Farmers, schools team up to serve local foods
By Janet Kubat Willette
jkubat@agrinews.com
Date Modified: 04/29/2010 10:45 AM
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Locally grown foods are increasingly finding their way to school cafeterias across Minnesota.
A January survey conducted by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy and the Minnesota School Nutrition Association found that the number of Minnesota school districts purchasing local food has more than doubled in the past 15 months.
One of the challenges identified is connecting farmers with food to sell and school nutrition directors who want to purchase local foods, said JoAnne Berkenkamp, program director for local foods for the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.
University of Minnesota Extension is hoping to bridge that gap with a series of Farm to Cafeteria workshops. There are workshops next week in Windom, Stewartville and Cloquet.
Gail Griffin of Rockie Hill Bison in Winona will be a panelist at the workshop in Stewartville. She sells buffalo burgers to Winona Area Public Schools and in late May will start selling product to an area hospital.
Griffin, who is also executive director of the Minnesota Buffalo Association, said she called Lyn Halvorson, Winona Area Public Schools nutrition director, to set up an appointment to speak to her after hearing through an acquaintance that Halvorson may be interesting in purchasing bison.
Griffin said her comfort zone in contacting the school district is greater than a typical farmer because she's been doing food service in one form or another for 40 some years. She is also a retired director of dietetics.
Halvorson and Griffin worked out an arrangement where Griffin delivers 24 pounds of bison on demand.
"I'm flexible to whatever their needs are," Ledebuhr Meats in Winona, to package a quarter pound burger, a new item for her. Previously, she sold third pound burgers. She is also marketing the new burger size to other commercial clients.
The local foods buzz is huge no matter where you are in the United States, Griffin said.
Halvorson said she's been serving local foods in the school cafeteria since 2006. The high school environmental club asked her to come speak about farm to school and organics in late 2005.
Their interest lead to the introduction of organic offerings on the snack bar. Organic cheese sticks, yogurt and milk were sold, Halvorson said. The products were put on the snack bar because it was the only cost-effective route. The products had a market, but it wasn't a huge market, she said.
Also in 2006, she spoke at a local foods forum in Winona and left the door open for local food producers to call her. No one did.
However, Winona County Extension educator Thomas VanDerLinden called her with the name of an apple orchard who was wondering if she'd want to purchase apples. She started purchasing apples from Southwind Orchards in Dakota in fall 2007 and has continued the relationship for three years.
The whole notion of farm to school is exploding, she said.
Besides buffalo burgers and apples, Halvorson purchased purple potatoes, purple broccoli and white and orange carrots from different farmers. She purchases buffalo jerky and buffalo pepperoni sticks from a second bison producer. She purchases flour from Bay State Milling in Winona and has it shipped to Bloedow Bakery in Winona to make whole wheat dinner rolls.
Students are exposed to a variety of products grown in Minnesota that they might not be otherwise, Halvorson said.
Lonny and Sandy Dietz of Whitewater Gardens of Altura sold carrots to Winona Area Public Schools after making connections through the Land Stewardship Project and the Winona County Economic Development Authority local foods committee.
Sandy could see local farmers filling the market needs, but it's early in the relationship and both sides are taking baby steps.
They are talking about taking their relationship further, perhaps including a field trip to the farm or a recipe contest, Sandy said.
At Willmar, the public schools, public health, ag in the classroom and University of Minnesota are working together to make students healthier and more knowledgeable about their food choices.
Willmar Public Schools director of food and nutrition services Annette Derouin started serving local foods about five years ago. A registered dietitian, she not only wanted to do the right thing for students but also help the local economy by offering more local foods on the school menu.
She started with apples. There are several orchards in the area and apples are a food that students like, Derouin said. Also, the schools generally serve a smaller apple than what other retail markets desire.
They served squash in a spice bar with cream cheese frosting, she said chuckling. They don't serve many desserts.
They haven't done another meal with squash since because it is labor intensive, Derouin said. There are other recipes where it doesn't have to be baked and mashed. She's working with the high school family and consumer science classes to test recipes she developed using local foods.
She has focused on replacing items on her menu with local items. She negotiates with the seller and said the product prices have varied. Local corn was within a cent, apples were the same price or lower and wild rice was less expensive, Derouin said.
Winona's Halvorson said local apples were lower cost, but the other local foods were more expensive.
Willmar Public Schools was one of four schools to receive a $15,000 local foods grant from the state of Minnesota. The grant has allowed them to help get a greenhouse up and running. The greenhouse will produce greens for the school food service. They are also taking students on farm field trips and serving local foods during the visit. Another goal is to add window garden boxes for the elementary students where they can grow herbs that will end up in their school lunch. They have also expanded from offering local foods once a month to two or three times a month.
Each time a local food is served, a nutrition educator is on site, Derouin said.
She's getting more calls from local growers. It's exciting for her to receive calls instead of having to source out growers.
When she started serving local foods, Lynn Mader was her forager, someone who goes out and finds a farmer who is able to supply the school. Mader worked for the University of Minnesota Regional Partnership then. Now, she's a senior program associate in local foods for the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.
Mader does training for SHIP, the Statewide Health Improvement Program. One of the nutrition interventions identified in the plan is local foods in schools, she said. The program is about obesity prevention. It includes everything from school gardens and healthier lunch to increasing physical activity and healthier choices at the concession stand.
Schools are a huge source of nutrition for students, Mader said. Students eat one to two meals a day in school five times a week. Additionally students who participate in school age child care programs are served a snack.
Carrie Frank has enjoyed hearing students' reactions to local foods. Frank, food and nutrition director at Dover-Eyota Schools, is in her second full year of serving local foods.
"I wanted to purchase local," she said.
She sought a farmer out and her staff is willing to put in the extra labor to shuck the corn. The school lunch program is self-funded, so the local foods purchases must fit within the budget.
She's overheard students talk about their connection to what's on the plate.
"I'm an unusual school district because I happen to have students who are farmers," Frank said. "It should be noted that the students recognize the difference in taste."
She plans to attend next week's workshop to learn more about local foods.
"I've been in this business for 17 years … never would I have imagined I could buy directly from a farmer," Frank said. "I've enjoyed it, being able to buy from within the community, a local farmer."