Local Combines with American Grown

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Christina Conell, USDA Farm to School Program, on April 16, 2014 at 10:00 AM

Quickly assembling tortilla wraps for hungry students is a hard job. I learned this first hand recently at Stone Spring Elementary in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Mary Lou, Ott and Jean, the cafeteria staff responsible for preparing and serving school meals every day, took control of the kitchen, quickly assembling 300 turkey wraps while I clumsily tried to keep up.

But while I found the prep work to be challenging, I learned that products from USDA, such as the lean turkey in the wraps, make it easier for schools to buy local foods. USDA purchases over $1 billion of food from American farmers for school meal programs every year. Known as USDA Foods, these American grown products include fruits, vegetables, dairy, whole grains, lean meats and poultry.

Because USDA buys these products for thousands of school districts at a time, we’re able to secure very competitive prices and make them available to schools at considerably better prices than what they might otherwise pay. Schools that get items from USDA Foods that would have cost much more on the open market, like low-fat cheese and meats, can use the cost savings to allocate more of their school food budget toward local purchases. The turkey wraps we made that day are a perfect example. We combined USDA Foods lower sodium cheese, turkey, and whole wheat tortillas with local, hydroponic Bibb lettuce from a grower just 10 miles from the school!

After prepping wraps for the elementary school I headed off to lunch at a local high school with Andrea Early, School Nutrition Director at Harrisonburg City Public Schools. I chose a salad, tomato soup, hummus, and a delicious, warm, fluffy roll with just a touch of sweetness. The roll was made from scratch that morning, using a combination of USDA Foods enriched flour and whole-wheat flour from Wade’s Mill, a mill about 50 miles away that has been churning out flour since the 1800’s.

Andrea stressed, “Maximizing my use of USDA Foods allows me to pay a bit more for local products. The products from USDA are a wonderful complement to our local buying.”

She makes it look easy. For more ideas about how schools can use USDA Foods to meet local purchasing goals and how the Department is fostering a healthier next generation, check out USDA Foods: A Resource for Buying Local.

To receive information and updates about USDA’s Farm to School Program, please sign up for our Farm to School E-letter.

A healthy meal choice of Baja Fish Taco Wraps at Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, Virginia for lunch service on Wednesday, October 19, 2011. The wraps are available through the National School Lunch Program. The National School Lunch Program is a federally assisted meal program administered by the United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service operating in public, nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions. It provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to children each school day. USDA Photo by Bob Nichols.

Partnering with Cooperative Extension to Support Farm to School

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USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Matthew Benson, Program Analyst, USDA, FNS, Farm to School Program, on September 5, 2013 at 11:35 AM

Adam McCurry, Agricultural Technician for North Carolina Cooperative Extension in Yancey County conducts a lesson about local apple varieties before taking students outside to plant an apple tree at Bald Creek Elementary School in Burnsville, North Carolina. (Photo courtesy of Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project, Asheville, North Carolina)

Kids are headed back to school and so are county Extension agents.

As schools continue to teach kids where their food comes from and bring local and regional products into the school cafeteria, one group they may want to partner with on their farm to school activities is their local or regional Cooperative Extension office. Cooperative Extension Systems are administered by each state’s Land-Grant University System. Programs are available in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. and most states have local or regional Extension offices that are staffed by one or more experts, often referred to as Extension agents or Extension educators.

Nationally, more and more Cooperative Extension Systems are devoting key resources to supporting farm to school activities. Of the 68 fiscal year 2013 USDA Farm to School Grants distributed, 25 percent included partners from Cooperative Extension. State Extension Systems such as Ohio, Minnesota, and Illinois have already dedicated resources and personnel to leading their states farm to school programs. And at the upcoming national Extension conference, farm to school and local foods are sure to be a major themes discussed.

Before joining the USDA, I examined how Cooperative Extension professionals are supporting farm to school programs and activities. Through a survey of eight state Extension Systems, results show that on average, Extension professionals are supporting at least one farm to school-related activity and that respondents were interested in supporting farm to school much more than they currently are. The number one farm to school activity that respondents were involved in was school or community gardening programs. Extension professionals were also found to be supporting farm to school initiatives by helping producers market and sell their products to schools, coordinating farm-based field trips and tours for students, and helping host producers at schools for presentations about local foods and agriculture.

Many of the Extension professionals that completed the survey stated that they felt Cooperative Extension should play an increased role in local and regional farm to school programs but that they need additional training and encouragement to get more involved. This finding is one of the reasons why the USDA Farm to School Program is launching a webinar series focused on helping Extension professionals become more knowledgeable about ways they can support farm to school. Through this webinar series, we also hope to show how other farm to school groups can successfully partner with Cooperative Extension. With schools back in session, now is a perfect time to reach out to local or regional Extension offices and ask that they get involved with farm to school.

Editors Note: To learn more about upcoming webinars, sign-up for the Farm to School E-letter.

Secretary's Column: Continuing the Fight Against Childhood Obesity

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USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, on August 23, 2013 at 12:00 PM

Ensuring the health and well-being of our nation’s children is a top priority for President Obama, and for all of us at USDA. We have focused in recent years on expanding access, affordability and availability of healthy foods for families and children.

Recently, we learned of some promising new results in the fight against obesity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the rate of obesity among young, low-income children appears to be declining. In 19 states, the obesity rate among low-income preschoolers has dropped for the first time in decades – and in many other states the obesity rate has leveled off.

This is encouraging for us at USDA, because we have made special efforts to help low-income families expand their access to healthier foods. In particular, we’ve provided healthier choices through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children – the WIC program – while helping parents learn more about healthy nutrition.

We have helped expand local markets around the country – with more than 8,100 farmers markets around the country today – and in the last two years we’ve doubled the number of these markets that accept SNAP and WIC benefits.

We’re also increasing access to fresh produce during the school day. USDA has provided grants to help schools in low-income areas provide fruits and vegetables to children – and USDA Farm to School programs in nearly every state are helping school districts buy locally-produced food for school meals.

Unfortunately, some of these efforts cannot continue unless Congress passes a comprehensive Food, Farm and Jobs Bill this year.

We still face a challenge in the coming years, with one in eight preschoolers overweight or obese today. This has troubling implications for the health of our nation, our economy and our national security in years to come.

The fight against childhood obesity is winnable, but we can’t let up.  We must continue efforts that have already helped millions of parents and children with better access to healthy foods. We can create a generational shift to improve childhood nutrition and together, we can build on the promising results we’ve seen so far.