Farm to School Kid Power
~ The following was published in The Floyd Press on May 20, 2010
About 35 Blue Mountain School (BMS) students, along with several BMS teachers and parent volunteers, spent a recent morning planting potatoes as part of Floyd’s Farm to School Program (FTS). The planting, supervised by the Five Penny Farm farmers at their fields on Shooting Creek Road, was the latest step in building on last year’s FTS pilot program, in which students from Floyd Elementary School and BMS harvested potatoes that were later prepared and served countywide at Floyd public schools.
FTS is a nationwide initiative that, according to their webpage (farmtoschool.org), “connects schools (K-12) and local farms with the objectives of serving healthy meals in school cafeterias, improving student nutrition, providing agriculture, health and nutrition education opportunities, and supporting local and regional farmers.” Floyd’s FTS programs are being organized by SustainFloyd, a grassroots citizen’s group working to support resiliency in the local community.
SustainFloyd director Mike Burton said that public school students weren’t able to attend the potato planting because they were busy taking SOL tests but that they will participate in the harvest in the fall. Burton foresees the growth the FTS program, with more locally grown food – such as potatoes, cabbages, and apples – being incorporated into public school lunch menus each year. Although the programs are supported by the state and the local school system, they are currently under-funded. One of Burton’s jobs as director is to pursue grants and other support for Floyd’s FTS efforts.
“It’s all organic and safe to touch,” Five Penny farmer Brett Nichols told BMS students, pointing out the fertilizer sprinkled furrows where 200 pre-cut seed potatoes would be planted. After being instructed to plant potatoes a foot apart, the students got to work, getting down on their hands and knees or dropping potatoes in the ground.
The morning’s event also included a race between the students and Nichols’ tractor. It took team effort for the students to prevail, covering up rows of planted potatoes faster than Nichols tractor could. “Kid power!” one youngster triumphantly shouted.
Once the planting was done and the races were won, the students happily headed over to Five Penny Farm on Thomas Farm Road. “We’ll have lunch by the pond and the kids can tour the greenhouse,” Five Penny farmer Johanna Nichols said. ~ Colleen Redman
May 23rd, 2010 5:50 am
This is a wonderful program and certain to teach children where their food comes from. The last photo has me a bit uneasy. I am in the middle of reading a scientific journalists tome on Lyme’s disease (Several of my neighbors have it) among other tick diseases which have been discovered hiding with or mimicking ALS, MS, chronic fatigue, arthritus. etc. I see these kids in that field of grass and get uneasy.
May 23rd, 2010 9:23 am
It’s planted cover crop. I don’t know if that makes a difference but living in the country it’s hard to avoid grass. I didn’t even think of ticks.
PS the picture made the front page.
May 23rd, 2010 7:54 pm
Fred First linked me to your blog. I live in the South Bay area of Los Angeles County and our local school systems are working at getting school gardens and nutrition programs going. Some districts have had things going forf a few years. Your large scale farming looks really fun for the kids. Competing with a tractor is out of our reach!
May 23rd, 2010 9:30 pm
What a GREAT Pogram this is Colleen….And I love how you documented it. These kids look like they are having such a GOOD, GOOD Time….It is truly Heartwarming….I hope you will document the “harvesting” in the fall, too…It is always so thrilling to see something you have planted grow into what it is supposed to be—But then, you know that probably better than anybody.
May 25th, 2010 11:45 am
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