(OAKLAND) – The New Jersey Department of Agriculture today presented Dogwood Hill Elementary School in the Oakland School District in Bergen County with the “Best in New Jersey Farm to School Award” during a visit to school’s Farm to School field day and the cafeteria. The presentation took place during the celebration of the 14th annual Jersey Fresh Farm to School Week and Second Annual Ag Literacy Week being held September 23-27.
“Dogwood Hill Elementary School has demonstrated a true commitment to making Farm to School a regular part of their curriculum,” NJDA Secretary Ed Wengryn said. “They work with nearby growers to ensure locally grown food is part of the menu when it is in season, and highlight area farmers with their farmstand in the cafeteria, which is great for students to learn where their food comes from.”
Throughout the year the school has incorporated local produce into its menus each month, highlighting recipes and promotions; featuring a farm stand in the cafeteria with locally grown produce; celebrating Farm to School Week and National Farm to School Month with lessons such as build your own salad day using all the colors of the rainbow; using the tower garden for educational purposes, including the cafeteria salad bar; and taking a field trip to the Health Barn in Ridgewood to learn about composting and planting.
“The Farm to School initiative started with our PTO donating a tower garden to the school,” said Dogwood Hill Principal Sean Bowe. “Through the collaboration of Kelly Bosgra, student council advisor, our student council, and Pomptonian (Food Service), the Farm to School experience has grown into a wonderful learning opportunity for the entire school community. The events implemented over the last year provided our students with real world experience and further understanding of why New Jersey is called the Garden State.”
New Jersey schools that entered the Farm to School Recognition Program for the current school year were required to show evidence of working with farmers and the community to ensure students have access to healthy Jersey Fresh fruits and vegetables in their school cafeterias and classrooms. School gardens are an integral part of Farm to School activities and provide hands-on education for students to connect to the state’s agricultural history and learn healthy, lifelong eating habits.
Joining the Oakland District as Farm to School Recognition Program Schools are:
- Buena Regional School District
- Union City School District
- Thomas Dudley School
- Nutley School District
- Union Township School District
- Dover High School District
- Woodbridge School District
- Cranbury School District
- Rahway School District
- Highland Park School District
- Linden School School District
- Bridgeton School District
Schools will receive Jersey Fresh Farm to School promotional material kits including a Jersey Fresh Farm to School banner, aprons, taste test stickers, Jersey Tastes posters and seasonality charts.
Jersey Fresh Farm to School Week was designated as the last week of each September by a law signed in 2010. During this week, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture showcases schools that connect with New Jersey farmers to purchase local produce for school meals to increase student consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Farm to School activities can include, but are not exclusive to:
- Nutrition education, including taste tests with produce purchased from local farms.
- Harvest meals serving locally sourced products from New Jersey farms.
- Farm to School curricular tie-ins that connect the cafeteria to the classroom or school garden.
- Visits to or from local farms that teach students how food is grown.
- School garden education that ties directly into what is already being taught in the classroom.
Jersey Fresh Farm to School Week celebrates the partnerships being built between state farmers and schools which encourage schools to purchase produce from local farmers to incorporate into meals.
The influence of the Farm to School Program has led to 500 schools purchasing local. More than 350 of the districts buying local have implemented cafeteria programs using Harvest of the Month promotional material to highlight the nutritional value of local items. More than 250 districts use a curriculum that ties cafeteria meals to healthy eating education and/or field trips to farms.
https://www.nj.gov/agriculture/news/press/2024/approved/press240927.html