St. Lucie Public Schools Child Nutrition Services offers nutritious meal choices for students each day to enhance learning and academic success.
C elebratin g local food & local farmers!
Cucumbers rank 8th most valuable crop in Florida.
Cucumbers in FL are grown either outside or in greenhouses.
The U.S. is the 4th largest cucumber producing country in the world.
Cucumbers take 12 to produce fruit after being planted.
cucumbers are grown worldwide each year.
Cucumbers are 90% water.
Bees are essential for the pollination of cucumbers.
Cucumbers can grow 2 feet
Cucumbers are a
The large leaves on the cucumber plant provides shade for the developing fruit.
Yates Produce’s group of family farms include Estrada & Sons, Parkesdale Farms, Gator Creek Berry Farms & Hawk Farms.
Yates Produce is a familyowned network of four farms.
Yates Produce is currently run by Michael Yates.
Yates Produce is located in Plant City, Florida.
In total, Yates Produce farms on 600 acres of land. Yates Produce offers a wide variety of different fruits & vegetables.
Yates Produce delivers their produce all over the U.S.
Florida’s climate for growing mini peppers.
Mini peppers are known for their small size, bight colors
These peppers can be yellow red or orange
Most mini peppers take to be ready to mature after being planted.
Mini peppers grow best in warm climates with a lot of sunlight.
Mini peppers grow on bushes that grow to be around 2’ tall.
Pero Family Farms has 35,000+ acres of farmland.
Pero Family Farms is one of the LARGEST organic vegetable growers in the U.S.
Pero Family Farms is a 5th-generation family owned & operated farm.
Pero Family Farms all started with Peter Pero in 1908 with a small farm in Brant, NY.
Located in Delray Beach, FL.
Pero Family Farms relocated to Florida in 1981 to allow them to grow
“Over a Century of Commitment
Pero Family Farms crops are distributed all across the U.S.
Florida grows 90% of all the star fruit grown in the U.S.
Star fruit are a yellow, star-shaped, tropical fruit
Star fruit is harvested during two periods in Florida… August – September and December – February
Wild star fruit trees can live for around 40 years.
One star fruit tree can produce 200-400 pounds of fruit/year.
Star fruit have sweet & sour flavor –similar to a mix between a pear, an orange & a green grape.
Star fruit grows best in sunny & humid climates.
The average star fruit tree is 25-30 feet tall & 20-25 feet wide.
Amber Brooke Farm is committed to practicing sustainable farming. U-pick produce is offered at Ambre Brooke Farms.
Amber Brooke Farm is a 155-acre fruit, vegetable & flower farm.
Amber Brooke Farm was started in 2013 by Ryan Atwood & Michael Hill.
Ryan Atwood is a firstgeneration farmer and Michael Hill is a fourthgeneration
Amber Brooke Farms packs & ships
“We farm to feed the nation. That’s what we do.”
Located in Mt Dora, FL
Florida ranks 2nd in the U.S. for production of green beans.
Try growing green beans in your garden!
Green beans are the 3rd most homegrown vegetable.
In the winter, Florida produces 100% of the green beans grown in the U.S.
Bush & pole are the 2 main types of green beans. = 130+ varieties of green beans.
yellow or purple!
Green beans are also known as string or snap beans.
Paul Allen & his son Johnathan
R.C. Hatton Farms started in 1932 with only several hundred acres of land.
R.C. Hatton Farms is now home to 8,000 acres of land.
C. Hatton.
R.C. Hatton Farms specializes in green beans, sweet corn, sugarcane & cabbage.
Located in Pahokee, FL.
“Our farm & our company is all about our people.”
Some of the MOST fertile soil in the U.S.
R.C. Hatton Farms is located beside Lake Okeechobee in an area known for its rich and fertile “black gold” soil.
Lafayette and Okeechobee are Florida’s leading dairy counties.
Most of the dairy cows in Florida are Holsteins (the black and white cows), and their spots are unique like a fingerprint!
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!
Most Florida dairy herds range 150 -
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.
T.G. Lee Dairy is now Central Florida’s LARGEST dairy.
T.G. Lee Dairy is a 100% farmerowned brand of Dairy Farmers of America.
T.G. Lee Dairy started out with only 20 acres of land and one dairy cow in 1925. Located in Orlando, FL.
T.G. Lee Dairy was started by Thomas Gilbert Lee, his wife Elizabeth & their one dairy cow, Hopper.
T.G. Lee Dairy’s products come from 2 family dairy farms – Full Circle Dairy & Alliance Dairies Group. “Farmer Owned, Community Loved. ”
T.G. Lee Dairy is considered Florida’s
hometown dairy
Let’s shake some BUTTER!
2 cups cold heavy whipping cream 1 ounce plastic cups with lids
Pour 2 tablespoons of heavy cream into each portion cup. Place the lid on each cup, and distribute to students.
Shake the container until butter forms a soft lump. Continue to shake until buttermilk separates out of the lump and the container contains a solid lump of butter and liquid buttermilk. The process should take 3 to 5 minutes.
To strain, pour off or drink the buttermilk, leaving only the solid butter.
OPTIONAL: Remove the lump of butter, and wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until you are ready to serve.
For more information, visit FloridaMilk.com/in-the-schools
