Farm to School: February 2024 Newsletter
Creating a Love Connection and Memories to Food
We all have that one love connection to cafeteria food. No childhood is complete without the memory of the cafeteria “lunch lady.” She was the underappreciated, and often feared, deliverer of lunch. There are some great and not so great memories of the food we ate in school. My favorite memory is the every other Friday lunch plate: Beef and Cheese Enchiladas with a side of rice and charro beans, all made from scratch.
Local Food for Schools has opened the door to the school food cafeteria supply chain by promoting the connection between local farms and the cafeteria. By serving locally grown and produced food, you can help to encourage healthy eating and create lasting memories for your students.
Harvest of the Month: Carrots
Carrots are one of the best sources for beta-carotene. This is super important for growing kids because our bodies turn it into Vitamin A, which is important for vision health, bones, teeth, and skin! Just one medium carrot, or a handful of baby carrots, counts as one serving of your daily veggies.
Indiana Grown for Schools Harvest of the Month
Website:
https://www.ingrown4schools.com/harvest-of-the-month
<<<FEATURED RECIPE>>>
Honey Carrot Coins
Lemon, butter and honey bring out the
flavor in this crowd-pleasing carrot dish.
Coming soon to our LFS catalog: Coined carrots
February Food Celebrations
February 4 - National Homemade Soup Day
February 27 - National Strawberry Day
FEATURED FARM
We have added mushrooms to our Schools & Pantry Catalog. These items are not available through the LFS Program but are available for purchase. Do not hesitate to check out these mushrooms from Windy City Mushrooms.
Fully cooked oyster mushroom
meal sauced, seasoned ready to
heat & eat. Asian Zing is a blend
of sweet and spicy thai chilis
designed to go over rice,
noodles, mixed with meat or
beggies.
Fully cooked sauced and
seasoned BBQ flavor
mushrooms. Rich smokey taste
can replace any meat dish or
made into a BBQ mushroom
sandwich.
Fully Cooked Oyster Mushroom.
Seasoned and sauced with
italian herbs and spices. Perfect
over pasta, on a flat bread, or
mixed in with meat.
>>> WINDY CITY MUSHROOMS
4100 W. 76th Street, Unit G
Chicago, IL 60652
Windy City Mushroom was founded in 2020. With the start of the pandemic, healthy resources became scarce and mushrooms were out of stock in every grocery store and co-op. Chicago needed sustainable option for local consumers. Located in the Ford City neighborhood of Chicago, they pride themselves on growing the finest premium gourmet mushrooms Chicago has to offer at an affordable price.
Mission
Our mission is to get mushrooms on every dinner plate in the country. That means growing mushrooms sustainably and affordably. We do that not only by providing you with the freshest and most delicious mushrooms in Chicago, but with our Fungitarian line of fully cooked oyster mushrooms.
Mushrooms can be the basis of meatless dishes that are friendly and truly appealing to any dietary style.
UPDATES
Grant application is now open, please go to the Innovation Hub website, HERE
Our USDA-funded grant-making initiative offers funding, training and other assistance to partnerships that include farmers, food producers, suppliers, distributors, schools, and organizations.
February 14, Innovation Hub Webinar: Building Connections and Celebrating Cultures and Communities in Your Project Design, Time: 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm CST, REGISTER
SAVE THE DATE
February 26, Region Roots Farm Fest!
Time: 5:00 pm - 8:00pm
Location: County Line Orchard
This will be an exciting evening of food, vendors, chefs, and school food service staff. Please be sure to join us and meet your local farmers, chefs and other food service staff doing some amazing work in the local food system.
June 18-19, Indiana Farm to School Symposium - Hendricks County
The Indiana Dept. of Ed. welcomes all PreK-12 and ECE teachers, food service staff, school administrative staff, farmers, children nutrition professionals, local food advocates and interested community members to gather and learn about school gardens, local food procurement, and agriculture education! Come learn about and plan your farm to school projects! If you have question, or would like to help plan this event, please contact Sophie Lindley at slindley@doe.in.gov.
RESOURCES
New Indiana Farm to School Map
Does your school of early childhood education (ECE) program have a Farm to School program? These programs might include a school garden, hydroponic tower garden, agriculture education program, local food purchases by your school food service, or other food & farming related activities.
The Indiana Department of Education is creating an Indiana Farm to School Map. They would love to learn about your Farm to School activities and include your school or ECE program on this new map. If you are interested, please fill out their Farm to School Survey.
Farm to School Office Hours
Join Farm to School Coordinators from the Indiana Grown for Schools Network and other farm to school and early care stakeholders each month to discuss and find answers to your questions related to local foods. Farm to school office hours are on the third Wednesday of each month from 3:30 - 4:30 PM ET. You can request a monthly calendar hold by emailing Brianna Goode at bgoode@health.in.gov
Questions or feedback about the program?
Would love to hear from you!
Reach out to Veronica Jalomo, Farm-to-School Coordinator,
veronica@nwifoodcouncil.org, (765) 412-6136