Dismayed that Long Island schools are serving students mostly processed food, Sen. Charles Schumer said yesterday he wants to see more products from local farms in New York cafeterias.
Today, Schumer's staff will meet to explore how locally grown food can be cost-effective for farmers and school districts. School food directors from Bay Shore, Riverhead and Southampton will attend, along with representatives from the Long Island Farm Bureau, food broker companies and Stony Brook University Medical Center.
Schumer said Newsday's recent series on school food sparked his concern over the financial challenges of serving students healthier food.
"One of our great problems is kids aren't eating healthy," Schumer said. "We have great products on Long Island that are healthy and fresh."
Regan Kiembock, the Southampton school district's food service director, strives to serve apples from a nearby Water Mill farm even though they are more expensive. She'll attend today's meeting along with the owner of the Milk Pail farm, which delivers about 400 apples to the district weekly.
"I'm very hopeful," she said of Schumer's interest in improving school food.
Farmers face challenges in doing business with schools, said Joe Gergela, executive director of the Long Island Farm Bureau.
Even though Long Island has about 10,000 to 12,000 acres of fruit, vegetable and potato farms, he said, "There isn't sufficient product to supply all of our institutions on Long Island."
Also, the schedule of the school year isn't conducive to farming seasons and districts don't have enough purchasing power. Gergela said growers are faced with the question: "Is it worthwhile for a potato farmer to deliver two cases of potatoes to a school?"
Gergela said including purveyors in Schumer's meeting will be helpful in finding ways to make it cost-effective for farmers to deliver to schools. "It does cost more money to farm here," Gergela said.
Overcoming those challenges, he said, will be in the best interest of children. "There's nothing better than local produce," he said. "Freshness is key when it comes to fruits and vegetables."
The federal Farm Bill can be a source of federal money to help students eat local produce, Schumer said.
In the past, schools bidding for cafeteria products were not allowed to specify geographic preference. Now, the Farm Bill allows them to say they want produce from New York, said Ray Denniston, school food director of Johnson City schools, about 60 miles south of Syracuse.
Students in Johnson City eat apples and carrots from nearby farms year-round. At some points in the year, they'll also get local pears, spinach, peppers, onions. But he added, "Good food costs more."Newsday
