School nutrition directors on the farm

I'm seeing a trend in North Carolina where school nutrition directors visit farms they are sourcing from to learn more about how the food they are serving is grown or raised.

Ahead of a recent farm-to-table event, Jamie Narron, executive director of school nutrition in my home county of Wilson, visited three local farmers. "Everybody needs to know where their food comes from," she says. By visiting farmers, "I can visually see where the food is coming from that I'm serving students."

Talking with farmers helps Narron in her job of managing the school nutrition program. "I can bring information on cost and how to menu it correctly back to my district," Narron says.

"I can learn more, so I know how to forecast," she continued. Forecasting is the process that includes understanding expectations of farmers or other stakeholders, the menu, how to estimate quantities needed, and writing specifications. By visiting — for example — a strawberry farm, Narron gets an idea of when the season will be, what quantities the farmer will have available, and how to write a specification for the strawberries she will need a year from now.

For Kaitlyn Glover of Rob Glover Farming, building a relationship with the local school nutrition director is important. "We can show them how to handle food correctly," leading to a better eating experience for the students, she says. In addition, meeting with Narron could lead to, "buying direct from us instead of a wholesaler."

James Sharp of FreshPik Produce agrees. "Selling to local schools keeps the produce we grow here in the community," he says. "It's healthy and it keeps the cost down for the schools because it isn't shipped from far away."

Narron learned about food safety practices at FreshPik, where she buys strawberries. "I was surprised to learn about the regulations they have. For example, he (Sharp) was talking about being GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) certified. You can't just grow a strawberry and pick it. There's a lot that goes into the 'back of the house' as I say. Things to do not only for growing but growing safe food."

Katie Sullivan of Sullivan Farms appreciates Narron's efforts to source food for the school nutrition program from local farmers. "It's important for the public, especially kids, to know where their food comes from," she says. Wilson county ranks fifth in the state in growing sweet potatoes. "They (students) probably have a field of sweet potatoes within a few miles of their house and don't realize that. Events like this make kids aware there are farmers in their community," she says.

While at the farms, I was able to video Narron talking with each farmer. Each farm had their own video, which were shown during the farm-to-table event. It was one way to show everyone in school the vital importance of agriculture to the community by bringing the farm to them, on the screen and on their tray.