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In honor of the late Paul Newman, we're highlighting a contribution to our book from his daughter and founder of Newman's Own Organics, Nell Newman.  Newman's Own dedicates the company's entire profits to causes around the world, an estimated donation of around $250 million to date.  Paul and Nell remain shining examples of American philanthropy, and their ethos and wisdom will always be treasured.  

"I don't have kids. I only have chickens. But I do have nephews, and I've seen how tough it can be to get them to eat well. One of them likes only white foods. I hear that's not so rare these days. My mother always says, "I don't remember you kids being so difficult." In our house, the rule was you had to try it. So we tried everything on our plate, even just a bite, or sat there at the table until it got cold. And then had to try it.

I think it all comes down to how you start kids off, so it becomes ingrained. To me, the most important thing is to give kids an experience of where their food comes from. When I was little, I was always intrigued by the growing process. I liked gardening; I liked putting that tiny seed in the ground and seeing something come out of it. My mom taught me to cook at an early age, and we used to make pies from the fruit trees that grew in our yard, and omelets from the eggs laid by our chickens. My dad was always really picky about where he got his produce. There was a farm stand in Westport called Rippey's. That's where I learned how to pick a ripe watermelon and what good corn looked like. I was made part of the process. We fished in the Long Island Sound and in the river in the backyard for sunnies and trout. We had a great time, and it taught me where food came from. Somebody once asked me, How did you learn how to clean fish? I said that one day Dad had to go somewhere and said, Here, cut it like this and take the guts out. (Mom wouldn't touch it.) Food was a hands-on experience. As a child that was very interesting to me.

My nephews live in the house I grew up in but they're much more oriented toward the computer. I told them I didn't want to do the Easter egg hunt on the Internet with kids from all over the world. They didn't get that. They're far more removed from nature. I've dragged them out fishing, which they ended up liking even though at first they didn't want to go. When I cooked the fish we caught I had to make it look like fish sticks. My sister was proud of me for that one.

Kids like to be part of the decision-making process. Next time you go to the store, have them help you read the labels to see what's in things, answer your questions about what the foods are, help you find foods with the "certified organic" label. If there's a nearby farmers' market, it's a much more interesting experience than going to the grocery store. Kids can pick their favorite produce and ask the farmers about how they grew it. Kids love meeting farmers.

Things are different today from when I grew up, and it's a lot harder to get kids who are entrenched in their habits to go outside their comfort zones. But I really believe it's just a matter of exposing them early to where food comes from: a field, not a box; a tree, not a jar; a fish, not a stick."

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