Taste Washington Day at Local Schools

Yesterday, schools across the state celebrated Taste Washington Day by highlighting the programs and people working to bring locally grown and raised food to schools for delicious and nutritious scratch-cooked school meals. At North Tapps Middle School, the dedication to nutrition and locally produced food is evident through a collaboration between Child Nutrition Manager Kelly Foley, who purchases food from local producers like us, the staff who cook meals from scratch, and the school community, who support these efforts.

At lunch, kids ate Colvin Ranch hamburgers with lettuce from DeGoede Farms in Sumner and tomatoes from Four Elements Farm in Puyallup. The kids call these the "real burgers" and they can taste the difference with our grass-fed, grass-finished beef patties. It's the kind of school lunch that kids want to eat - and adults, too. 

The Washington State Department of Agriculture Farm To School Program supports North Tapps Middle School and other schools across the state with the funding, training, and resources they need in order to purchase local food and cook from scratch. Buying from local farmers and ranchers takes more work than purchasing from large, centralized food distributors. But the benefits are clear. 

Kids benefit by having access to fresh, nutritious meals, and farmers and ranchers benefit by having the opportunity to make larger sales. When those food dollars stay local in the community, the benefits extend even farther. In our case, when we secure sales to schools we're then able to purchase additional cattle from local families who raise high-quality, grass-finished beef according to our standards, which means we can help support other small family farms and help keep agriculture viable in our community. 

Outside of the kitchen, WSU Extension Master Gardeners have implemented a Garden Club for students, and with the student's hard work and donations from the community, they now have a thriving vegetable garden that provides fresh produce for the kitchen and snacks for the classrooms. 

This community of people who care about health and nutrition for our kids, including school staff and administrators, WSDA Farm to School Program staff, Educational School District staff, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, parents, volunteers, farmers and ranchers are all working together to improve health for our kids in schools, one meal at a time. And we're all better off for it.

If you'd like to bring locally grown and raised food to a school in your community, check out the resources available through the WSDA Farm to School Program. See the Governor's official Taste Washington Day Proclamation for more about the importance of local food in schools.