Farm to School

(3/20-4/2) Food Service

Farm to School

I have been sent to the middle of nowhere… literally. Marion County is a town with more cows than people. As I drive through the county, I notice the ratio of land to infrastructure… let’s just say it looks nothing like Lexington. Although there may be little to do here, there is plenty of opportunities to support local farmers and buy locally. Marion County Public Schools works with several local farmers in the area to serve fresh and local produce to their students.

One of my tasks this week was to help plan and implement procurement of local fruit, vegetables, and beef. Although this was a great opportunity to learn about farm to school and procurement, it has been my biggest challenge. To understand the process of farm to school and buying local, it takes a lot of reading, documenting, and practice. I attended a training on Local Food Service in which I learned the steps to buying local in the school system as well as the rules and regulations. I came back to the office and helped my preceptor plan and implement buying local products to serve at the schools. It was a challenge to write the detailed specifications for each produce item that we wanted to buy locally. However, through using these procedures to promote sustainability, reduce waste, and protect the environment, I was able to obtain CRDN 4.6.

The Farm Bill

Speaking of buying local, I attended the Kentucky Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics Annual Nutrition Conference & Expo and sat in on a presentation about The Farm Bill. The registered dietitian who presented this discussed the parts of the bill, the need for changes to the bill, and ways RDs can make an impact. Two specific impacts she discussed were to spend money at farms and educate about nutrition and environmental benefits of fresh produce (Badaracco, 2023). As a school system, Marion County is doing both of these. We are not only buying local but also serving the local produce to our students and highlighting their nutrition and environmental benefits.

Manager Meetings

I participated in kitchen manager meetings that took place this past week. With the managers of the kitchens, we discussed next year’s menus, summer feeding, commodity money & ordering, and forecasting/production/inventory. I was in charge of creating a calendar of the circulating menus for the schools in which the managers went through and discussed with us the success rates and simplicity of each day to make changes accordingly for the next school year. I made the changes requested and my preceptor and I then met with the dietetic consultant from Pro Teams. She is an RD who does all of the menu planning for MCPS to make sure the meals are within NSLP and SBP guidelines. We were able to finalize next year’s circulating menus with her to meet both nutritional guidelines and student/staff preferences. It was nice to get a taste of that specific job an RD could potentially have; being a dietetic consultant for the school system.

During one of the manager meetings, I was asked about my opinion on school meal guidelines as well as the newly proposed guidelines. Because it was unexpected and I tend to avoid sharing my opinion on topics that could be controversial, I was out of my comfort zone. However, I answered as honestly as I could and as factual as I could stating that the rules and regulations are there to make sure these kids get fed a nutritious meal. But, if it is so strict that they are not going to eat it, what is the point? So, I instead brought up the question of how can we promote eating more fruits and vegetables than the other foods higher in fat, added sugar, and sodium? Instead of completely getting rid of the less nutrient dense foods, let’s promote increased consumption of the more nutrient dense foods; it’s all about balance.

Written by Brianna Starr, UK Dietetic Intern

References

Badaracco, C. (2023, March 23). The Farm Bill: Implications for the food system and dietetic practice [Conference presentation]. Kentucky Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Annual Nutrition Conference and Expo, Lexington, KY, United States.