
Oxford High School Food Club celebrates the Fall Harvest at Honey Bee Bakery
The TedXManhattan “Changing the Way We Eat” speech has brought many interviews my way – I am most proud, however, of this awesome article from the Oxford High School paper, The Charger. Read below for sophomore Hannah Allen’s take on my adventure in New York:
Oxford food organization travels to New York City
By Hannah Allen
staff writer
It started with a dream. Just over a year ago, Projects Director Sunny Young was merely sharing her vision with Oxford schools. This month, she got to share it on a national level.
Young’s project “Good Food for Oxford Schools,” or GFOS, is working to improve the quality of food in the cafeteria, thus educating students and parents in healthy eating choices. She goes by the “farm to school” principle which encourages using local farm produce in school cafeterias and serving more cooked-from-scratch, fresh, not overly processed items.
Even though GFOS is just a year old, Young is not holding back from taking big steps forward. On March 1, she went to New York City for TedXManhattan 2014, a conference where people working in the food movement from all over the country come together, give speeches, get ideas and be inspired. Speakers are chosen by TedX and have 12 minutes to “speak their piece” with no interruption for “Q and A,” Young said. A variety of social injustice issues are discussed and each speech is put on YouTube for the whole world to see.
Young was a chosen speaker. She had her 12 minutes—standing in front of some of her food movement “heroes” and sharing about her dream being put to action in Oxford schools.
At the conference, Young says she learned much from the array of issues brought up and through networking with people there.
“I learned a lot about great food work going on around the country,” Young said. “I also saw some neat ways to connect art to the food movement. There was a woman who illustrated what your insides look like when you eat artificial foods versus real foods and a man who created videos where you can watch plants grow from seed to harvest.”
The event’s theme, “Changing the Way We Eat,” is spurring change all over the nation, and Young is taking a large part in it. GFOS won the TedXChallenge for this year—a true honor, according to this organization. Young was thrilled about winning and says it could not have happened without the project’s support from Mississippi and others across the country. “We won by votes from people online and by the TedX panel of judges thinking we are deserving,” Young said. “It is a huge accomplishment, and I love that it brought some really positive attention to Mississippi on a national level.”
TedX’s people are not the only ones who recognize the hard work and passion Young shows on a daily basis. Director of Child Nutrition Richmond Smith is proud of her for achieving so much in a short time.
“Sunny was a gem when I first spoke with her,” Smith said. “She is very energetic about changing the landscape of school nutrition for Oxford. I have enjoyed every minute of working with her.”
School nurse Meg Hayden also applauds Young.
“It’s amazing to work with someone so personally committed to what they are doing,” Hayden said. “She is so fun, passionate and smart. None of this change in Oxford would have happened without her.”
“It’s amazing to work with someone so personally committed to what they are doing,” Hayden said. “She is so fun, passionate and smart. None of this change in Oxford would have happened without her.”