Chef Ann Cooper’s busy CCS Forum 2015 agenda began on Monday, May 25th. We visited the Carlos Soublette Municipal Integral Education Unit in Bello Campo, where 265 children are educated free of charge under the principles of sustainability and healthy eating.

Since 2011, the school community has worked along with the Association for the Defense of the Environment and Nature (ADAN) to move towards becoming an ecological and sustainable institution. Two years later, they are the only school in Venezuela to achieve ISO-14001 certification, which endorses their environmental management practices.

The school has focused on reducing its environmental impact in terms of consumption of water, electricity, solid waste, and the children’s management of risk situations like natural disasters. To this end, brigades of volunteer students of all ages are configured and put in charge of ensuring the optimal functioning of the facilities, as well as tasked with reporting faults involving a waste of resources.

Chef Ann and the school coordinators exchanged experiences during their encounter. The presence of Rosa Virginia Urdaneta, general manager of Cultura Chacao, promoted putting forth ideas on food literacy programs that familiarize children with the path of food from its origin to their plates.

We visited the school’s dining room and kitchen, where all the food that the children eat is prepared: breakfasts, lunches and snacks, a varied and balanced menu designed by nutritionists.

The Carlos Soublette School inaugurated a series of visits to inspiring projects that speak of the desired city that is already being built with plenty of heart and force of will.