Farm to School Across New York State
Farm to School Feature
COMPILED BY JULIE M. RAWAY, MPH, RDN, CDN, SNS, FAND FARMTO SCHOOL CHAIR
Saratoga Springs City School District Submitted by Claire Groudine, Registered Dietitian/ Food Service Director, Capital Region BOCES Shared Food Service Saratoga Springs City School District recently hosted a couple fun Farm to School activities that students enjoyed. The recent harvest of the month was pickles at Saratoga School District. A representative from Cornell Cooperative Extension Saratoga County came and did a pickle taste test with students. Along with the sample, each student received an activity sheet and a pickle ornament. Students also sampled the Shared Food Service’s “Saratoga” Wedding Soup for lunch recently. The soup was made with local ingredients from Sfoglini (pasta), Smith Packing Company (meatballs) and Daegele Brothers (kale & carrots). FSD Eric Bush hopes to start serving homemade soup as an alternative lunch option; the taste test was a great way to get student feedback and encourage them to try something new Harvest of the Month - Pickles! Saratoga Wedding Soup Tast Test! Photo Credit: Jackie O’donnell and Claire Groudine Photo Credit: EricBush
Broome-Tioga BOCES
Hamburg Central School District NY Grape Slushies Blender Bike Style Students had a fun opportunity to make NY Grape Snow Slushies on a blender bike. It was a sweet opportunity to enjoy a NY product!
Sidney Central School District Submitted by Eliana Epstein, Farm to School Liaison Assistant Sidney Central School District’s Farm to School Program prides itself on supporting local farmers and their products. They work with many local farmers, but most frequently purchase products from the Deposit based family farm, Catskill Cattle Company. They purchase seasonal produce and beef from Catskill Cattle twice a month for the Elementary and High School cafeterias. The feedback from students was so positive that they started purchasing burgers from the farm as well. While they love the quality of the food, lower environmental impact, and positive economic impact of buying local, they also love getting to know our farmers. The owner of Catskill Cattle, Lonny Schaefer, is always excited to tell them about his harvests or new products to try and his passion for local agriculture is contagious. He is their go-to guy for farming questions. They are thankful for the ability to support local farms and feed kids’ bellies. To read more about the Sidney Farm to School Program including their work with Catskill Cattle, check out their quarterly newsletter here.
FreshBites In June, Broome-Tioga BOCES in collaboration with the Food and Health Network & Cornell Cooperative Extension-Broome County will be hosting a fun and educational culinary training at Coltivare Culinary Education Center in Ithaca for all the food service staff, managers, and directors in all 15 of the school districts. These school nutrition professionals will learn hands-on culinary skills and learn to make the new recipes for the upcoming school year. The districts are looking forward to expanding the taste buds of students and expanding their local lunch options. Parfait Lunch Maple Roasted NY Carrots and Brussels Sprouts Pasta Fagioli with NY Veggies NY Chicken and NY Veggie Lo Mein Buffalo Chicken Dip Submitted by Julie Raway, Registered Dietitian, Broome-Tioga BOCES NY Thursdays With the new year underway, NY Thursday Menus have been a huge success in the 15 Broome-Tioga BOCES school districts. New menu items such as the NY Blueberry Parfaits for Elementary Students and NY Buffalo Chicken Dip for Middle/High School Students were well received by students. A huge shoutout to the Food and Health Network & Cornell Cooperative Extension-Broome County for being amazing Farm to School partners who make this possible! New Recipes As we look to next year, the group has finalized a handful of new exciting menu items that will debut next school year. These delicious new recipes have been tested both internally with school nutrition professionals and with students. The recipes that feature NY grown food include: -NY Chicken and NY Veggie Lo Mein -Pasta Fagioli with NY Veggies -Maple Roasted NY Carrots -Maple Roasted NY Carrots and NY Brussels Sprouts -Buffalo Roasted NY Brussels Sprouts -Buffalo Roasted NY Cauliflower -Parmesan Roasted NY Cauliflower -NY Blueberry Bars
https://fb.watch/aFzuI3o-cM/
Video Credit: Tricia Miller, Farm to School Coordinator NY Beef Stew Submitted by Shannon Gilmartin, Office Assistant NY Beef Stew was offered in the Middle and High School. It was made with tender, delicious, local beef raised by local 4H clubs! A big thanks to Cornell Cooperative Extension of Erie County for collaborating with Erie County 4H to enable the schools to serve this fresh, local food for the school lunches. The stew was also made with local potatoes!
Catskill Cattle Company’s newest piglets! Photo Credit: Lonny Schaefer
Photo Credit: Carol Mecca, HS Cafe Manager
SPRING 2022 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 35
34
SPRING 2022
Powered by FlippingBook