In collaboration with Old Tyme Produce, Lindbergh Schools foodservice provider, SFE, has connected with nearby farmers this school year to present a farmers market featuring fresh, local produce at each elementary school.
“(This year) we got a Local Food for Schools grant. It’s from the state … they’re trying statewide to partner schools with farmers and get our schools to buy local,” Joël Scheible, chief financial officer of Lindbergh Schools, said. “They’re paying for the fresh fruit and vegetables we buy from local farmers. They have to be within a 30-mile radius, so they really have to be local.”
The farmers market program has existed in the district for approximately three years, though it has grown this year to excite the student body and community about all things farming following the passage of Proposition R in April. Amongst many projects funded by Prop R, the district plans on constructing a one-of-a-kind K-12 agricultural STEM learning center – dubbed the Farmers Club – giving students at every grade level hands-on learning experiences.
“We’ve been doing (the farmers markets) for a couple of years, but we expanded it this year because we’re kind of trying to get the kids interested in farming stuff because of the Farmers Club coming up,” Scheible said. “We will eventually end up growing (produce) at the Farmers Club and (we will be) bringing (the produce) into the schools for menuing. Our kids, when they go to Farmers Club, can grow the produce and then see it come through the line in their cafeteria. We’re really trying to market it more towards that this year.”
Another important aspect of the farmers market is encouraging children to try new foods.
“(We’re) introducing them to new fruits and vegetables, like kiwi. We had kumquats last year, dragon fruit,” Scheible said. “Just access to fresh produce. A lot of kids might not see as much at home because produce is expensive, and so it’s introducing them to that concept.”
“We’re also trying to fit a little bit of a cultural diversity element into it as well, so we’re featuring hummus as well, which we have available through Sysco (wholesale restaurant food distributor), but paired with, you know, our local peppers, which is really neat for the students to try,” Hannah David, nutrition coordinator and district registered dietitian at Lindbergh Schools, added. “When we offer it to them, we don’t make them take it. They are free to take whatever they want.”
The farmers market program currently only exists for the elementary schools in the district, though the goal is to eventually include the middle schools and high school as well.
“Right now it’s in elementary, and we’d like to expand upwards – up to middle school and high school as the Farmers Club comes, because we’ll have product from the Farmers Club to (distribute) in all buildings. Just to see the kids grow it and then see it in the lunch line, it’ll be like, ‘okay, here’s the connection,’” Scheible said.
“I have kids in the district at Lindbergh that have gone through Lindbergh and are in Lindbergh, and we’re just big supporters of what they do there (in the district) to promote healthy eating,” Jennifer Hollander, Sales Development Director for Old Tyme Produce, added. “We think it’s a pretty awesome program.”