“When I was in school, choices in the lunchroom were pretty much the same — gruel, gruel and gruel,” joked farmer Steve Strasheim while touring the Clear Lake Middle School cafeteria last week.
My, how times have changed.
Today, Strasheim is the owner of Twisted River Farm in Mitchell. He is one of a growing number of Iowa producers supplying locally grown fresh food to schools throughout the state, making today’s lunch trays colorful and appealing.
USDA Food and Nutrition Service Regional Administrator Vista Fletcher visited the Clear Lake School District during National School Lunch Week Oct. 10-14 to see first hand how the school lunch program has evolved.
“It’s great to hear the things you are doing here and see the kids really enjoying a lunch that is not only delicious, but healthy and appetizing,” she said. “So many are being introduced to fresh-grown products that they have not tried before and finding out they like them.”
Julie Udelhofen, director of food services, explained the Clear Lake School District purchases through the Iowa Food Hub. It uses a Hub to Hub network to get produce from throughout the state for their customers. For example, local students have enjoyed watermelon from Stillwater Greenhouse in Orchard, greens from Twisted River in Mitchell and peppers from North 40 Gardens in Garner.
Fresh goods have been promoted by school participation in special events, such as Local Food Day on Sept. 21 with broccoli, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, apples and watermelon on the menu. On Oct. 26 the “Great Apple Crunch” will be celebrated across the Midwest. In 2021, there were over 1 million crunches.
Strasheim said he became involved in the farm to school movement about six years ago and has been gradually growing his mixed vegetable farm business. He said he is largely challenged by the school calendar.
“Our growing season is winding down as school is starting, so some products are very limited as the year progresses.”
Andrea Evelsizer, from Healthy Harvest of North Iowa, said the non-profit organization works with farmers and uses a statewide network to fulfill the needs of schools warehousing foods. Healthy Harvest also aims to connect and educate in support of the local food system.
Additional USDA consultants, Donna Matlock, who serves the northeast region of Iowa for the Department of Education, and Patti Harding, from the Iowa Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Nutrition and Health Services, also toured Clear Lake’s schools and learned about the greenhouse at the high school where growing produce has become part of the curriculum.
“The amount of support and resources we are seeing to support providing students with fresh options is exciting,” they said. “There are just so many benefits.”
Research shows that when children are well-nourished, they are better learners.
“Local food is fresh and minimally processed, therefore nutrient dense,” said Udelhofen. “It also encourages healthy eating habits and exposes kids to food they may not get at home.”
School and community engagement, along with keeping dollars local to strengthen to economy, are also positive features of the new trend in school lunches.
Recently, Iowa was awarded over $2.1 million through the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program (LFS). The funds are available to schools to purchase local, domestic, unprocessed or minimally processed foods to help with the challenges of supply chain disruptions.
School officials say supply chain issues which arose during the pandemic are improving, but they are grateful for the increased effort to help them place fresh fruit and produce on their menus.
