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News
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Oregon celebrates National School Lunch Week
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10/6/2010
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Article Content Suggested lead
Farm to school and school garden programs are in the spotlight as Oregon observes National School Lunch Week: (NOTE: National School Lunch Week is October 11-15.)
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Audio 01
Now more than ever, farm to school and school garden programs are needed to help provide healthy, nutritious, and locally-grown foods to children. That's one of the key messages during National School Lunch Week, according to Michelle Ratcliffe of the Oregon Department of Agriculture:
RATCLIFFE: "Oregon is emerging as a national leader in serving our kids delicious, healthy, locally produced foods. In the meantime, we are teaching kids the skills they need to be lifelong healthy eaters." :13
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Audio 02
At the same time, these efforts are providing a stable and growing market for Oregon's agricultural producers. ODA has awarded a 45-thousand dollar specialty crop grant to a pair of Oregon school districts- one urban and one rural- to integrate the classroom and cafeteria with a school garden and the community:
RATCLIFFE: "Even if you are serving more Oregon products on the lunch line, unless kids know about them, they are not likely to eat them. So kids also have to have the experiences and increase their knowledge about Oregon agricultural products in order to influence what they eat now and into the future." :17
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More than 70 school districts are proceeding with a program to buy more local food. With another 200 or so school gardens around the state, there is plenty of momentum for Oregon agriculture to be at the front of the school lunch line. In Salem, I'm Bruce Pokarney.
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RATCLIFFE says schools are playing an increasingly important role in connecting the classroom with agriculture and good eating habits:
"The Oregon Farm to School and School Garden Program is great for our Oregon economy. Not only does it provide a stable and growing market for our agricultural producers, it also educates our youth on the critical importance of agriculture." :13
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RATCLIFFE is optimistic about the success of farm to school and school garden programs:
"In the next three years, I believe we could have 90 percent of the kids in Oregon not only eating great Oregon agricultural products that are served in the cafeteria, but also learning about them in school gardens, through field trips, and through programs where ranchers and farmers come right into the classroom." :18
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Full story
http://oregon.gov/ODA/news/101006school.shtml |
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