When local food is served on the tray of a 1st grader, many things happen. First, that student enjoys a more nutritionally-dense and delicious food, creates a connection to their community, and fuels up for their busy day. Beyond that, a farmer is paid for the hard work of bringing radishes, apples, eggs, or milk to the table. Beyond that, food is sourced from nearby, creating a smaller carbon footprint than shipping bananas in bulk from the tropics. Beyond that, our youngest eaters learn about the values of the community at large.
That’s a pretty hefty order to fall on the shoulder of the food service providers in your local school district. Upholding the morals of the community and making an impact on the climate crisis, all in the fifteen minutes between lunch services?
So we checked in with the Groundworks Center for Resilient Communities, an organization that hosts FoodCorps members, offers Harvest of the Month lessons, and much more as an advocate for farm-to-school purchasing. Cori Fitzpatrick, Farm to Institution Specialist, and Noah Doederlein, FoodCorps School Nutrition Member, told us all about what serving food in an institution setting looks like, as well as how local food weaves its way into the menu.
Let’s walk through a typical day of a food service provider in our Michigan schools. What’s the first thing many food service managers will do when clocking in?
Noah Doederlein: This really depends on the day. If they are short-staffed that day (which is not uncommon), they could be jumping right into preparation and serving for breakfast because they are filling in for one of their staff. They likely are checking emails from the previous day and checking in with their kitchen managers to make sure they have enough food to make it through the day and week.
When is breakfast typically eaten? What’s an often-local option on the tray?
Cori Fitzpatrick: Breakfast is typically eaten before school begins. This varies among school districts but can be anywhere from 7:45 to 8:15 a.m. Some districts offer a “second breakfast,” which is available until closer to 9 a.m. A local option on the tray might include local apples, local or scratch-made bread with whole grains, fruit and vegetable smoothies, infused water, or freshly squeezed juice. Not all schools have access to large blenders or juicers or the capacity to offer this daily.
ND: Breakfast is usually the harder of the two meals to provide a locally-sourced option since there is little time to prepare it and even less for students to eat it. When it is in season, local fruit is likely the most common option for breakfast since students are required to have a fruit in order to pass through the breakfast line.
Who usually does meal planning and purchasing? How can local farmers make it easy to include Michigan-grown products?
ND: Meal planning and purchasing is usually done by the school nutrition/food service director or the farm to school coordinator (if the school has one). The main difficulty for school nutrition directors who do not have a farm to school coordinator is that they are already ordering for 2-3 broadline distributors at least once a week to make sure they have all the food they need for their students because they can only store so much in their walk in fridges and freezers. If there is a way to set up online ordering for a school, that makes it much easier for them. However, if that is not available but a farmer and a school nutrition director already have a mutual understanding to buy certain products, setting up an account with the school’s business office (which will likely require farmers filling out a W9) makes it much easier for the school to pay an invoice from a farmer and not leave it up to the school nutrition director to settle accounts. The business office usually has their email right on the district website, and they are generally very easy to get in touch with!
CF: Helpful tips for farmers: provide prices per pound or bulk prices for each type of produce, protein, etc. Is the product fresh/raw OR minimally processed (ie, frozen, peeled, cubed, washed, etc.)? Is delivery available? They should share their production practices (organic, regenerative, etc.) and food safety measures.
What does prep look like in a school cafeteria? What are popular ways to weave in local options with such a busy prep schedule?
ND: Prep for meals is a time game. Usually, some part of breakfast is prepared the afternoon before and stored, then the next morning taken out and put on the line or heated up in ovens all within an hour or two. Once breakfast is done, most kitchens have about two and a half hours to prepare everything for lunch. Salad bars are likely the easiest way to get local items into schools, so any pre-processing that producers are able to do (like washing product before delivering it to schools) makes it that much easier for schools to be confident that they can buy those products and get everything out on the line between breakfast and lunch, without spending additional time the day before prepping those items, since most school nutrition programs in Northern Michigan only have enough in their budget to pay their staff part time in order to have the correct number of staff they need. Other ready-to-eat products like packaged dairy products are a great way to get locally-sourced items into cafeterias, as long as they are within the price range school nutrition programs can afford. Most schools need to keep the cost of each meal to around $1.40 to stay within budget, but letting school nutrition directors know that a local farm’s product qualifies under the 10 Cents a Meal grant program can be a way to continue moving local food into schools.
CF: Often, apples and cold/winter crops, or other root vegetables that store well, can be simple options to include. Thinking about seasonal produce is encouraged, too. Due to our northern climate, taking advantage of seasonal abundance is important, like greens, peas, radishes, asparagus, or strawberries in the spring; Michigan blueberries, tomatoes, peppers, herbs, peaches, cherries, cucumbers, etc. in the summer; carrots, potatoes, apples, micro-greens, winter squash, etc. in the fall/winter. Sometimes, incorporating these items is easiest in the form of soups, smoothies, dips/humus, or sauces. Again, there are many barriers to this, such as storage capacity—do they have adequate fridge/freezer space or pantry storage for dried goods?
Fast-forward to lunch: What does serving this main school meal entail for a food service provider? What are the kids eating from community sources, and how does including local food in the options for lunch service ultimately impact the student?
CF: For districts that are serving local produce, kids are eating a large variety of local produce, Michigan dairy, and even proteins, in some cases. Occasionally, with proper certification and processing, schools in Michigan are growing their own produce, eggs, and poultry for consumption in school meals. Students recognize their neighboring farms (most schools highlight the farms where the products came from when they’re locally sourced). They see that their schools are invested in their health. Students are generally more willing to TRY new things when they see that the items on the menu are sourced locally, the quality is better, they have a greater variety/choice, and often, meals that students relate to improve their sense of belonging in school. Meals greater in nutrient density can be directly related to an overall improved well-being—social-emotional benefits, mental and physical wellness, and improved academic achievement. Arguably, farm to school creates a connection to land, to place, to family, to community, and to oneself.
ND: Public schools in northern Michigan serve, at minimum, around 200 school lunches every day, but for bigger schools, that can be upwards of 400 meals. Getting that many students through the line means that they need to have everything ready before around 10:30 am as they may only have about 15 minutes or less between lunch periods once all students get through the line to prepare for the next group of students. Even though students may have 20 minutes or less to eat lunch, they will immediately notice the food from community sources because it is generally higher quality than the same product from a broadline distributor. Especially when it is on a salad bar, students are more likely to take more fruits and veggies and actually eat them when they are higher quality and locally sourced. This means they will be full for the rest of their day and have more energy to stay focused.
Lastly, parents often note that they appreciate farm-to-school options. How can parents who want to encourage more locally-purchased products make a difference?
ND: Parents can do this, first and foremost, by expressing this directly to school nutrition directors and administration. They can all be contacted via email, which can be found on the districts’ websites. Another way is to ask to join a wellness committee or use a parent/teacher organization (or similar group) to advocate for more local options, work with any farm to school coordinator your school has to help them with their events, and work collaboratively with school nutrition staff to create events centering local food (like Try-Days, taste tests, and farmer visits, or even working to create surveys for families about school meals). Some students may be unfamiliar with the way that local food looks and tastes, so helping to accustom them to it can make sure that school nutrition programs feel confident it will be eaten if they order it and offer it to their students.
CF: Volunteer. Advocate. Get involved with school wellness committees, PTO’s or Booster Clubs, and after-school garden programs. If there isn’t one, start one. Attend school board meetings or community meetings to provide farmer support. Offer to be a substitute for school food professionals—capacity is often the greatest limiting factor for farm to school.
As we were in the process of this interview, the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program was cancelled by the USDA, removing what would have been roughly $660 million invested in local food purchases for use by schools and child care facilities. You can find and contact your representatives to discuss farm-to-school initiatives and funding at this link.