Farm to School Across New York State
Farm to School Feature
COMPILED BY JULIE M. RAWAY, MPH, RDN, CDN, SNS, FAND FARMTO SCHOOL CHAIR
At two sites in Binghamton, the Lee Barta Center and Boys and Girls Club, in-person taste test for a new NY Sunshine Bar made with NY Butternut Squash were planned, but had to be turned into a remote taste test due to COVID. The Farm to School team thought outside the box and prepacked bars with labels that had a QR code for voting. This innovative solution was well received! While it is ideal to be in person and interact with students, this was a good option at the time. Broome-Tioga BOCES Rock on Café, the Food and Health Network, and Cornell Cooperative Extension Broome County are looking forward to more taste test throughout the school year! Photo Credit: Julie Raway Broome-Tioga BOCES Rock on Café
Poughkeepsie Farm Project Submitted by Kathryn Brignac, Farm to School Manager, Poughkeepsie Farm Project Poughkeepsie Farm Project educators provided beet microgreen kits and lessons to elementary students so they could learn to grow at home and school! They reached classes via teachers who led lessons with students in person and remotely using PFP resources and supplies and, directly, during in-person school garden visits. The kits included a dehydrated soil packet with its own container, beet seeds, and an instructional handout. Students learned multiple ways to grow and eat vegetables with activities including “seed” stretching, tasting smoothies, transplanting beets and other crops into their school gardens, and by cooking using the mini csa shares and recipes they took home. This initiative was part of PFP’s larger Farm to School program which involves school garden visits, produce tastings, and distribution at schools. Find PFP’s microgreens and other farm to school videos, recipes and handouts on their Onli e Learning page and Youtube channel .
Beacon City School District Submitted by Erika Rincon, Farm to School Coordinator, Beacon City School District Over the past decade Common Ground Farm has built a robust relationship with Beacon City School District and has worked with their food service staff to provide fresh, seasonal produce for their cafeterias. Every spring Common Ground would sell lettuce to the schools for their salad bar, but this year the food service director, Karen Pagano, had the idea to do an outdoor “food truck” style event with the mobile market bus which Common Ground shares with Green Teen Beacon. We called the event “Lettuce Do Lunch!” On Thursday, June 10th the bus was parked outside of Beacon High School and students could build their own lettuce bowls with their choice of proteins, toppings and dressing. The following day we did the same event at Rombout Middle School and in both locations received rave reviews from students and teachers. The events were such a success that BCSD is considering a similar event in September to highlight another Common Ground vegetable. Photo Credit: Photos courtesy of Beacon City School District
Broome-Tioga BOCES Rock on Café Submitted by Julie Raway, MPH, RDN, CDN, SNS, FAND, Registered Dietitian Broome-Tioga BOCES Broome-Tioga BOCES Rock on Café in partnership with the Food and Health Network and Cornell Cooperative Extension Broome County was fortunate to resume in- person Farm to School taste tests this past summer. With several school districts running summer programs, it was a great opportunity to connect with students and get feedback on future recipes that may appear on the school menus. In the Tioga Central School District, students sampled NY Roasted Buffalo Cauliflower and NY Roasted Parmesan Cauliflower. Overall feedback was positive, although the younger students felt the Buffalo Cauliflower was a bit spicy. This was good feedback as the Farm to School team was already considering it a middle/high school side item. Other feedback was to mix both types of cauliflower together and when the team tried this, it was delicious. At the Windsor Central School District, students sampled NY Herb Potato Salad. Overall feedback from students was good, but logistics of prepping the day before service is still in the works. The local media showed up to this Farm to School taste test and it created a great opportunity to showcase the Farm to School initiative.
News Video
Submitted by Chris Gavin
FALL 2021 Julie grew up on a dairy farm in Skaneateles, NY and has always loved food especially local food. She plans her vacations around farmers markets, restaurants, and anything else to do with food. Julie is the Registered Dietitian at Broome-Tioga BOCES where she works with 15 school districts in the Southern Tier of New York State who implement NY Thursdays, a menu that highlights NY foods twice a month. Julie is passionate about connecting farms to schools, creating opportunities for students to learn and enjoy food! JULIE RAWAY, MPH, RDN, CDN, SNS, FAND • CHAIR FreshBites 43
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FreshBites
FALL 2021
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