Farmers In Schools
Spring sprung up inside school cafeterias around Austin this year. Through Sustainable Food Center’s Farm to School program, school cafeterias have been serving local produce on the school lunch line all year long and several area farmers left their busy farms for an afternoon to teach students about farming and the importance of fresh, healthy fruits and vegetables.
One of the farmer visitors, Michael Blair from the Urban Owl grew a whole crop of carrots just for students from Reilly Elementary. He harvested the carrots and brought them to the school on the same day. Students might turn their noses up at carrots that have been shaped and wrapped and shipped, but these carrots had their tops left on and a farmer was handing them out!
Paige Hill from Urban Patchwork Farm teaches students at Pickle Elementary about the farming life.
The Farm to School program brings our Texas bounty straight from area farms to students’ plates. Students have been learning how sweet a fresh strawberry can be, discovering the tartness of a Texas orange, and they’ve been tempted to try local lettuce. And, with these visits from local farmers, students were able to learn the stories behind their food. Combine this with the students’ experiences gardening at their schools, and students can begin to understand our complex food systems. All this has lead to a greater excitement in the schools about eating fresh fruits and vegetables. And that leads to better health for our children!
