Today we have a guest blog from HSC Intern Dennis Fiser. Dennis recently graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in environmental studies and is beginning a new job on an organic farm later this Spring.
In Jean Saunders’ blog entry from April of last year, I think it’s safe to say pretty much everybody (myself included) was astounded by the quality of a school lunch in France. Smoked salmon with asparagus and crème fraiche? Tomato and fresh mozzarella salad? Who needs, or would even want, a bagged lunch if this were the standard fare?
In the meantime, our school lunches are suffering from an unfortunate convergence of government policies, agricultural practices, and the strained financial state of our education system. School cafeterias on this side of the big pond seem to have a penchant for pizza, a need for nachos, and a hankering for hot dogs. While all of those items have their place, there’s no question we could do far better - and a growing trend called Farm to School is starting to do just that.
The name means just what it says – bringing the farm to the school through nutrition education, visits from farmers, growing food in school gardens, and putting some farm fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs, meat, honey, and beans on students’ plates when they come to the cafeteria for lunch.
The National Farm to School Network was officially created in 2000, as a joint effort between the Community Food Security Coalition and the Center for Food & Justice. It started with just six programs in 1997, but now the organization estimates that there are a whopping 2,000 programs in over 8,000 schools in 38 states.
Marion Kalb, who is co-director of the National Farm to School Network, attributes this rapid growth in part to the growing interest in eating and living healthy, but it isn’t just adults who are interested.
“We've found that if kids can meet the farmer who actually grew the food, they're much more likely to eat it," she said.
In a country where the prevalence of obesity is a problem in ever more communities, Farm to School programs are one way to reconnect ourselves and our schoolchildren to meaningful and healthy eating habits, while also helping to support small, local farms that sell to the schools.
Several states have passed Farm to School legislation encouraging school districts to buy local and giving them some of the human and financial resources required to do so. Several states have bills which will come to a vote sometime within the next few months, and the USDA encourages states to purchase locally grown produce for school meals.
Right now, there is a strong Farm to School program going on in Oak Park and Forest Park schools, pushed on by Gary Cuneen and Seven Generations Ahead. Students have enjoyed some local delights, including Dinosaur Kale and Swiss chard, and been on several trips to nearby farms, such as the Green Earth Institute in Naperville.
USA Today recently featured Farm to School efforts in their article, “Food program brings together schools, farmers,” and here’s hoping they have plenty more reason to keep featuring it in the future.
As a former R.D., I think that the concept of 'farm to school' is a wonderful idea. But, as a retired school food service director, I think it is an unreasonable concept--at least in New England, where I live. With a first average frost date of mid-October, and a last average frost date of mid-May, the only local farm products that could be used for most of the school year would have to come from greenhouses!
I served fresh fruits and vegetables on all my serving lines every single day, but they were NOT locally grown (except in September!).
Maybe farm-to-school can be a reality in southern California or Florida, but not for the rest of us who live in cold, snowy climates.
Oh--and, just who pays for the salmon and fresh mozzarella in those French (socialist) lunches?
Posted by: Lois Black | April 10, 2008 at 06:20 PM