School Nutrition Association • November/December 2022 • ONSITE INSIGHTS

While October’s National Farm to School Month celebrations are over, now is the time to capitalize on the momentum you started! Reevaluate opportunities to increase local food procurement and continue to bring new education and enrichment activities to engage your students. “Farm to school” is a broad, catch-all term that can mean many things: purchasing from local growers/farmers/processors/fisheries, planting school gardens and bringing agricultural/food/nutrition education to students. There’s lots you can do to raise your farm-to-school game, no matter where you live.

Accepting Imperfect Foods

“THAT LOOKS GROSS. I’M NOT GOING TO EAT THAT!” Whether it’s a funky-looking carrot or a tragically misshapen melon, many kids (and their parents!) have an aversion to “imperfect” or “ugly” foods—foods that don’t look like they “should.”

So, how do you get kids (and their parents) to accept those imperfect foods that don’t have the uniformity of size, shape and color that they typically see in the produce aisle but may come from local growers’ harvests. Educate parents and students on the impact food appearance has on food selection and food waste!

● Work with the administration to organize a farmer’s market day in the cafeteria or elsewhere on campus. Whether the event is held during meal service periods or before/after school, invite parents to join their kids and see how common it is to find uncommon shapes! If you can’t arrange this type of event, compile a list of farmer’s markets in the area and share it with families, encouraging them to pay some visits.
● Invite a farmer to visit the cafeteria and set up a station for taste tests with “ugly” foods from their farm.
● Conduct a plate waste audit with your students and share national research about the extent of food waste in this country, raising awareness about how their perspectives and behaviors may contribute to the problem.
● Conduct a side-by-side taste test to show kids that there is no significant flavor or texture difference between “ugly” and “perfect” produce.
● Have a contest! Give points to students who select imperfect produce when it’s on the line. Award a prize to those who earn the most points over a week or more.

You may need to educate members of your school nutrition team, as well. Watch that when they receive foods from local growers they are not discarding imperfect items. For items that may be rejected if served whole on the line, discuss ways to make use of them in recipes instead. Remind staff that they also have a responsibility to minimize food waste in the kitchen.

IS A HYDROPONIC GARDEN RIGHT FOR YOU?

Hydroponics is a method of growing plants in water-based nutrient solutions rather than in soil. Crops are grown on floor-to-ceiling shelves that hold plants, often in fiber plugs that are fed by a nutrient-enriched water and lit by LED lamps. Hydroponic gardens are becoming an increasingly popular option for school gardens, especially in areas where there’s limited growing and harvest time during the school year. Some of the best plants to grow hydroponically include lettuce (and other greens like spinach and kale), tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, green beans, radishes, basil and other herbs and strawberries. But there are a few drawbacks to be aware of before you leap into this project. Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of hydroponic gardening.

PROS

CONS

Farmers & Friends

As a cafeteria manager, you can get creative and bring the farm to your students in many different ways. Get kids engaged with the food they eat and the cafeteria where you serve them by connecting with various representatives of the agriculture community and inviting them to help with different engagement activities. But how do you even start with making cold calls?

● Begin with the local growers and processors that already supply items to your school meals program. Inquire if they would be willing to come to your school to talk about where food comes from and how it gets from them to students’ trays.
● Reach out to a cooperative extension for recommendations of local agricultural producers who might be willing to help with food education and demonstrations for students, such as canning classes. (It’s a cool way to teach about using those imperfect foods, too!) Extension staff also may be potential instructors or leaders.
● Your state agency is also ready to help connect you with local food producers and processors, and they may have grant opportunities to help fund more farm-to-school enrichment for your students.

Are you a Locavore? Test Your Knowledge

1.“Local” is a fixed definition that means the same thing everywhere, regardless of geographic location.

2.Local foods from small producers always present a greater food safety risk than those from large-scale distributors.

4.There are tangible, measurable benefits to serving local foods in school cafeterias.

(1) False. Definitions for “local” vary widely across the country, and there is no national standard when it comes to food procurement. School districts can set the definition of “local” by using such factors as geography, product season and transportation costs. (2) False. Shorter supply chains in local food systems mean fewer “touchpoints,” which can reduce risks. School meal operations also can require vendors to participate in voluntary Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) audits. (3) True. There are no federal rules prohibiting this, but be sure that your school farmers are meeting GAP standards, as well! (4) True. School food authorities spent $1.26 billion on local foods in SY2018-19, and they reported many student engagement activities like taste tests, cooking demonstrations, edible gardens and more to USDA, state agencies and the National Farm to School Network.

Heather Perry, SNS

Ready and Eager to Represent YOU at SNA

HELLO! I’M HONORED AND EXCITED TO FOLLOW SHANNON NOWAK AS YOUR NEW REPRESENTATIVE ON THE NATIONAL SNA BOARD OF DIRECTORS. I look forward to gaining insights into the many issues that affect school meal programs, and I will do my best to be sure the perspectives of our membership section are heard. Let me introduce myself by telling you a little about my journey!

I was a restaurant sous chef for 10 years prior to taking the leap into school nutrition. I responded to an ad for a child nutrition manager trainee at Charlotte-Mecklenburg (N.C.) Schools (CMS) after the restaurant where I worked closed. Since I had a 2-year-old daughter, having weekends, evenings and summers off seemed like a good fit! After being hired and trained in 2006, I started as a middle school manager. Over the years, I became a training manager for new hires, managed one of the high schools, became a floating manager, taught classes, assisted with recipe development—and kept learning with every new opportunity!

In 2019, I changed districts to become Quality Control Manager with Union County (N.C.) Public Schools. It is a 12-month, supervisory position that doesn’t require a bachelor’s degree, so it was an irresistible opportunity to grow. I think of the position as a mentor to other managers. There are three of us in this role, and we assist with work schedules, food ordering, production and customer service. We also help train employees to prepare our scratch-made items and maintain a high standard of food quality.

With this issue’s focus on farm-to-school activities, I’ll note that we receive local produce through the North Carolina Department of Agriculture. We don’t work directly with area farmers because they are not GAP-certified (Good Agricultural Practices). But I’m a big supporter of creative ways to bring fresh produce to students, including school gardens. My niece would not eat corn-on-the-cob until she helped to grow it in her preschool! It’s exciting to watch students enjoy the fruits of their labor.

I’ve been involved with SNA since the beginning. After being asked to serve as hospitality chair for the CMS chapter, I cycled through the officer positions and have volunteered at SNA of North Carolina, as well. SNA Past President Reggie Ross has been a good friend since we both started in the CMS manager training program together. Last fall, he planted the seed that I run for the Employee/Manager position on the national Board. Although I hadn’t imagined it myself, I decided to go for it, and here I am!

I’m in school nutrition for the long haul! When my daughter graduated from high school a couple of years ago, she noted that I could now go back to restaurant work. But I have found my passion in feeding the next generation!

Farm to School & Food Safety

Make sure you and your colleagues know the rules for handling local foods and foods grown in school garden programs.

3. When using fresh produce in your school meal program, you should wash unpackaged, unprocessed items ___________.

4. After produce items have been peeled and/or sliced, diced and otherwise processed for serving, how long can they be held safely without refrigeration or in containers on ice?

USDA Supports Farm to School

USDA periodically conducts a Farm to School Census, and the most recent results were collected in 2019 from school food authorities in all 50 states and U.S. territories that participated in the National School Lunch Program. The results were released in 2021 and revealed that farm-to-school activities were on the rise before the pandemic, with 65% of responding districts indicating some type of participation! (See the “By the Numbers” box for more details).

● a downloadable farm-to-school program planning toolkit;
● a fact sheet on integrating local foods into child nutrition programs;
● an archive of editions of The Dirt e-newsletter; and
● details on the 2023 Farm to School Grant program.

In October, USDA announced it had issued a request for applications for grants, which is open until Friday, January 6, 2023. USDA expects to distribute some $12 million in grants in different areas. Be sure to bring this opportunity to the attention of your supervisor, as well as supportive administrators and teachers.

BY THE NUMBERS

● 71.7% of districts report using local foods in the National School Lunch Program

● School food authorities spent $1.26 billion on local foods; that’s an estimated 20 cents of every food dollar