Northeast Iowa schools serve locally grown foods during October Farm to School Month

More northeast Iowa students are getting a taste of food grown in their communities, thanks to farm-to-school initiatives. Several northeast Iowa schools are serving local foods on school lunch menus and participating in nutrition education and fitness activities as part of National Farm to School month during October. The schools are receiving support from the Northeast Iowa Food & Fitness Initiative (FFI) in planning the activities for the week.
It’s a month where the focus is on eating local foods as part of school lunches along with conducting school-based activities to promote healthier eating. Food Service Directors in local school systems will offer local items on the school lunch menu during the month. Nutrition education information will be provided to students, and they will learn the benefits of using Iowa-grown foods.
School and student groups such as the Food & Fitness Youth 4-H Teams and FFA chapters are coordinating events at some schools. Students can also participate by buying local foods and packing an Iowa Home Grown Lunch.
Providing support for Farm to School Month in addition to the Food & Fitness Initiative are the Northeast Iowa Food & Farm Coalition, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Luther College and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

What Is Farm to School?
In 2007, Iowa lawmakers passed Farm to School legislation to establish a program that would link elementary, secondary, public and non-public schools with Iowa farmers; provide schools with fresh and minimally processed Iowa grown food for inclusion in school meals and snacks; and to encourage children to develop healthy eating habits and provide them with hands-on learning opportunities, such as farm visits, cooking demonstrations, and school gardening and composting programs. October was named National Farm to School month in 2010.
Enjoying food from local farms or school gardens are the following area school districts:
Allamakee Community School District. Contact: Julie Magner. Serving local cabbage, melons and yogurt.  Farm to School Cross-Age teachers from Waukon High School will teach elementary students about local apples the week of October 14. After School Program Coordinator Nathan Todd will take junior high and high school students to Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah October 21. Students will have the opportunity to work in the gardens and learn about the importance of local food.
Central Community Schools, Elkader. Contact: Jessie Kuehl. Along with fruits and vegetables from the school garden, local produce will be on students' lunch trays, including: local cantaloupe, watermelon, cabbage apples and yogurt.
Clayton Ridge Community Schools, Garnavillo. Contact: Bev Rodenberg. Serving local melons, cauliflower, squash and apples.
Decorah Community School District. Contact: Jane Bullerman. Serving local cabbage, apples, melons, sweet corn, cucumbers and yogurt.  Farm to School cross-age teachers from the High School, will teach elementary students about local apples the week of October 14.
North Fayette Valley Community Schools, West Union. Contact: Carol Stanbrough.
North Winneshiek School, Decorah. Contact:  Barb Szabo. Serving local cabbage, apples, cucumbers and yogurt.
Oelwein Community Schools. Contact: Frank Stammeyer. Serving local tomatoes grown in the school garden near Wings Park. FoodCorps volunteer and FFI resource contact Ashley Turk served kale smoothies October 2 for elementary students after school. The smoothies featured local kale and yogurt from Country View Dairy located in Hawkeye. For Parent Teacher Conferences October 22, Frank Stammeyer and Ashley Turk will serve delicious, fresh treats featuring products from local farmers for attendees.
Postville Community Schools. Contact: Laurie Smith. Food Service has made a commitment to serving local food this year, implementing a seasonal cycle menu which focuses on foods that are grown and processed in Iowa. During the month of October, students can look for those foods in the lunch line as well as at the school’s salad bar. Students will get to sample kale chips and will sample blueberry, kale and yogurt smoothies during the Fall Fitness Day events at the school. The after-school garden club will also be having a harvest dinner at the community garden later in October.
South Winneshiek Schools, Calmar. Contact: Laura Lechtenberg.
St. Joseph’s Schools, New Hampton. Contact: Nikki Kloster. Students have been reaping the bounty of produce from their school garden, including melons, zucchini muffins and salsas.
Turkey Valley Community Schools. Contact: Diane Shileny. Along with incorporating vegetables from the school garden into the menu, Turkey Valley will feature other local produce including cantaloupe, red onions, carrots, pears, cabbage, yogurt and apples.
Valley Community School District. Contact: Carol Junge.
West Central Community School District. Contact: Wilma Miller.
 
School districts participating in Nutrition Education or Garden Activities include the following:
Howard-Winneshiek Community School District. Contact: Deb Oberman. This year, AmeriCorps volunteer at Howard-Winneshiek will be working with Deb Oberman and students to bring cross-age teaching lessons about local produce to the first, second and third grade classrooms.
MFL MarMac Community School District. Contact: Pat Echard.
Riceville Community Schools. Contact: Catherine Adams.

Additional updates will be made to this post at http://iowafoodandfitness.org/wegrow/2013/10/06/farm-to-school-month-act....