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School lunches go local in Colorado
Evan Parry, of Fox Fire Farms, pauses with a few cows on his family’s 1,000-acre organic farm Tuesday. Durango schools plan to buy 4,000 pounds of beef from Parry's ranch. Photo by Steve Lewis, Durango Herald.
Remember when school lunch was made up of frozen burgers and pizza squares — and ketchup counted as eating a vegetable?
School Districts in Colorado, including Boulder Valley, are starting to buy local ingredients as part of an effort to make school lunches healthier for kids and kinder on the environment.
In Durango, the local school district, 9-R, just announced plans to buy 5,500 pounds of local beef for the 2009-10 school year.
From yesterday’s Durango Herald:
The school district will spend about $11,550 on locally raised beef this year. The effort began in spring 2008, when 9-R purchased 600 pounds of beef from Fox Fire Farms.
“It was hugely successful, and then we were able to continue that relationship,” said Krista Garand, 9-R director of student nutrition.
The ground beef is used to make tacos, barbecued-beef sandwiches, chili, nachos and other dishes. District 9-R also serves locally grown fruits and vegetables.
“Sometimes kids are eating better at schools than they are at home,” Garand said. “We’re serving organic meals to kids.”
Read the full story in the Durango Herald, or learn about Boulder Valley’s School Food Project after the jump.
Boulder Valley is starting its second year running the School Food Project.
The Boulder Valley School District launched an effort last year to make school lunches more nutritious by cooking meals from scratch and buying local when possible.
District officials hired a consulting firm called Lunch Lessons to lead the overhaul. This year, the firm’s founder, “Renegade Lunch Lady” Ann Cooper, has taken over as the district’s interim director of nutrition services.
From the Aug. 11 Daily Camera:
Donors have given thousands of dollars to revamp the school-food program, and that money is going toward changes that Cooper suggested last year.
When students return to class next week, for instance, they’ll be able to choose between a hot lunch – prepared with natural foods, not processed goods – or a full salad bar, or both.
Children will get pesticide-free milk from Colorado dairy farms; whole-grain breads will top burger patties; and every student will have the chance to grab breakfast before class.
Schools will offer Mexican food once a week and will feature locally made pizza with natural ingredients.
“It’s nothing crazy; it’s just all really good food,” Cooper said.
Read the full story at DailyCamera.com, learn more about the School Food Project at Boulder Valley’s Web site or check out the Renegade Lunch Lady’s Web site.
Read more posts about going local on BigGreenBoulder:
 Local Colorado hops, local Colorado beer, happy Colorado locals |
 Hail Caesar! |
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