As part of the national Farm to School movement, lunchrooms around Minnesota are pulling out all the stops on their quest for healthy, locally produced foods for the first annual Farm to School Week, September 20–24. IATP and the Minnesota School Nutrition Association initiated the celebration to increase awareness of the benefits of serving locally grown food in lunchrooms.
Today, Congresswoman Betty McCollum, who introduced the National Farm to School Act of 2010, will be holding a press conference to discuss Minnesota’s Farm to School efforts. According to McCollum’s press release about Farm to School Week, St. Paul Public Schools purchased over 100,000 pounds of locally grown produce in the first six weeks of the 2009-10 school year.
Free-range turkey, bison, melons, tomatoes, peppers, squash, sweet potatoes, beets, parsnips, wild rice, pumpkins, maple syrup and fresh herbs, among others, are all making appearances on lunch trays around the state, according to the press release. IATP has also developed, and is making freely available, an extensive promotional package to help schools bring attention to their efforts (including the “I Dig My Farmer emblem featured in the picture!).
Sign up for the Minnesota Farm to School e-newsletter by sending an email to farm2school@iatp.org.
