It was 1963, in Paris. While walking through the fruit and vegetable market Alice Waters was struck by the display of brilliant color1s, the music of farmers selling their produce, and in the middle of a great city. She felt "directly connected to the land." Chez Panisse, a Berkeley restaurant, which was founded upon Waters' ecological philosophy, has been named "The Best Restaurant in America" by both the James Beard Foundation and by Gourmet magazine, many times in the past. Only the food grown in accordance with the principles of sustainable   agriculture was used in the restaurant. Menus offered nightly at Chez Panisse have consisted only of fresh ingredients, harvested in season, and purchased from local farmers.  Alice Waters has successfully demonstrated how a restaurant can develop successfully while contributing to the general welfare of the farming community. Sharing a meal between the people was one of the wishes of Alice Waters as she would love her customers to know each other. In 1996, inspired by the Garden Project at the San Francisco County Jail , Waters decided to apply her principles to education. The project was first started at the Martin Luther King Middle School in Berkeley with the idea to transform some land near the school into a garden and, in the process, to teach local school children about food and agriculture. In 1999, over 120 people came to help plant the first cover crop, which prepared the field for farming by adding nutrients to the soil.  The student garden staff has had several years' worth of harvest, and has started growing gardens like herb and tea. Here, agricultural practices are continually being revised and updated and every year the Schoolyard staff attends the Ecological Farming Conference in Monterey. A kitchen classroom has also been created, where students learn about main foods eaten in other parts of the world. "I believe that every child in this world needs to have a relationship with the land...to know how to nourish themselves...and to know how to connect with the community around them," says Waters. The middle school has become a model in itself. The students work the land and harvest the crops, while the cafeteria  buys and prepares the produce for school lunches. This program will go a long way in teaching kids to value fresh food and their own contributions. This project is sure to inspire a national change in school curricula . In fact, many middle and high schools in California and Ohio have launched similar projects. In 1997, Alice Waters received the Humanitarian Award from the James Beard Foundation in recognition of her dedication and contribution towards environment. In 1999, the U.S. Department of Education Secretary, Richard Riley, honored her with a John H. Stanford "Education Hero" award. Which of the following best explains why Waters was awarded the title"Education Hero"?
She had helped popularize healthy eating. She had made great contributions to the environment. Her principles had brought great benefits to farmers. She had brought school children into a new relationship with land and food.