2004 Essay Contest:
Why Schools Should Serve Locally-Grown Foods

Honorable Mention -- Caroline Palmer Salina High School

Farm Fresh Produce in the Cafeteria

Do you ever think about your children while they’re at school? Sure you do, but do you ever wonder what they’re eating at lunch time? When they come home you probably ask them if they have homework, if they got into trouble, and if they made any new friends. Have you ever asked them what they had for lunch?

You may be surprised to know that the answer would commonly include, "I don’t know." That’s rather scary, especially since it may even come from a high school student. At my school we make jokes about the "mystery meat" that is served in the cafeteria. It’s actually no laughing matter. The school lunch menu said "chicken" last Thursday, but I can assure you that there was no chicken in that rubbery mess.

I have lived on a family farm all of my life; we slaughter our own chickens, and produce our own milk. I struggle, along with others, to pay for that cafeteria lunch each day. Meanwhile, the more well-to-do students order from the local "Dairy Deal," which mostly consists of greasy hamburgers and fries. Obviously, none of us are getting a healthy meal.

Actually, only about two percent of American children are getting the USDA’s recommended nutritional servings. At least one out of every five kids in the United States suffers and struggles with obesity. It is predicted that one out of every three children that was born in 2000 will become diabetic due to harmful eating habits. These horrible eating habits are greatly attributed to at school.

When a school lunch menu reads "fresh fruit," the food has typically been hauled from about 1500 to 2500 miles away. An estimated four billion dollars is spent by American families on school lunches each year. That price is being jacked up because of the price of transporting the food in from other states. Oklahomans have been helping other states’ economies greatly by ordering out of state food. We are also, however, harming our own economy and even putting our local farmers out of business by diminishing their local market.

Obviously, a huge problem has arisen in Oklahoma school systems, and in districts nationwide. School districts in seventeen states, however, have already began combating the issue. These schools have signed contracts with their local farmers in what is called a farm-to-school or a farm-to-cafeteria program.

In a farm-to-school program, the school will begin purchasing farm fresh produce from local farms in their community. These tasty fruits and vegetables will be served to their students daily, providing them with nutrition that cannot be found elsewhere.

Education is also on the menu for this project. In order for these students to understand why farm fresh foods make a healthier diet, it is important that they see and taste the difference. Most farmers that enter into a farm-to-school contract would be more than happy to host a field trip at the farm. Most students are amazed to witness the harvesting of their school lunches, and some are even inspired into agricultural careers.

It is also important for the students to see the other side of the spectrum, the unhealthy foods to avoid. We are drilled daily about the dangers of fast food, but I think that the drilling just spurs rebellion among us teens. Perhaps school children should be educated about the ways that fast foods are prepared. The long hours that the foods are packed up and hauled, and the preparation methods of most fast food restaurants would be enough to scare anyone away.

Most schools have made a huge mistake without even realizing it. Almost every school in this country holds food contracts with anyone but farmers. Many schools have Pepsi or Coca Cola products available at all times, along with junk food. The most powerful junk food entities have made these contracts more appealing to school systems by allowing the school to keep a small percentage of the profits that those machines make.

Research shows that students who participate in preparing their own healthy meals, and who receive education on farm freshness are much more likely to keep a healthy diet through adulthood. Case studies have shown that many students who have never been introduced to farm fresh produce are actually scared to try it.

Some schools that are trying to organize farm-to-school programs have run into problems with the seasonality of crops in their climates. Areas such as California can usually provide a year-round salad bar at school, but colder climates like in Maine may just be able to provide some ingredients for snacks.

It may sound like a hassle for farmers to try to help these school children, but ultimately it is also a great opportunity for them. Farm income has been in the decline for years now. The income that the farmer makes off of each food dollar has dropped twenty-one cents since 1955. This has caused many small family farms to go out of business. A few small farms stay in business only because of the extra income from a working family member.

In the past few years the trend of shipping food hundreds of miles has grown popular. This only causes more expenses for the farmer, and deprives them of a local market to sell in. The opportunity for small farms to have a thriving local market would be priceless to the industry.
Since I have grown up working on a small farm, and eating that fresh produce it is hard for me to believe that society is so naive about their diets. I strongly believe that all school children need to have the opportunity to eat healthy foods. I also believe in the future of agriculture, and that helping America’s family farms thrive in the future is essential to the survival of the next generation.

Works Cited
"Farm to School — FoodRoutes." Online. Internet, February 18. 2004 Available
http://www.foodroutes.org/farmtoschool.jsp.

"Farm to School Program." Online. Internet. February 18. 2004. Available
http://www.foodsecurity.org/farm_to_school.html.

"Farm to School Food Education Project." Online. Internet.
February 18. 2004. Available, http://users.rcn/foodserv/saresyn.html.

"Why Schools Should Serve Locally Grown Food." Online.
Internet. February 26. 2004. Available, http://kerrcenter.com/HTML/essay 2004.htm.