October 16, 2013
July 13, 2011
Vol 13 No 28
Farm to School
Recipe
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Autumn Food and Fun
Around Town
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SCC Idol Competition
School
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Boone Trail Days Frontier Middle School 7th grader Maryssa Jones enjoys fresh watermelon with her school lunch. Photo courtesy of Wentzville School District
Wentzville Students Benefit From Lunch Program By Matt Deichmann, director of community relations of Wentzville School District The Wentzville School District Child Nutrition Department is always looking for ways to get fresher, higher quality foods onto the plates of students in the school cafeterias. The goal of the WSD is to offer the best possible nutrition during the school day so students can achieve their academic goals, while also helping to reduce the country’s growing child obesity epidemic. The Farm to School program is one example of these efforts. Farm to School is a program that connects schools with local farms. The program also provides agricultural, wellness, and nutritional education opportunities while supporting local and regional farmers. Child Nutrition Director Susan Raster began a farmto-school partnership in the WSD two years ago. “There has been a push for the last four or five years to incorporate more fresh produce—and we want to support our local farmers—but Farm to School is also about educating students and teaching them where their food comes from.” The farm that supplies the WSD with fresh produce is called Three Girls and a Tractor and is located in nearby Mar-
thasville, MO, in the fertile Missouri River bottoms. “The three girls are our daughters, and I guess I’m the tractor!” explained Owner John Kopmann. “It’s a family farm; we have about 20 acres that we cultivate. The girls help us in our family business. We also supply produce for Rockwood, Warrenton, and the Wright City school districts.” The WSD buys in bulk from Three Girls and a Tractor, and in recent weeks deliveries have included 1,000 pounds of watermelon and 800 pounds of cantaloupe. The produce is fresh and right out of the field, and there is often as little as 48 hours between harvest and when the fruits and veggies show up on students’ lunch trays. The farm produces watermelon, cantaloupe, tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, cucumber, sweet corn, and several varieties of squash. “The fresher the produce is, the more nutritional value it has,” explained John. “Sometimes if kids get a chance to try some of these new things, they find out that they’re really good!” Vegetables like eggplant are a little harder for Raster and the Child Nutrition Department to incorporate into
the menu, but part of the challenge is to expand students’ knowledge and tastes. During weekly Taste It Tuesdays, the cafeterias put out samples of vegetables that students might not otherwise experience. Recently, students were introduced to yellow tomatoes and fresh See FARM TO SCHOOL page 2
Over the Fence
16
Who Deserves MVP Status?
Gravity photo courtesy of Warner Bros.
Movie
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