to them. we invited the principals for dinner and lunch. it was all through drawing them in through a pleasurable experience. once you get hooked, you see, on the flavors, you give very willingly. [laughter]. >> i want to get to soul food in a second. how do you answer? you pick a carrot? what is the education? what is the narrative? >> the math teachers bring their kids out into the garden. >> math? >> math, into the garden, we have a couple they decide they are measuring the b