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Farm-to-Cafeteria programs in the works in Kansas

BY MIKE SHIELDS
KHI News Service

Editor's note: This article is the third in a series of eight on the effects of the farm bill on Kansas. Mike Shields is a staff writer for KHI News Service, which specializes in coverage of health issues facing Kansans. He can be reached at mshields@khi.org or at (785) 233-5443, ext. 128.

TOPEKA -- Hoping to teach youngsters to eat healthy while putting more dollars into the pockets of local farmers, groups across the country have been promoting so-called Farm-to-Cafeteria programs.

More than 1,000 schools in more than 30 states are active in the movement and Kansas is taking early, tentative steps to try to emulate the successes of programs such as one in Oklahoma, which is drawing attention nationwide.

"When I was a kid, my grandparents had a huge garden...but a lot of kids today their parents or grandparents don't garden so they don't have that connection with what a honeydew melon really tastes like. They don't know that a honeydew melon is not supposed to taste like a cucumber," said Chris Kirby, who runs the Oklahoma Farm to School Program at the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture.

The 2007 Farm Bill proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture has provisions that would help farm-to-school programs, including $500 million over 10 years for purchasing fruits and vegetables for school meals.

The Oklahoma program began with the assistance of the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture in Poteau, Okla. and a pilot program linking growers with a half dozen districts. But last year, Gov. Brad Henry signed into law House Bill 2655 with the aim of expanding the program to each of the state's 540 school districts. No schools are required to participate, but interest among them already exceeds the ability of farmers to meet demand, Kirby said.

"We're growing growers," she said. "We have a lot of fruit and vegetable growers but not enough to meet institutional needs. It's got such huge potential. When you're talking about 540 school districts, it can involve small up to very large growers."

Oklahoma also has the Oklahoma Food Cooperative, which three years ago began linking over the Internet food shoppers mostly in Oklahoma City with area growers. The cooperative now has more than 850 members and has spawned imitators in Nebraska and north Texas.

Some eyes in Kansas have been watching Oklahoma's efforts to link those who eat the food more closely to those who grow it.

Pete Garfinkel works with the Kansas Rural Center and is a graduate student at Kansas State University. He spent some time studying what was happening in Oklahoma and is now building a Web site called Kansas River Valley Foods. The test page can be found at kansasrivervalley.com. He said he hopes to have it functioning within a month.

The Kansas Rural Center, which is based in Whiting, and K-State held a farm-to-school conference last year, trying to gauge interest among school officials and growers and get out the word on the possibilities.

The Manhattan school district already has begun buying some local produce, Garfinkel said. And other schools along the Kansas River Valley from Wamego to Olathe have shown interest.

"Part of my work now is meeting with producers and potential buyers," he said. "I feel like I'm a bit of a matchmaker. Both sides are interested and I'm getting really positive feedback from individual growers. These institutional buyers have...their systems in place. We're not looking to replace current systems. What we want to do is augment them."

Dan Nagengast, executive director of the Kansas Rural Center, said sweet potatoes and small apples seem among the likeliest local crops to begin turning up at schools because they can be grown in suitable quantities at the right time of year.

Those who work with the farm-to-school programs elsewhere report that they involve more than fresh, local produce showing up in the lunch lines. With obesity now a national scourge, coursework and field trips can be built around the locally produced food so that children learn first-hand about healthy eating.

"The kids come out to do farm visits," Kirby said, describing how some of the Oklahoma school districts use the program there. "When the kids interact with the food in some way, they want to try it, taste it. Many times they find out they like it; full-flavored, farm-fresh fruit and vegetables."

In some places, schools have taken more direct steps to involve their students in the food chain. They've begun their own vegetable gardens or chicken operations to augment what's served at the cafeteria.

Kirby said farm-to-school also helps children develop a better sense of community.

"People know their lawyers and doctors," she said. "Now they can know who their farmers are."