October has been National Farm to School month, and in the Central Sierra we thank all of the many community champions who help to connect students with local foods and agricultural education. In particular, this year we want to recognize the local farms that have donated their produce to the CalFresh Healthy Living UCCE's Harvest of the Month program in school cafeterias. Partnerships in Tuolumne and El Dorado County led to donations of local fruits and vegetables that supplied 24 tasting events in 6 school cafeterias. During these events, students learned about the seasonal item of the month, had the chance to taste food produced within their own county, and voted on how much they liked the item. Donated items served included persimmons, apples, apple cider, fresh wine grapes, blood oranges, butternut squash, and cabbage.
Approximately 6,461 tastes of local produce were served last school year, and the large majority of votes indicated that students like local produce! 57.6% of votes expressed that the student loved what they tasted, and 22.4% of votes expressed that the student liked what they tasted. We couldn't accomplish this work without the partnership of local farms, and we thank the many farmers who contribute to our programming and to their communities! To learn more about how farm to school efforts help students, read The Benefits of Farm to School from the National Farm To School Network.