Hot News

6.01.2008

By Tamara Scully
AFP Correspondent

Blairstown — According to some, putting healthy local foods into the mouths of schoolchildren shouldn’t be a hassle — especially when quality, sustainable farming is occurring right outside the classroom door.
So why aren’t local school districts serving local foods?
Some are. The 2002 Farm Bill helped to open the school door to local food purchases by not disallowing these purchases, by granting exemptions to some of the federal procurement regulations that had prohibited geographic preferences and by encouraging “states and local entities to engage in local preferences for school food service programs,” as per the Community Food Security Coalition’s Web site, www.foodsecurity.org
But procuring local foods isn’t always easy, even when the farm is just outside the door.
Federal rules govern food procurement under the National School Lunch Program, and there are additional state rules as well. While there are programs designed to promote farm-to-school supply connections, the majority of children are eating produce that is well-traveled, distributed via many middlemen and certainly not locally-grown.
Additionally, issues such as delivery, availability and quantity can be of concern when working in conjunction with smaller, local growers.
Added paperwork dealing with numerous farmers can be a hassle. Working with a wholesale distributor makes many of these potential problems disappear for the food service provider.
But it usually means that local food isn’t a part of the school lunch equation.
A flyer advertising the Buy Fresh, Buy Local Northwest Jersey chapter led Joanne Untamo, director of operations for Maschio’s Food Services, Inc., based in Flanders, to place a phone call that carried with it the potential to change the face of school lunches in northern New Jersey.
The Foodshed Alliance, the non-profit that organizes the BFBL chapter, was more than ready to receive that call.
The organization had been in the beginning stages of finding a way of bringing local, fresh produce directly into school cafeterias. After an initial meeting — at which both parties recognized the dedication of the other to this premise — Maschio’s partnered with the BFBL chapter to provide local farm-fresh food to area schools.
Maschio’s Food Services is unique: A small, customer-service oriented company in a field dominated by big, national corporations. They serve more than 200 schools in northern New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
A staff oversees each cafeteria and is able to chop, dice, slice and even make their signature homemade soups- a rarity in the age of pre-packaged school lunches, cafeterias without equipment and untrained staff.
With Maschio’s providing full-service cafeterias and the BFBL farmers working together as an informal cooperative, the common logistical hurdles to establishing a farm-to-school supply program were beginning to be resolved.
“With a large food distributor, our transportation and delivery cost is built into our pricing,” Joanne Untamo, director of operations for Maschio’s Food Services, said. “With local food procurement, delivery is something not really part of the equation and has to be worked out accordingly for everyone’s benefit.”
Delivery can be a problem for small farmers, as they may not have the time or resources to deliver to schools.
Labor costs, time off-farm and fuel costs are all of concern. Likewise, paying a delivery fee to numerous small farmers can add up quickly for the food service. Even though large food distributors are charging fuel surcharges and establishing ordering minimums, local farm delivery prices could potentially add up as well.
The BFBL farmers and Maschio’s have been able to work out several different means of delivery to help offset these issues.
Over the winter, when the first farm-to-school crop of storage apples was delivered, the cost per case included a flat delivery fee that was used to offset delivery costs incurred directly by the Foodshed Alliance, whose staff and volunteers provided the delivery.
Additionally, Maschio’s was able to provide some transportation between schools by using a central drop point, making delivery more efficient for the program and enabling local foods to reach more distant schools.
This cooperative scheme assured that Best’s Fruit Farm was able to receive a fair price for their apples, that the most children received locally-grown food with a familiar farm attached to it and that the cost to Maschio’s was no more than that charged by their wholesale distributor.
In the future, deliveries will be handled by connecting specific growers with schools convenient to their farms and ultimately through the organization of a cooperative delivery system. Each school will order through the Foodshed Alliance, and the non-profit will place the orders with the BFBL farmers. Having one primary contact for the program will streamline communication between the school and the growers.
Maschio’s is willing to work with seasonal foods by incorporating them into the advanced menu planning. Knowing what local produce will be available come September allows them to plan seasonal menus. However, if the local crop is delayed by rain or other issues, they can still get non-local backup from their wholesale distributor if needed.
Having that back-up as the program develops is key, Untamo said.
“Menus are planned in advance,” she said. “Some of the food may be procured locally, but based on growing variables, what is really available may change. We just need to be flexible and have other ... measures in place to be sure the menu demands are met.”
In addition to using local foods in the cafeterias, the partnership also incorporates educational information on sustainable farming, farm visits and in-school programming such as produce tastings, meet-the-grower lunches and school gardening classes.
Local foods being served are labeled as such on the menu as well as on BFBL point of purchase signs. The farm that grew the product is clearly identified. These methods help students to connect food to the farm, rather than to view it as a man-made entity that appears on store shelves.
The children may realize that the farm they see on the bus ride home is growing the food they eat in the cafeteria. This connection is of primary importance to the program.
Meredith Compton, of Peaceful Valley Orchards, is supplying foods to Clinton Township and Clinton Public Schools via the partnership. With a large retail stand, the farm-to-school supply will be one small part of her diversified operation.
By reaching the schoolchildren with healthy, local foods, Compton is said she is confident that parents will take a more active interest in local agriculture, visiting the farm and making regular purchases.
Some smaller growers, who do not have retail operations, will be more dependent financially on the farm-to-school program.
For those, such as Barbara Antanies of Flower Creek Farms, growing specific crops the schools utilize regularly will help her bottom line.
A delivery each week to schools within a 10 mile radius of her farm is a feasible way of selling her crop, allowing her to keep farming.
“This partnership with the Buy Fresh, Buy Local chapter not only helps to create healthier and more nutritious school meals, but it also gives support to the local farmers,” Untamo said.
Based on feedback from Maschio’s cafeteria managers, the apples were a hit. As the last apple delivery occurred in late April, several managers were reportedly overheard begging for more.
Being a seasonal product, apples won’t be back again until September.
The upcoming school year will bring a bountiful harvest to many school districts served by Maschio’s Food Services.