Local Farmers Successfully Provide Lunch Options In Some Tennessee Schools

National Farm to School Program is making its way around the country, providing local grown fruits and vegetables on schools lunch trays in thirty-eight states. Tennessee is still working on its limited participation, as are other states.

School nutrition is a huge issue across our country, with childhood obesity on the rise and adult obesity even more of a problem. Tennessee, ranking fourth on the nation’s top ten fattest states could probably use some education about healthy eating. A program called the National Farm to School program, that puts local farmer’s produce on the cafeteria menu instead of the USDA bid-driven produce, boasts of a state-wide participation rate of thirty-eight states, but sadly, only around 2,000 district participants across those states, made up of mostly private school participants. With health experts agreeing that an increase in fruit and vegetable intake being a contributing factor to reducing obesity, program supporters believe that it is the way to go in schools. A Tennessee news article cited Dianne Kilabrew, a registered dietitian at a Vanderbilt children’s hospital, drawing on CDC research, as saying that

“only 20 percent of children eat the recommended five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables per day”

That about one-fifth of our school children getting the necessary vitamins and minerals from fresh fruits and vegetables necessary for their minds to develop and their bodies to grow. Kilabrew further supported the farm to school program, sharing that the programs show that children will opt for fresh fruits and vegetables when they are local and appealing. This is contrary to certain unsubstantiated mindsets that believe children choose junk food over fresh and healthy food if given the option. One local Tennessee public school district replaced its old purchase program with the farm to school program on a small scale, replacing fries with local purchase potato wedges. According to the director of nutrition,

"The children will take it if it's out there."

Other Tennessee schools have stepped it up a bit, like Hudspeth Hall, an all female prep school, ordering over a third of their produce from local farmers. Glendale Elementary, a public school in Nashville, is also working with the same local farm that provides produce for the prep school and has been named as a drop-off point for a Community Supported Agriculture program. They are not serving produce as of yet. Despite the help to the children’s health, local community and economy, there are hurdles to the program, which may account for the lack of participation from more public schools across the country. The Metropolitan Nashville Public School District believed the current system was one that best served its children’s needs. According to the news article, Woody McMillin, district public information officer

flatly stated there's no real chance for the district to participate at this time. "With 136 schools buying food in large quantities the district is one of largest food purchasers in Davidson County. We're very satisfied with the program we have now and think the health of the children is best protected. If a directive called for the district to purchase locally, then it would.”

Olivia Brown, public information coordinator,

“added that much of the food used in Metro cafeterias is already pre-prepared”

Other districts in the area seemed much more receptive to buying from local farmers than Metro, but cited issues with the USDA bidding process and other USDA regulations, one director even stating that

"I'd much rather have a farm-grown tomato than one from California”

which seems reasonable, since having a tomato travel across the country pretty much negates the term FRESH. A bill that passed both the Senate and the House Education Committee designed to allow and encourage local farmer participation in the bidding process has high hopes of passing the House as early as this week. If it does, it will mean that the bidding process will no longer be rigid and focused on the lowest bids, but will now encourage homegrown options from local growers. Even in its success, the farm to school programs present challenges in that they must provide enough food for large numbers of children from small farms and this can present a challenge, especially during problem growing seasons. Starting small may be the key to a successful farm to school program. Replacing prepackaged and dated produce with locally farmed fruits and vegetables serves a multitude of beneficial purposes. Tennessee’s participation in this program will hopefully add a spark to the ember of hope for our nation’s health concerns.