Think Out Loud interviews Lola about School Lunch

In May 2019, the day after our Umi Organic yakisoba noodles were served for the first time in all Portland Public Schools, I joined nutrition services director Whitney Ellersick on OPB’s Think Out Loud to talk about how our partnership formed and what it means for students. Here’s OPB’s description:

Oregon’s school lunches are wholly paid for by federal dollars. At least they were until 2011 when Oregon passed legislation creating the Farm to School Grant. That established a state fund for schools to purchase fresh, locally-produced food. That law is now up for renewal and expansion. For 12 years, Whitney Ellersick, the senior director of nutrition services at Portland Public Schools, has been working to keep students fed and ready to learn every day. We hear from her and Lola Milholland, the CEO of Umi Organic, which has developed a new organic yakisoba noodle specifically to meet USDA requirements to be included in school lunches.