Science | food 6 Morsels of Good Foodie News School lunches are improving; Walmart's into sustainability: Mark Bittman By Matt Cantor Posted Mar 23, 2011 12:22 PM CDT Copied A man shops in the produce area at Pacifica Farmers Market in Pacifica, Calif, Wednesday, March 16, 2011. (AP Photo) Sometimes it’s important for a critic to drop the criticism and offer some praise. In the New York Times, Mark Bittman presents a taste of good news in the food world: Backers of better food policy are gaining real traction: The reauthorized Child Nutrition Act will improve school lunches, while the Food Safety Modernization Act will make our meals safer. Walmart is making a big push for local food, including doubling “sales of locally-sourced produce” and encouraging sustainable farming. And McDonald's is following the retail giant's lead. “Real food is spreading”: The number of US farmers' markets has increased some 250% since 1994 to 6,000. Urban farming is growing from Pittsburgh to Milwaukee, and city governments are supporting the trend. A new generation of farmers is on its way: Even though farmers are aging, nonprofits give “farming a new cachet of cool.” School food is getting better: It “may have more potential positive influences than anything else," and the USDA, for example, is backing a program to get chefs into schools. Some 550 schools are on board. Read Bittman's whole column here. Read These Next Gavin Newsom has filed a massive lawsuit against Fox News. Trumps ends trade talks with Canada. New York Times ranks the best movies of the 21st century. White House rolls with Trump's 'daddy' nickname. Report an error