Farm to School

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This past school year, partners for the Farm to School program included R.C. Hatton Farms, Inc. of Pahokee, Pero Family Farms® of Delray Beach, and Localecopia a non-profit organization. It is important to note, that R.C. Hatton Farms was the first Farm to School partner, providing sweet corn cobbettes and green beans since the 2007-2008 school year.

Did you know?
In the first full year of implementing the Farm to School program in Palm Beach County, the SFS Department served approximately 150,500 servings of corn cobbettes. Last year during the 2012-2013 school year, over 443,120 servings of cobbettes were purchased. That is an increase of 292,620 servings!

Key Fact:
This 2012-2013 school year the School Food Service Department highlighted Florida grown strawberries as a featured menu item for the first time. Throughout a six week period, over 206,840 servings of Farm to School strawberries were served!

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The 2013 Wellness Promotion Policy Annual Report

The School District of Palm Beach County, Florida

Nutrition Education - Farm to School

For the past five years, the School Food Service (SFS) Department has procured and served district students nutritious locally grown “Fresh from the Farm” vegetables at all schools. The 2012-2013 school year was a key year for the expansion of the program. The year began with tremendous support from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services – Division of Food, Nutrition and Wellness. This vertical alignment enabled school district’s across the State to work collaboratively with local farmers in various regions.

After meeting with local legislative representatives on Thursday, September 27, 2012 to initiate the groundwork for a Farm to School proposal, the SFS Department worked with Audrey Norman and the University of Florida IFAS Extension to coordinate a round table discussion with local farmers and legislative representatives. This was a great opportunity for the SFS representatives to meet some of the “smaller” farmers in Palm Beach County and have candid discussions about partnering for the future.

Farm to School Initiative - Invitation

Farm to School - Agenda

Farm to School – SFS Department’s Bullet Points

In the 2012-2013 school year, the SFS Department was able to purchase Farm to School produce from two separate bids. The department continued to utilize the District’s contract for Farm to School - Fresh Bulk Produce Bid (12C-72C) to procure the following vegetables: corn cobbettes, green beans, yellow squash and zucchini, and carrot and green bean medley. In addition, to the local contract, the SFS Department was able to purchase a variety of other Farm to School fruits and vegetables off the State contract to include the following: strawberries, navel oranges, honey tangerines, mini sweet peppers, and grape tomatoes. When feasible, School Food Service streamlined the menu offerings and/or marketing material to align with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services - Fresh for Florida Kids common menu campaign. To allow for greater flexibility, the SFS Department recommended for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to highlight produce on a monthly basis verses weekly.

Farm to School Usage for the 2012-2013 School Year

Some of the Farm to School community and school involvement activities highlighted throughout the 2012-2013 school year included:

default_titleSpecial Food Day events on October 24, 2012
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default_titleS.D. Spady Elementary partnered with one of the local farms - Pero Family Farms®
default_titlePanel discussion at the Mounts Botanical Gardens
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Press Release

Panel discussion at the Mounts Botanical Gardens

default_titleThe SFS Department participated on a panel discussion and led a round-table discussion on "Addressing Barriers to Healthy Eating in our Schools" at the Green Schools National Conference Solution Summit on February 24, 2013
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Addressing Barriers to Healthy Eating in our Schools