|
|
|
|
|
|
 
Farm-to-School NewsRecent articles on the Oklahoma Food Policy's Farm-to-School Project The Farm-to-School Team Scores Big
|
 |
Oklahoma Farm-to-School Program:
|
 State
Food Policy Council cooperative partnership Frequently Asked Questions Farm to School Pilot Program (FAQ) Farm to School FAQ 2004 Essay Contest: Why Schools Should Serve Locally-Grown Foods |
What is the farm-to-school program?
Oklahoma farmers produce a variety of crops and are natural partners in
the effort to improve the health of Oklahoma’s children through
the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables in schools. The program
encourages farmers to sell fresh fruits and vegetables to schools and
encourages schools to look to local farmers to fill their produce needs
and provide students with more fresh fruits and vegetables.
What
is the scope of the pilot project? Four school districts are
part of the pilot project: Edmond, Shawnee, Broken Arrow, and Tahlequah.
Each has ordered Oklahoma-grown seedless watermelons grown by Bob Ramming,
who has 300 acres of watermelons near Hinton, Oklahoma. Watermelons are
to be delivered to the districts once a week for four-five weeks beginning
in mid-late August and ending after Sept. 20, and will be served as part
of school lunches.
Total order: 721 cases of seedless watermelons (2 per case) with each melon about 30-34 lbs. were ordered in total.
Two big suburban districts and two smaller towns are participating in the project. The school districts range in size—Broken Arrow has 23 schools, Edmond, 21, Shawnee, 7 and Tahlequah 6.
How did the Farm-to-School project start?
In late 2002, the Oklahoma Food Policy Council did a survey of institutional
food service providers including those in public schools, to determine
the level of interest in buying locally grown food. The response to the
idea was overwhelmingly positive. The council published the results in
the Oklahoma Farm-to-School Report in 2003. Key findings of the survey
were:
The council also published a directory of farmers and institutions interested in buying locally, The Oklahoma Food Connection. Both publications are online at www.kerrcenter.com.
In September 2003 the council organized a series of meetings to bring partners together to plan the 2004 pilot project.
How does the Oklahoma Farm-to-school pilot project work?
For the pilot program, the four participating school districts placed
their orders for seedless watermelons though the Department of Human Services
Commodity Distribution and School Nutrition Unit. The Oklahoma Department
of Agriculture and the Dept. of Defense Fresh Produce/Farm to School Program
helped source Oklahoma growers to fill the order. Purchasing was done
by the Dept. of Defense, which contracts with growers through their extensive
network and assures buyers of a quality product. Schools did not receive
extra funds to buy the watermelons, but used commodity funds that each
district receives.
Thomas Bros. Produce, an Oklahoma City company that delivers produce through contracts with the Department of Defense and school districts, is bringing the watermelons from farmer to school.
Purchases and deliveries are based on harvest schedules.
Who is involved? The key partners in initiating farm to school efforts are:
See contacts below.
How will the program benefit children? Children will eat delicious, nutritious fresh fruit as part of their lunch. ODAFF’s Ag in the Classroom program developed a special curriculum on watermelon for teachers to use in conjunction with the watermelon deliveries. Students will learn about nutrition and about farming through these fun activities.
How nutritious is watermelon? According to the World’s Healthiest Foods website, “A cup of watermelon provides 19.5% of the daily value for vitamin C, and, through its beta-carotene, 13.9% of the DV for vitamin A.
Watermelon is rich in the B vitamins necessary for energy production. Our food ranking system also qualified watermelon as a very good source of vitamin B1 and vitamin B6, and as a good source of pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), biotin (another B vitamin), magnesium, potassium and dietary fiber. Part of this high ranking was due to the higher nutrient density of watermelon. Because this food has a higher water content and lower calorie content than many other fruits (a whole cup of watermelon contains only 48 calories), it delivers more nutrients per calorie - an outstanding health benefit!
Watermelon is also a very good source of the corotenoid, lycopene. Lycopene has been extensively studied for its antioxidant and caner-preventing properties.” (www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=31)
How will the program benefit farmers? The value of orders for this small pilot program totaled over $7000. Oklahoma’s farmers produce everything from asparagus to zucchini. What they need are opportunities to market their products and have consumers appreciate the quality and diversity of Oklahoma-grown food. The 541 school districts in Oklahoma represent a valuable potential new market. In North Carolina, farmers sold almost $300,000 worth of fresh produce to schools in 2002.
What are future plans? Partners hope to expand the program to include more farmers, more Oklahoma-grown produce and more schools. Other plans include encouraging school gardens and facilitating school visits to farms and visits to schools by farmers.
For more information on the food policy council and farm-to-school go to www.kerrcenter.com
For more information on watermelons and the Ag in the Classroom program: http://www.agclassroom.org/ok
Media Contacts:
Maura McDermott Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture 918-474-3584 maura@oklatel.net
Mike Schulte OK Dept. of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ODAFF) mschulte@oda.state.ok.us 405-522-6194
Contacts:
Dr. Jim Horne, Chair, Oklahoma Food Policy Council
918-647-9123
Bob Ramming, Oklahoma Watermelon Grower (Hinton)
405-542-7086
Rick Maloney, ODAFF
405-522-4676
Jill Poole, Broken Arrow Food Service Director
918-259-4565
Shelly McClain, Edmond Food Service Director
405-340-2843
Deborah Taylor, Shawnee Food Service Director
405-878-1023
Rhonnie Kerns, Tahlequah Food Service Director
918-458-4193
Paula J. Price, DHS, Commodity Distribution & School
Nutrition
405-521-6079
Dee Baker, Department of Education Child Nutrition
405-521-3301
Chris Kirby, Vice chair, Oklahoma Food Policy
Cncl.
405-972-1111 ext 108
Anita Poole, Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture
918-647-9123
Mike Thomas, Thomas Bros. Produce
405-879-0400
Cecilia Henson, Food and Nutrition Service,
USDA
214-290-9818
Ken Wilmoth, Director, DoD Produce, Virginia
804.642.1809
Yvette Newell, Dept of Defense Produce Office,
TX
817.538.1484
Pat Thompson, Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom
405-744-8889
Jamey Allen, Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom
405-522-6768
Mary Ann Kelsey, Oklahoma Ag in the Classsroom
405-522-6768