Farm to School program puts focus on healthy eating

A group of area residents are striving to bring local farms closer to the classroom.

School nutritionists, farmers and others in the agriculture industry have joined forces to make Farm to School a reality in Yuba County. They brainstormed this week about potential allies and barriers they will face if they push to feed students more local produce and start more school gardens.

Farm to School is not a new idea. The focus on eating seasonally and locally, while amping up fresh produce consumption, is an idea that has been championed by Michelle Obama, Alice Waters and Jamie Oliver. There are more than 2,200 programs in the United States involving almost 9,000 schools

The concept is growing with such momentum that U.C. Davis student Julia Van Soelen Kim decided to make it the topic of her master's degree thesis. She's targeted several school districts, including Marysville Joint Unified and Camptonville Unified as among those she would like to help.

"It's a really rich agricultural region," she said. "It's also a region that doesn't have the best health care statistics, with high cancer rates and high childhood obesity."

Van Soelen Kim helped coordinate Thursday's workshop, and plans to serve as the research arm to help get the local Farm to School ball rolling.

The workshop attracted interest from the Yuba-Sutter Farm Bureau, the University of California Cooperative Extension, the Master Gardeners, the local Women, Infants and Children program, and several school nutrition and cafeteria directors. All expressed enthusiasm for implementing Farm to School locally.

But the program won't work unless it is cost effective, said Mary Driscoll, nutrition services director for the Marysville district.

"It's a little more costly, but we are willing to pay that if we can stay within our budget," Driscoll said.

And it has to be consistent. Several school sites have started thriving gardens at one point, but then the classes move on or the teacher retires and the program disappears, she said.

The other challenge is obtaining the quantity of produce the district needs and having a place to store it, Driscoll said. Marysville Joint Unified serves 10,000 meals a day.

"Farm to School is easier said than done," Van Soelen Kim said.

Distribution is one of the biggest challenges, she said. And the program will need buy-in from school administrators, local government officials and farmers.

Local produce currently comprises less than 5 percent of the fruits and vegetables being served in the district, Driscoll said. But some products, like peaches, come primarily from Yuba-Sutter.

Now Driscoll would like to reach out to more farmers.

"They offer much better produce if it comes directly from the farm," she said. "They are fresher, better tasting."

Farm to School programs can be as simple or as extensive as a community desires, Van Soelen Kim said. Examples include local produce in cafeterias or school gardens, field trips to local farms and classroom nutrition education.

The motives behind the movement are simple, she said. Such programs improve children's health, teach kids where their food comes from and support the local economy. They can also reduce the resources used to process, package and transport food.

Quinco Inc. started supplying Marysville Joint Unified with pluots about three years ago and this year became a source for kiwis and mandarins. As producers of those fruits, as well as persimmons, walnuts and cling peaches, employee Cecilia Villalobos said the company was interested in seeing what Farm to School was all about.

She'd eventually like to see more partnerships between schools and local farms, she said. In addition to reducing carbon footprints, local produce can offer a fresher product.

"I think it gives children a knowledge of what is grown locally," Villalobos said. "And that's important, especially because we live in a farm community."

ONLINE

For more information: www.farmtoschool.org
To get involved, e-mail jvansoelen@ucdavis.edu

CONTACT Ashley Gebb at 749-4724 or agebb@appealdemocrat.com .