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Farm to School in the News
Visit this page often to see a digest of news items and interesting tidbits from the local, state, national and international farm to school scene!
Please be patient as we get started. If you'd like to suggest items, please email Tricia at tricia.sexton@kingcounty.gov.
10/16/07
Farmed Out, Jennifer Langston's series of articles about Farm to School in the Seattle area, is on the cover of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (yesterday and today)! The series can be found at http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/specials/farmtoschool/. Please spread the word about these articles--they are well-researched and examine the specific issues in our region.
Living Food: Link farm, school. It's a big news day for Farm to School! There's also an editorial in the P-I referring to current legislative efforts:
"Environmental groups and others say they will push the Legislature to authorize more efforts. Mo McBroom of the Washington Environmental Council noted, "This is something that people care about, that parents care about, that the governor cares about, that farmers care about. Why are we behind on this?"
Come to the Farm to School Connections Team Meeting on Monday, October 22nd, to hear more about Washington Environmental Council's work on legislation for farm to school and institutions!
10/9/07
Sheila G. Miller's article inThe Bulletin in Bend, Oregon profiles a successful farm to school project at Bend-La Pine School District in Oregon that incorporates organic produce from local farms into lunches. The story is inspiring, and includes some interesting specifics.
In responding to price concerns about organic, Wellness Specialist Katrina Wiest, who iniated the program says:
"It’s not more expensive,” Wiest said. “They meet or beat the wholesale prices, because we’re taking out the middle man. It’s going from the grower direct to the table. Usually it would go from the grower to the shipper, then to a distributor and then to the table.”
Another section of the article talks about the kinds of nutrition standards the district is using:
"And, the district strives to lower the calorie and fat content in meals as well, using brown rice, hot dogs made of turkey and corn dogs with chicken meat. The district even makes a low-fat ranch sauce that students use as veggie dip. All of the meals served in Bend-La Pine Schools are made up of no more than 30 percent fat, 10 percent saturated fat and 1,200 milligrams of sodium."
Since federal school nutrition standards do not specify amounts of fats and sodium, nor whole grains, such decisions on the part of school districts are going beyond the requirements for the sake of children's health. (Note: some similar measures, at least in terms of adding more whole grains and brown rice, are happening in the Seattle School District and others in our area)
The article does not go into details about the necessary funding and personnel change that may have gone into the program, but it does represent a success story in a small school district that's worth checking out.
10/8/07
- KQED Quest. Andrea Kissack discusses the challenge of getting healthy food into schools, and how it is influenced by national farm policy and the Farm Bill. (includes a brief interview with Ann Cooper of the Berkeley School District)
- UK's Ofsted report reveals that school children are not immediately won over to healthier, fresher recipes in British schools. (Guardian article; Ofsted Report)
- A Milwaukee Sentinel story about local purchasing in Mt. Horeb School District in Wisconsin notes challenges that also affect our Pacific NW school districts: cost, adequate supply, and staff to process fresh fruits and vegetables; but also highlights the benefits of introducing kids to a range of fresh foods.
From Before the Digest was born ... interesting news from the past year:
5/22/07 - Grow Montana reports on passage of a Montana Senate Bill that allows flexibility for direct purchase of local food product for institutions when it meets certain criteria for price and quality.
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