Improving school nutrition is a goal that Rach and her Yum-o! organization have been working toward for years (including teaming up with Michelle Obama). But she’s worried about the current state of affairs.

“I don’t talk a lot of politics on this show because I really want everybody to feel welcome and included here. We don’t have a political color,” Rach says. “But I am very concerned about the state of nutrition in our public schools.”

But there’s reason for hope. There are lots of folks on the ground making things better, like Erika Schellinger, who works with FoodCorps in Camden, New Jersey. She goes into schools to give kids culinary lessons, teach them how to grow veggies and help them eat a better diet.

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What’s the best thing about her work? Erika says, “It’s that feeling of joy when they have that light go off in their face when they try something new and actually love it, and they’re surprised that they love it. Like beets!”

Rach invited her to a taping of the show, but what Erika doesn’t know is that she’s about to win the Classroom Culinary Leadership Award from FoodCorps and Yum-o!, and $25,000 for her program! Watch for her shocked reaction.