Pasco County Schools, FL - Farmers Market Fridays 2024
Building a Healthier Student Body is the mission of the Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) department, The Zone. The mission represents our commitment of providing nutritious meals to help students succeed and build a healthy foundation for a healthy lifestyle.
Pasco County Schools Student Wellness Policy
C elebratin g local food & local farmers!
Milk | Tomatoes| Oranges | Tangerines
Lafayette and Okeechobee are Florida’s leading dairy counties.
FUN FACTS
Most of the dairy cows in Florida are Holsteins (the black and white cows), and their spots are unique like a fingerprint!
DAIRY FACTS
Cows chew their cud 50 times per minute.
How many times can chew in a minute?!
Cows can SEE almost and SMELL up to 6 miles away!
For the 23/24 SY, Pasco purchased 8,751,960 cartons of milk which equals 546,998 gallons!
Florida dairy farmers byproducts such as citrus pulp, brewers’ grain and whole cottonseed that are consumed by the cows instead of ending up in landfills.
A Florida dairy cow produces about 68 gallons of milk each day.
M&B Dairy
M&B Dairy is a 4th-generation family dairy farm that is home to over 700 dairy cows the dairy industry through all aspects of their production.
M&B Dairy is currently run by Dale McClellan.
Located in Lecanto, FL.
M&B Dairy prioritizes COMFORT for their cows with open-air barns and rubber mats in stalls.
“Buffy the Cow” is M&B Dairy’s mascot.
M&B Dairy provides milk to over 32 school districts in Florida.
M&B Dairy was started in the 1950s.
Florida
Tomatoes
Florida grows 50% of all fresh tomatoes grown in the U.S. Florida is ranked the #1 state for growing fresh tomatoes.
3
Popular Types
1. Cherry
2. Grape
3. Roma
MANY Americans grow tomatoes in their own garden.
Tomatoes come in a variety of colors including yellow, pink, purple & more!
Pasco offers fresh tomatoes almost daily on side salads, entrée salads, and as fresh toppings for select entrees.
There are 10,000+ different varieties of tomatoes.
Botanically, tomatoes are a fruit
Tomatoes take 60 - 100 days to grow from seed to fruit.
Tomatoes are a warm season crop that LOVE the sun.
Ruskin Fresh Market
The tomatoes served at Pasco County Schools are from Ruskin Fresh Market!
Ruskin Fresh Market is a & operated fresh produce market
Ruskin Fresh Market sells tomatoes
Ruskin Fresh Market opened in April of 2023
Ruskin Fresh Market was started
Ruskin Fresh Market
Nicole & David’s
Florida
Oranges
More then 90% of America’s orange juice comes from Florida oranges.
Popular Types of Oranges:
1. Navel
2. Hamlin 3. Valencia
600+ varieties of oranges.
85% of oranges are produced for making juice.
Orange season is 9 months long! October - June!
3 oranges are harvested by hand.
In SY 23/24, Pasco served 12,630 pounds of fresh oranges to their students.
Oranges have been commercially produced in FL since the mid-1800s.
Sub tropical conditions for growing oranges. Oranges thrive in abundant sunshine warm temperatures
Vitamin C
Vitamin C supports the immune systemthe body’s defense against infections.
ENERGY booster!
Vitamin C is also referred to as “ascorbic acid.”
Vitamin C is an antioxidant. Antioxidants help protect against damage caused by exposure to harmful substances in the environment.
The body cannot make vitamin C on its own - it has to come from food.
Vitamin C helps keep you happy & healthy! What do you call a vitamin that improves your eyesight?
A Vitamin C!
Vitamin C is a very important vitamin for healthy gums & teeth.
Tangerines
Florida is the number 1 producer of tangerines in the United States.
FOUR
Main Types of Tangerines Grown in FL:
Florida is home to around 10,490 acres of tangerine trees.
Tangerines are in peak season from October to November.
“Easy
Peelers”
Fallglo Sunburst Royal Honey Tangerines are easier to peel than most other citrus fruit.
Tangerine trees grow to be 10-15 feet tall.
Tangerines are known for their BRIGHT orange peel.
1 tangerine tree can produce up to 7,000 tangerines per season.
Tangerine trees are evergreen. Out of all citrus fruits, tangerines are the most resilient to cold weather.
Fiber
Fiber supports movement through the digestive system
Fiber is a type of carbohydrate body doesn’t digest, it simply passes through.
Soluble fiber dissolves in water…it helps regulate blood sugar levels and removes cholesterol from
Insoluble fiber is sometimes referred to as “roughage. ”
2 types of fiber:
1. Soluble fiber
Insoluble fiber
Fiber is ONLY found in plant foods.
Dairy & meat products do not have any fiber.
Fiber helps to regulate the body’s use of sugar.
Insoluble fiber does not dissolve in water…it helps food move throughout the digestive system.
BOTH forms of fiber are important & beneficial to overall health.
