Submitted by Karen Magara, Assistant Superintendent for Finance & Operations, SCCSD
Harvest of the Month (HOTM) is a program that aims to connect New York farms and schools to get more seasonal produce into the school cafeteria, support the local economy, and educate students on different vegetables and fruits that grow locally.
As part of Salamanca City School District’s farm to school initiative we are launching a HOTM program. Each month the featured food will be served in the school cafeteria and highlighted on the menu and in the cafeteria. We will be promoting recipes featuring the HOTM, educating students about the nutritional qualities of the food and about how it is grown and harvested locally. We hope to inspire students to eat more healthy local foods, to understand where their food comes from and to appreciate the people who grow and raise their food as well as the land from which it comes. We also aim to support local farms and farmers by providing an additional market for their products and by cultivating a taste for local food in the next generation of consumers.
In September the HOTM was tomatoes and the farm to school committee held a tomato taste test at the back-to-school picnics. Students were encouraged to taste both Roma and grape tomatoes grown in Great Valley and vote for their favorite. The HOTM for October is broccoli and it is being featured heavily on the school lunch menu-both raw with ranch and dill dips, and roasted with garlic! We will be holding a taste test of the roasted garlic broccoli later this month at Prospect elementary school. Check out the recipe to make the same dish at home! We are planning more taste tests throughout the school year, as well as other events, activities and educational opportunities for students to connect with local food and local food producers.
The foods that will be featured as the Harvest of the month this year are: Tomatoes, Broccoli, Bison, Squash, Apples, Potatoes, White Corn, Carrots, Spinach and Lettuce.
