Schools consider local veggie options
Source: G. Basler - Press & Sun Bulletin
8/3/2008
WHITNEY POINT- Jack Salo wants to encourage interest in serving locally grown fruits and vegetables in school cafeterias.
The time is ripe to promote the effort, said the executive director of the Rural Health Network, which promotes health initiatives in Tioga, Delaware and rural Broome counties.
Salo was at Whitney Point High school on Thursday for a workshop sponsored by the network on Farm to School programs, started across the country to connect schools with local farms. About 30 officials from school districts and nutrition programs attended the workshop, which focused on the benefits on incorporating local foods into school meal menus and steps on how to do it.
"It's not just about food in the cafeteria. It's also an opportunity to incorporate food education into the classroom," Salo said.
Represented at Thursday's event was the Cornell Farm to School program, supported by the Cornell Cooperative Extension, which has worked since 2002 to expand connections between local farms and schools.
Close to 30 percent of fruits and vegetables in school cafeterias in Broome and eastern Tioga counties now come from New York state farms, said Ray Denniston, food service director in the Johnson City Central School District.
Several factors work against the idea, Salo said: "If we were to shift to all locally grown food, we don't have the capacity to meet the demand now." And the growing season isn't in sync with the school year.
Still, the effort has gotten more attention over the last six years as a way to boost the local economy and provide healthier options for students, Denniston said.
To promote the effort, schools across the region will participate in New York Harvest for New York Kids Week at the end of September, when locally grown products will be served in cafeterias.
