The USDA Comes to Town!

Yesterday was one of my proudest moments as a FoodCorps Service Member. USDA Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition & Consumer Services, Kevin Concannon, and his staff made a visit to our school district to learn more about our sustainability efforts and Seed-to-Student programming. The Owl Creek School classroom was full of community partners, district administrators and board members, state and federal leaders, and one uncomfortable-looking produce farmer in a tie. The FPS team presented the many facets of what makes our programs unique and successful. It was a wonderful reminder that none of the local products or food education we bring into our district would be as successful if we didn’t work together and take advantage of the unique assets each partner brings.  

photo courtesy of Fayetteville Public Schools

The attendees moved through the cafeteria line anticipating the meal prepared by the district’s chef and food service staff that featured eight products from local producers, the University’s farm, and the Owl Creek School garden. The conversation in line and during lunch highlighted big wins for the district’s Seed to Student program, the benefits and importance of farm to school, and warm fuzzy stories of students enjoying and exploring healthy, local food and school gardens. 

Students proudly present their ongoing compost project.

By far the most meaningful part of the afternoon was our time in the garden with the students. Three high school boys presented their bike-powered water cistern pump that brought rainwater from the roof of the school to the plants in our garden. The crowd was all smiles and Mr. Concannon was clearly impressed. Next three student’s from Mrs. Richardson’s 5th grade science class, whom I have been working closely with all school year, told us how they built the compost bin, tended their pile, took measurements, and made observations to reinforce what they learned in class. The story of ecosystems, decomposers, and nutrient cycling came alive for them in their compost piles. They said their favorite part of garden time was planting seeds and harvesting compost from their worm bin. After working with their class for almost a year, no words could have made me feel happier. They are so smart. They are so inspiring. I am so proud.

photo courtesy of Fayetteville Public Schools

We hope that our message was clear, and I think it was. Everyday, I experience first hand how Farm to School programming and garden-based education helps connect classroom lessons to the real world, and supporting local agriculture is crucial to the health of our students and community.  The group took photos and finished up conversations. Mr. Concannon and his staff were very thankful for the afternoon and left with smiles on their faces. We are grateful for their time and know our stories and successes will be shared with important decision makers in Washington D.C.

- by Ally Mrachek

Priming the Pump: Helping Families Find Motivation for Making Healthy Food Choices

A nutrition professor of mine once said, “You can’t motivate people to change, they have to motivate themselves.” Since joining FoodCorps last August, I have wanted to create an educational opportunity just for parents to offer tips and information about helping their students eat more healthfully. I am passionate about working with families because I know there are many factors that play into what goes into a sack lunch or a dinner meal. I also know that early food experiences influence lifelong eating habits, so family eating practices are very important. Because I am new to the district, I wanted to serve in the community for a while before figuring out what nutrition topics are important to Fayetteville parents and how best to present them, or if they are even interested in nutrition education.               

Ally and Sophia team up to talk nutrition at a family
healthy cooking class.

For the last few months I have been serving with garden clubs and cooking classes, talking with PTO presidents and other school staff, and providing free nutrition counseling to parents and students through the district’s Wellness and Education Clinic. These experiences have given me a better feel for the nutrition topics of interest in the parent community. Next, I sat down with my supervisor and the district’s Coordinated School Health Coordinator to better understand what sort of setting and timeframe parents would be willing to come to an educational event. We thought a class series would interest parents but it would have to include kid-friendly activities or child care, occur before dinner, and be promoted like crazy. I remember thinking, “Let’s be realistic. The classes will be a success if I can get just five parents to show up at these events”. If national service and community outreach have taught me anything, it’s that 1) low turnout does not mean low impact and 2) offer free food at any event you host-and advertise that food.

Photo credit Alison Hewitt

The night of my first child nutrition class, 20 people showed up! Success. The constant, shameless promotion and free snacks worked! I presented on basic nutrition for kids and picky eating. The presentation seemed to go well. The parents and older kids were nodding and asking questions and the young kids were busy coloring and making masks and munching on healthy snacks.  I presented a Think Your Drink activity in which everyone guessed how many teaspoons of sugar were in various sweetened drinks and then parent-kid dyads scooped the actual amount of sugar in each drink into cups with plastic spoons. Oh, I almost forgot, community outreach has also taught me that, in some cases, eliciting “shock and awe” is acceptable.  Every parent and child had a look of astonishment on their faces as they scooped up to 16 teaspoons of sugar into their cups.

At the end of the presentation, a middle-schooler asked how to make the kale chips I offered as a snack. The other attendees were also very interested in knowing too. I almost squealed with joy. I briefly explained how to prepare them and made sure to take their email addresses to send them the recipe. Since then the kale chips recipe has been sent to the families in attendance, the coordinated school health committee, the assistant superintendent and a lady in Florida. Double success!

My second class in the series was presented at in existing parent event called, Parent University. I presented Meals on the Go and Healthier Fast Food Options. Though there was very low turnout at the event as a whole, and I only had two people total attend my three sessions, I feel like the time and effort preparing for the event was worth it. I set up a one-on-one nutrition counseling appointment with the daughter of one attendee after one session and helped a frustrated single mom of three troubleshoot quick and cheap lunch and dinner ideas for her family. These conversations may not have happened if more parents were in attendance. The mom of three also told me that after attending the first nutrition class, she and her three kids stopped drinking soda and chocolate milk—cold turkey. She had no idea there was so much sugar in all those drinks. The kids order water at restaurants on their own now, she said. She reports feeling great since she stopped drinking soda and plans to attend the rest of my classes.

It’s true you can’t motivate people to change. I can tell people about healthy eating until I am blue in the face, but if they are not self-motivated to make that change, it ain’t gonna happen. I have experienced this time and time again. However, you can offer knowledge and teach skills. You can prime the pump. I plan to continue the child nutrition class series, shamelessly promote it, and offer free healthy snacks. It’s rewarding to know that the information I share is of value to motivated parents who find the time to attend nutrition classes and focus their energy on healthy lifestyle changes for their families. 

by Ally Mrachek

Feel free to contact us if you would like resources from Ally's presentation. 

Finicky Food Fondness and Fabulous (local) Frozen Foods

The good news keeps coming for the Fayetteville Public Schools’ (FPS) Seed to Student program! For the last few months we have been working diligently to find a local sweet potato product with a competitive price and good story. I am happy to announce that we are partnering with the local processor Bright Harvest to switch all sweet potato fries to local ones throughout the district, that is, at all middle and junior high schools and the city’s high school. Bright Harvest sources the majority of their sweet potatoes from Central Arkansas (Matthews Ridgeview Farms), some from Mississippi and Louisiana, and as a very last resort, California.  The price is right too, they are cheaper then the product we were using. It’s a win-win for everyone. A local processor and farmers get the school district’s business and we get a lower-cost, local product that happens to be of higher quality as well. The kitchen managers told me they “cook up” and “hold shape” better than the old product, and taste better. The staff says the kids like the new product too. Just today, another order was made for three more pallets (270 cases) of Bright Harvest sweet potato fries. The district has gone through one pallet in the last three weeks. That is 2,700 pounds of local sweet potato fries! I thought to myself, “well, that was easy! I guess I don’t need to do taste testing and promotion of the new product after all. It sounds like these fries are selling themselves”. Yeah, that was a nice thought.

Photo: Bright Harvest 

I stopped by the high school last week to take some photos of the new fries and get a bit more feedback from kitchen staff. The staff was very quick to say that the product was of higher quality than the previous one but every time sweet potato fries are on the menu the participation rate, or number of students buying that meal option, drops noticeably. Not many high schoolers like sweet potato fries, or anything sweet potato for that matter, they said. The kitchen manager asked for suggestions to better promote the fries to increase participation and generate revenue for the school nutrition program. I noticed the fries were closed inside plastic clamshells with a roll and chicken nuggets. The meal was one color, brown, and the condensation had fogged up the clear plastic making it difficult to see the entrée inside. The clamshell would likely make the crispy fries soggy if they sat there long enough. There was a lack of eye-catching promotion to make the students aware of the new product. I took a few notes and headed back to the office to think about how to improve the situation. The other kitchen managers had not mentioned this and clamshells are only used at the high school so maybe the concern was specific to that cafeteria.  

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Really? Sweet potato fries? Aren’t you serving with FoodCorps? Aren’t you a healthy and local food advocate?! Yes, I agree there are healthier vegetable options than sweet potato fries but this is why these fries are still a win for us healthy food advocates, locavores and the students alike. For one, sweet potato fries are already on the menu. It’s easier to improve what you have before moving on to new menu items. Getting new items on the menu requires quite a bit of planning and time. Secondly, sweet potato fries are a healthier alternative to white potato fries and fit into the new USDA meal pattern many food service departments are frantically trying to learn and follow. You could say local sweet potato fries are a gateway food for getting more local and healthy foods to the menu. In addition, sweet potato fries are a frozen product so they can be ordered in large quantities, stored and used as needed. Buying in bulk is cost saving and eliminates the extra time need to coordinate ordering and delivery of fresh product for each school on a weekly basis. Also, establishing a relationship with FPS was a big win for Bright Harvest. Other districts will see that the local product has been successful and be more likely to purchase the product for their schools, especially if it’s cheaper. When our regional distributors see the demand for local product is high, they will be encouraged to work with Bright Harvest and other local entities so more schools can easily purchase and offer local foods to their students.

I learned quite a bit from this project so far and there is still more to do. It is important to observe (in person!) how new products are prepared and offered to students and get kitchen staff feedback to make sure the product is successful in the cafeteria. If there is room for improvement, adapt accordingly. We will be doing some promotion of the new product with some sort of colorful “it’s local” signage and taste testing. We want students to give sweet potato fries another chance. We might also experiment with how the fries are offered; keeping in mind they must be part of a reimbursable meal.

It’s tricky business considering quality, cost, federal regulations and fickle teenage food preferences when figuring out how to get local, nutritious food on the school menu, but it is oh so worth the patience and hard work.

Learn more about

Ridgeview Farms

Bright Harvest

by Ally Mrachek 

GROWING FROM SEED TO STUDENT

Before the holidays, the school district’s Child Nutrition Director and I hosted an interest meeting to present to new and returning producers the benefits of selling their products to schools and the logistics of our expanding Seed to Student Program.

For me, this is what it’s all about. I had chills. Though the group was small, it was truly an honor to sit around a table to discuss the direction of our program with a group of intelligent and motivated producers, community members and leaders in the local food/ food justice movement. It was an honest discussion about the future of Seed to Student programming in Fayetteville, the challenges and successes of local procurement during the summer and fall programs and to get feedback for improvement from everyone involved. Based on grower recommendation, we are making several changes to increase sustainability while expanding the program.

One of our local farmers delivering
squash destined for students' plates.

There was general consensus among returning producers. They appreciated the partnership they had established with the schools, but the primary concern was that prices were too low for the quantity of product purchased. Because the school district’s food budget is tight, spending about $1.00 per plate, pricing is tricky. Schools cannot purchase products for the premium price they are sold at the Farmer’s Market. At the same time, producers need a fair price to continue doing the honest work they do. Fortunately, school meal programs are a consistent market and have large purchasing power that the Farmer’s Market cannot provide.  It’s important that small producers diversify their markets.

Our producers requested that we assign each of them a crop or two to produce for the schools so larger quantities can be purchased from each producer; instead of giving all producers an opportunity to sell a small amount of several products to the schools as we had done this fall. A few producers mentioned that the current process was not financially sustainable for them, and were considering not selling to the schools if larger quantities could not be purchased. Our team was more than willing to make this adjustment to the program, and the change was especially ideal for our fancy ordering system, a.k.a. me. Working through this concern illustrates the importance of soliciting feedback from all parties involved and being open to change to create a sustainable and successful program.

Oh, and FPS Seed to Student has big news! This spring, with the help of a large USDA Farm to School grant and additional funding from a SARE (Sustainable Agriculture and Research Education) grant, we will begin purchasing local foods for a third middle school and the city’s high school. When I think of the impact this will have, I get so excited. Through the school lunch program and other educational programming, we now have the potential to educate and serve local fresh fruits, vegetables and meat to almost 4,000 students daily - incredible!