Beefing Up Alabama’s Farm-To-School Program

Local Beef

Feeds Fayette County Students

By Kaelin Lockhart

The Fayette County School System (FCSS) is beefing up local flavor on lunch trays thanks to a new partnership with Vista Farms and the Farm-to-School Program.

The Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries program encourages schools to purchase products from local farms, such as Vista Farms and its managers, Sarah Die-McElfresh and husband Scott. Vista Farms supplies beef for cafeteria classics, including sloppy Joes, chili and nachos.

The Fayette County partnership grew out of recent supply chain shortages.

“When we saw meat counters empty in 2020, Scott and I had to do something,” Die-McElfresh said. “We decided to do a drive-thru at our community farmers market, where people drove up, gave us $20 and received a 5-pound bag of ground beef.”

Within the first hour, they sold more than 800 pounds.

Through the drive-thru market, Die-McElfresh sparked a friendship with Jenna Mayfield, FCSS Child Nutrition Program director. Since her start as director, Mayfield has focused on promoting healthy, well-balanced meals while emphasizing food education.

FCSS implemented the Farm-toSchool Program in 2019 with local strawberries. Mayfield’s next goal was to branch out from produce to protein for her six county schools.

“We’re wanting to get more locally grown products into schools…and

From left are Fayette Elementary School (FES) Assistant Principal Brandi Davis, Fayette County School System Child Nutrition Program Director Jenna Mayfield, FES Principal Matthew Lindsey, Vista Farms Manager Sarah Die-McElfresh and Fayette County Board of Education Deputy Superintendent Mary Raines.

expose our kids to where our food actually comes from,” Mayfield said.

After realizing their visions aligned, Die-McElfresh and Mayfield teamed up to make local beef in Fayette County schools a reality through Farm Fresh Fridays, where menus center on local products. The school’s first celebratory Friday fell in October, National Farm-toSchool Month.

“We did a cornbread bowl with Vista Farms beef chili and a little sprinkle of cheddar cheese on top,” Mayfield said. “Everybody’s excited to get local food into the schools.”

Die-McElfresh attributes the program’s success to her involvement in Sweet Grown Alabama, the state’s agricultural branding program. Sweet Grown Alabama creates opportunities for farmers and community members to connect and collaborate on projects such as Farm-to-School.

Watching students bite into dishes like saucy sloppy Joes featuring Vista Farms beef is rewarding, said Die-McElfresh.

“It’s probably one of the happiest things I’ve ever experienced,” she said. “When I see students enjoy our beef, I know I’ve done my job to the best of my ability.”

Visit AlabamaFarmtoSchool.org to learn more.

Sloppy Joes featuring locally raised beef are a hit with Fayette County School System students. The beef is raised at Vista Farms in Fayette and is purchased through Alabama’s Farm-to-School Program, which emphasizes menus starring local products.

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Igot a letter from Phillip in Sacramento, who asked an important question.

“Sean, which brands of mayonnaise do Southerners like best?”

Phillip’s question suggests there is more than one acceptable mayonnaise brand. There is not.

There is one offi cially approved mayonnaise of the Southern Baptist Convention. This mayonnaise comes in a jar with a yellow lid and is the secret to a rich, satisfying life.

I don’t intend to be critical of other people’s mayonnaise choices. I would never do that. Just because you and I don’t see eye-to-eye doesn’t mean I think you are a communist. It simply means that you have strong tendencies toward communism.

So I don’t know much about Sacramento, but I’ve heard that grocery stores out West don’t carry the yellow-lid brand. Still, I’ll bet they sell many jars that LOOK like mayo. But don’t be fooled. The jars actually contain noxious commercial automotive lubricants.

I base this statement on a study conducted by a major university wherein researchers discovered most people in the U.S. who admitted to buying Hellmann’s or Kraft claimed to use these products to grease the rear axles of their trucks or tractor trailers.

And let’s not even get started on Miracle Whip. My childhood friend’s mother once made us ham sandwiches with Miracle Whip. My cousin, Ed Lee, took one bite and started to cry.

“What’s wrong?” said my friend.

“Your mom uses Miracle Whip,” said Ed Lee.

“So?”

“So I’m sure gonna miss your mama when we’re all up in heaven.”

After I received Phillip’s message, I decided to make a sincere attempt to understand the age-old mayonnaise debate by conducting an experiment.

For help I enlisted my friend, Billy, and his wife, Miranda — two noted Hellmann’s abusers. Billy and Miranda also invited their son, Lee, to participate. Lee is seven years old. Also my wife joined us.

We all did a blind taste test. His mother prepared mayonnaise-intensive recipes using most of the top brands.

First, we ate deviled eggs. Then pear salad. After that, potato salad.

It took two seconds to tally votes. Every single person in the room unknowingly voted for…

Duke’s mayonnaise.

A close second was Blue Plate. I did not come from a Blue Plate family; we didn’t have that kind of cash around.

Third place went to a jar of Vaseline.

Fourteenth went to Hellmann’s.

Nobody touched the deviled eggs made with Miracle Whip because they had already burned a hole through the table and were glowing neon green.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go lubricate the axle on my truck. ■

Columnist and novelist Sean Dietrich shares tales of common people, the human spirit, traditional regional music and life in the American South through his podcast series at SeanDietrich.com.

Davis Sponsored By Alabama Ag Credit Jeffers

Enjoy this excerpt from an Alabama AgCast with Alabama Peanut Producers Association Executive Director Jacob Davis and Director of Shipping Point Inspection Jeff Jeffers with the Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries.

Jacob Davis: Tell us how your department is funded.

Jeff Jeffers: We are 100% non-appropriated, so there is a fee associated with everything we do. We’re proud of that fact. We treat it just like a business.

JD: What does the Shipping Point Inspection Division do? JJ: We grade fruits, vegetables, grains and peanuts. Peanuts are probably our largest commodity that we inspect. We have 32 buying points throughout the state that we service and inspect. Those peanuts have to be inspected before the wagon or trailer load of peanuts can be dumped in a warehouse. That becomes so important because there’s only a limited number of those conveyances throughout the state, so they have to be inspected and emptied so that the farmer can get that wagon to continue his harvest.

JD: Timing is everything on that. How would you describe the grade on the 2021 crop?

JJ: It graded fairly well. It was a little late because of the weather and rain. We saw so much dirt this year. That’s a challenge and becomes a bottleneck. Instead of a load coming in, getting graded and dumped in the warehouse, if it comes in with high FM (foreign material), it has to be cleaned and regraded. But all-in-all, it was a pretty good crop. A good crop is much easier to grade than a bad crop.

Catch the entire interview on the Alabama AgCast. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts or visit alfafarmers.org/agcast. New episodes available every Wednesday.

Legal Notice

To: Directors, officers, delegates and members of the Alabama Peanut Producers Association

You are hereby notified that the directors of the Alabama Peanut Producers Association, in accordance with Section 1, Article IV, of the By-Laws of the Association, has scheduled its annual meeting as follows:

TIME

11:15 a.m. Thursday, February 3, 2022

PLACE

Building 7 (Show Barn), National Peanut Festival Fairgrounds, 231 South, Dothan, Alabama

Burning Questions Surrounding Inflation

By Justin Miller

Inflation has been a hot topic recently. However, many consumers have more questions than answers. Wendiam Sawadgo, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System economist, helps answer some burning questions.

What Is Inflation?

Inflation is when there is a decrease in the purchasing value of money. Sawadgo said with inflation, a dollar can purchase less than it did in the past.

“We often think of price increases as inflation, but a price increase can be caused by factors other than inflation,” Sawadgo said. “If the price of a hamburger goes up, it could be due to inflation. However, it could also be due to beef prices increasing because of a drought that led to a decreased cattle supply.”

When measuring inflation, Sawadgo said economists will often examine a particular bundle of goods households may purchase. They will then evaluate the price for that same bundle of goods over different time periods. An example of this is the consumer price index (CPI).

What Is Causing The Current Situation?

Sawadgo said economists have mixed perspectives on what is causing increased prices.

“One factor could be the increased demand for goods following the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with a reduced supply of those same goods,” Sawadgo said. “This reduced supply has been in part due to supply chain disruptions from COVID-19.”

Multiple areas have experienced price increases, including energy, used vehicles and food. Working together, these areas are contributing to the current situation.

“With the higher energy prices, consumers are likely spending more filling up their vehicles with fuel,” he said. “Increased food prices might also be affecting the average consumer’s budget. For example, beef prices have been noticeably up.”

When Will Prices Start To Decrease?

Because there are so many elements contributing to the problem, it’s tough to know when prices will return to normal. Sawadgo said supply chain issues may worsen because of current labor shortages, but that is assuming labor demand rises.

“A record 4.4 million people — or 3% of the labor market — quit their jobs in September 2021,” he said. “Combining the pandemic risks with how employment has changed during the pandemic, this could restrict the labor supply for the near future. So, in short, prices returning to normal likely depends on the labor supply increasing to meet labor demand.”

In the meantime, there may be some ways for consumers to combat higher prices.

“Because not all products have seen equal price increases, people may be able to shift their consumption to goods that have been more sheltered from price increases,” Sawadgo said.

For more information, contact Sawadgo or another member of the Extension farm and agribusiness management team at aces.edu.