In 2009, Gwinnett County Public Schools’ School Nutrition Program partnered with its first local farmer to provide bibb lettuce for Gwinnett County students. The lettuce was grown by a farmer in Athens, and was incorporated into chef salads and side salads in schools districtwide. Since that time, our program has grown the farm-to-school initiative to include a featured local item each month of the school year.
Offering our students locally grown produce is important. We know that as soon as produce is harvested, the nutrient content begins to decline. This program allows us to obtain the freshest produce for students in the shortest amount of time possible, thus maintaining a greater percentage of its nutritional integrity.
Through our farm-to-school program, Gwinnett students have the opportunity to try an abundance of fresh local produce, including watermelon, apples, broccoli, carrots, strawberries, squash, bell peppers and sweet potatoes. We also educate them on the farm-to-school initiative and the value of fresh fruits and vegetables through short lesson plans, nutrition trivia, intercom announcements, serving line signage and social media outlets. So not only are they eating more healthy items, they also are learning about why it’s important and beneficial to do so.
Another important aspect of farm-to-school is that it supports our local economy. Georgia is the fifth-largest producer of fresh produce. By participating in farm-to-school, we are able to keep some of that local production right here within the state.
We want our farm-to-school items to be as local as possible. While the majority of our items are Georgia grown, we do have to get some things from neighboring states. For instance, once the watermelon crop was depleted in Georgia, we were still able to procure it from Alabama, thus allowing our students to continue enjoying one of their favorite fruits.
Our farm-to-school program is a success. Last school year, we served more than 800,000 servings of local produce; we already are on track to serve even more this school year. In fact, so far this year students have chosen 439,900 servings of watermelon, 32,532 servings of summer squash and 462,750 apples. Over the next several months we plan to offer local herbs, hydroponic greens, carrots, strawberries and peaches.
What’s unique about our program is this: While students get the chance to try the local items in their natural form such as fresh whole apples, we also get creative and use those fresh apples in recipes such as apple bread pudding, apple slaw, and apple and cinnamon oatmeal for breakfast.
We find that students love the variety that the program adds to the menus, and they are trying new items that they may not normally like or get the opportunity to have outside of school.
We plan to continue with our farm-to-school program and hope that it continues to grow and evolve to the benefit of our students and local community.
Ken Yant is director of school nutrition for the Gwinnett County school system.
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