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Forestville getting more Farm to School funds

Submitted Photo Forestville Elementary School students recently enjoyed taste testing Three Sisters Soup made with a variety of vegetables from local farmers.

FORESTVILLE — Last week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that $1.5 million was awarded to 16 Farm-to-School projects to benefit more than 120,000 students in 144 school districts. Forestville Superintendent Renee Garrett was excited to share the news that her district received $100,000 in funding, which is the highest amount awarded to any school district in New York state.

Once again, Forestville is partnering with Pine Valley Central School District to serve four schools, benefiting 996 students and 18 local farmers. The two districts share cook manager, Terry Brown, though the decision to include Pine Valley in the grant application involved other important factors.

“When we started applying for the first grant, we looked at our application and thought it would be a stronger application if we included another school,” Garrett told the OBSERVER. “I knew Pine Valley had a strong farming community, and their poverty rating was similar to ours or a bit higher, so they could really benefit from this funding.”

In 2017, the districts received the first two-year funding stream. “We focused on the cafeteria side of things: equipment for processing and preserving local farm fresh food at the peak of season,” Garrett explained. “In 2018, we really focused on classrooms. Nick Weith is our nutrition education integrator, and he’s working in the classrooms on education, curriculum, farm-to-school literacy, and field trips. Last year, we were able to add a new serving line for our elementary school kitchen, which really streamlined things and gave staff the ability to serve more efficiently.”

With this round of funding, the districts plan to focus on bringing locally sourced beef, poultry and pork into the schools, as well as expanding relationships with local farmers. “It means a lot to us as a school district, but I think it means even more for our farmers,” Garrett noted. “Research out of the American Farmland Trust and Cornell Cooperative Extension tells us that farmland is shrinking and more farms are abandoned. This is our way of holding on to that and preserving our community’s farmland by saying, ‘We need more from you!'”

To that end, Garrett and Weith plan to meet with local farmers next week to share plans for next year’s menu so that farmers can plan their spring planting accordingly. “This allows us to give consistency and stability to our farmers and allows us time to plan our menus, practice new recipes, have taste tests and engage students and cafeteria staff in the menu,” said Weith, who splits his time between Forestville and Pine Valley.

Weith is a Texas native who holds a degree in culinary arts, along with a Bachelor’s degree in business studies and a Master’s degree in urban adolescent and special education from Canisius College. “Nick has been working side by side with our cooks and is shifting their mindset to chefs,” Garrett explained.

Weith has been incorporating “scratch cooking” cookbooks specifically written for cafeterias at Forestville and Pine Valley that take into account districts’ requirements for sodium and fat content, as well as fruit and vegetable servings.

“We tried one recipe called ‘Three Sisters Soup’ that has lots of veggies in it,” Weith told the OBSERVER. “Terry and I were very worried that the kids wouldn’t like it. Almost every kid tried it, and several asked for a regular portion size. One student came back three or four times! That’s why we do it. We want students to learn to like trying new foods and understand where they come from.”

Garrett pointed out that training and efficiency are vital to maximizing the grant funding. “We get free commodities as per our allocation from the government, but we’re limited to what we can get,” she explained. “By incorporating these foods with our local produce and — soon — local meats, we can really do a lot. The quality and taste is so much better, and kids notice it. We’re also still meeting the nutritional requirements.”

On March 20, Forestville is hosting a cooking with confidence class for Forestville and Pine Valley cafeteria staff. Garrett said, “Two more colleagues from other school districts heard about it, so we’ll have four districts, maybe more. They’ll be learning efficiencies like knife skills. When you cut in a more efficient way, you can prep more. We’re hearing that time is a barrier, so to work smarter — differently — training is key.”

Garrett is committed to purchasing 50% more pounds of local farm products with the new round of funding, and any local farmers interested in a farm-to-school partnership is welcome to contact the school at 965-2742. “We’re here to help if other districts are interested in applying for future Farm to School grants,” she added. “We’re very willing to meet and talk with them. I think it’s important to give back in that way, too.”

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