Farm To School Program Features Florida's Abundance
New initiative will provide kids healthier meals and opportunities for specialty crop producers.
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Florida Ag Commissioner Adam Putnam checks out prepared school lunches. School meals are looking more colorful these days as fresh produce finds a place on the tray.
Photo courtesy of FDACS
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In January, Florida joined only two other states in the U.S. (Texas and New Jersey) that have moved their school lunch program under their respective state departments of agriculture. It was one of Commissioner Adam Putnam’s signature issues as he took the reins of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS).
Putnam argued it just makes sense that the state agency closest to the farmers who grow the food would have more control over feeding the state’s 2.6 million public school children. Florida’s legislature agreed and voted overwhelmingly to move the school lunch program out of the Department of Education and place it under FDACS.
Nationally, USDA has set new meal pattern requirements for schools which aim to increase the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables children consume while in school. FDACS’ Division of Food, Nutrition, and Wellness is working with USDA to ensure its purchasing coincides with the new federal mandates that were put forth in January 2012. This was the first time in more than 15 years that school lunch requirements were upgraded to include more healthy servings.
The statewide Farm to School push can be divided into three separate, but interconnected efforts. The first is for participating school districts statewide to coordinate the produce side of their menu. School districts throughout the state assisted in the creation of a weekly featured Florida-grown product that will be utilized by participating school districts. This list of products, along with a chart indicating the harvesting periods for Florida-grown crops, are to be utilized by the districts to create menus for their schools.
“It is our hope that by school districts using a common produce item each week, they can increase their purchasing power and be provided fresh, in-season product at a lower price,” says Robin Safley, director of FDACS’ Food, Nutrition, and Wellness division.
Giles is editor of Florida Grower, a Meister Media Worldwide publication.
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