Posted on Sep 11, 2023
Serving farm fresh food in schools is getting big federal support — but will 'farm to school'...
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The Farm-to-School movement is out to revolutionize the humble school lunch with food grown on local farms. But the path from cropland to cafeteria is full of complicated twists and turns. A new wave of federal funding is trying to smooth the way.
It’s a hot, buggy morning and Derrick Hoffman is poking around a densely packed row of bushy cherry tomato plants.
Behind him, rows of peppers, eggplant, kale and broccoli are still soaking up the sun, while just a few country roads away, bok choy and butter lettuce sprout under hoop house protection.
But in the cherry tomato patch, it’s already harvest season. Hoffman and a handful of farm hands are choosing tomatoes to pick – the ones already deepened to the just right shade of red. “Or light orange,” Hoffman concedes. “Because once you put a red one with an orange one, they all turn red.”
Hoffman doesn’t want them all to turn red too quickly, because once these tomatoes leave his 100-acre farm on the outskirts of Greeley, Colorado, they have to fit with the lunch service schedule at a local public school.
It’s a hot, buggy morning and Derrick Hoffman is poking around a densely packed row of bushy cherry tomato plants.
Behind him, rows of peppers, eggplant, kale and broccoli are still soaking up the sun, while just a few country roads away, bok choy and butter lettuce sprout under hoop house protection.
But in the cherry tomato patch, it’s already harvest season. Hoffman and a handful of farm hands are choosing tomatoes to pick – the ones already deepened to the just right shade of red. “Or light orange,” Hoffman concedes. “Because once you put a red one with an orange one, they all turn red.”
Hoffman doesn’t want them all to turn red too quickly, because once these tomatoes leave his 100-acre farm on the outskirts of Greeley, Colorado, they have to fit with the lunch service schedule at a local public school.
Serving farm fresh food in schools is getting big federal support — but will 'farm to school'...
Posted from kcur.org
Farming
Agriculture
Food/Chow
Children
Schools
Posted 8 mo ago
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And things will vary widely depending on seasons and what is available locally
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
"Two major US laws support farm-to-school programs across the country: the Farm Bill and the Child Nutrition Reauthorization (CNR) Act. Combined, they establish the USDA’s Farm to School program, provide a mere $5 million in grants to schools going local and offer some alternative and geographically-based sourcing options."
"Two major US laws support farm-to-school programs across the country: the Farm Bill and the Child Nutrition Reauthorization (CNR) Act. Combined, they establish the USDA’s Farm to School program, provide a mere $5 million in grants to schools going local and offer some alternative and geographically-based sourcing options."
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Good funding is better late than never! However it does not necessarily solve the problems, which seem to be an unexpected learning curve for school districts and farmers. Hopefully, they will stay with it and eventually create a streamlined model that works for everyone.
"Long said there are other big challenges her agency has had to tackle, citing "a lack of [cafeteria] staff capacity to engage in activities and then having to work within a fairly structured procurement system in terms of buying food for their school." "
"The structured procurement system, which involves a bureaucratic bidding system, can also be off-putting for farmers, contributing to a shortage on the supply side of locally produced food."
"Long said there are other big challenges her agency has had to tackle, citing "a lack of [cafeteria] staff capacity to engage in activities and then having to work within a fairly structured procurement system in terms of buying food for their school." "
"The structured procurement system, which involves a bureaucratic bidding system, can also be off-putting for farmers, contributing to a shortage on the supply side of locally produced food."
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