Silverware from undated catalog circa late 1800s, early 1900s. Via TheGraphicsFairy.Com, public domain.
By Kathleen Yetman
As the saying goes, you must taste some foods 20 times before you’ll likes them. And kids are no different. They need opportunities to expand their palates and repeated menus featuring new foods in order to grow into healthy adults.
October is National Farm to School Month and organizations, school districts, and school food directors all across the country are celebrating local agriculture with students. The farm to school movement is a nationwide movement that’s more than just bringing fresh local produce into school lunches; it requires a host of educational activities to encourage kids to learn about the foods they eat, where those foods come from, how they grow, and how they affect their bodies.
Why does farm to school matter? Every day, more than 31 million children eat lunch at school. Many of these children depend on schools to provide them breakfast as well. Data from 2012 shows that in Prescott Unified School District 35 percent of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. It’s 43 percent in Chino Valley and 60 percent in Humboldt. This means that a large percentage of our children receive 2/3 of their meals at school. Some schools are forced to serve what’s cheapest while still meeting nutritional standards set by the government. Often this means canned vegetables, highly processed chicken nuggets and foods that contain high fructose corn syrup. Farm to school programs aim to place fresh fruits and vegetables, and unprocessed meats onto the trays of all students, ensuring that what they eat at school nourishes them and helps them grow.
What does farm to school look like in our community? The farm to school ideology has three core elements: education, school gardens, and procurement. We have an inspiring team of community partners working on all of these elements in the Quad Cities. Yavapai County Community Health Services uses Snap Nutritional Assistance Program Ed funding to teach nutrition in local Title 1 school classrooms. The Prescott Farmers Market’s FoodCorps service member supplements these nutrition lessons with hands-on gardening activities in three public schools. Many public and charter schools have thriving gardens where children can make the connection between the seeds they plant and the vegetables they eat.
This past year, Paradigm Permaculture partnered with Prescott Unified School District and other organizations to implement a USDA Farm to School Planning Grant to determine the best ways to increase students’ access to local fruits and vegetables in school meals. Some strategies engage school food directors and kitchen staff in sourcing from local farmers, trying new recipes, and offering taste tests and education about new menu items. On the other side, districts and schools have to ensure that farmers have the quantity they need and receive a good price for their produce.
Congress designated National Farm to School Month in 2010 to bring attention to the growing importance of farm to school programs that improve child nutrition, bolster local economies and teach children about the origins of food. Each Saturday this month the Prescott Farmers Market education booth is providing children a taste test, educational hand-out, recipe and craft about one of the featured fruits or vegetables: pomegranate, kale, spaghetti squash and pumpkin.
Bring your kids down to the market to learn about these delicious fruits and vegetables and enjoy a taste yourself.
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Visit FarmToSchool.Org to learn more about the farm to school movement. Visit FNS.USDA.Gov/nslp/national-school-lunch-program-nslp to learn more about the National School Lunch Program.
Visit the Prescott Farmers Market at PrescottFarmersMarket.Org or Yavapai College Parking Lot D, 1100 E. Sheldon St. Send questions to Info@PrescottFarmersMarket.Org.
Kathleen Yetman is the managing director of the Prescott Farmers Market. She was born and raised in Prescott and spent the past three years living on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation.