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Farm to School Month
October is “Farm to School” month. It is intended to promote local foods, and especially an attempt to partner farmers and school food service departments. Unlike a lot of promotional programs people come up with, this one that I hope will become very successful.
The two main purposes behind the program are to increase the quality of food being served to our children at their schools (and help reduce costs in many cases) and to help educate children about where their food comes from. Both are admirable goals.
Several local school districts have already embarked on programs to connect with local farmers to provide high quality, locally produced vegetables, fruit and meat. It has been quite successful in those districts that have joined in with the program. schools have been especially enthusiastic about the whole idea. Food service directors see it as an opportunity to provide students with fresh, healthy, locally produced food. School districts see it as an opportunity to help their bottom line because they have discovered they can often find local produce at excellent prices. Teachers love it because it allows them to incorporate the real world into their curriculum. A trip to a local farm to see how food is produced can tie into a whole range of courses — biology, ecology, math, business, energy…
It’s a fantastic opportunity for small scale farmers as well. Not only does it provide an additional market for produce, it helps to build a relationship with the local community.
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krippner posted this
