Somerville Farm to School Project

For this year's National Nutrition Month, we are "Going Further with Food!" It's an assumption that getting our kids to eat their leafy greens is always a colossal battle. It's true--salads aren't easy to convince a kid to try when they're staring at something that resembles rabbit food. But by assuming they won't try it means you've already given up, and that's not what we're about here at the Somerville Farm to School Project! So how do we make salads desirable? For one, we can provide a space for children to grow their own food, to learn the parts of a plant, and to nurture something from seed to harvest. We've learned that, "if they grow it, they'll eat it". It's empowering to be hands-on with food! Even if you don't have outdoor garden space, leafy greens are easy to grow indoors or in small pots as long as you have a sunny window or space. Secondly, you can involve kids in the kitchen by making fun salad ...

Samples of the local sweet potato and black bean salad! This month, thousands of elementary students throughout the district explored sweet potatoes through taste-tests offered during their lunch periods by the Somerville Farm to School Program and Drumlin Farm. Working in partnership with Drumlin Farm, who runs afterschool programming and supplements produce for our salad bars during the growing season, the November taste-tests are part of the district’s food literacy campaign to increase the acceptance of new, fresh foods and create new recipes for the lunch menu using local ingredients. We are thankful for the many parent volunteers who helped hand out samples and collect data. So what did the data say? Of the 2,000 students who voted after trying the delicious sweet potato and black bean salad, 61% said they would eat it again. Because so many students at least tried it, we call that a win! To those who said it wasn't their favorite, we urged ...

by Hannah Macfarlane, Farm to School Summer Intern & Tufts Nutrition Graduate Student This summer, for the fourth year in a row, the SomervilleFarm to School Project ran the Healthy Summer Harvest program at the Capuano school. Every Wednesday for four weeks we visited the school for cooking classes and taste tests with students in the Summer Explore Kindergarten Transition Program . We tried lots of new food and had so much fun with our new friends! Chef Vanessa from Project Bread led the cooking demonstrations and Hannah, our Farm to School summer intern, chatted with the kids about the foods they were tasting. She was very impressed that some of them already knew that calcium is found in milk! Students were encouraged to try new foods and learned about plants, cooking, and nutrition. Each week featured a different recipe: Week 1 – Gingerbread yogurt dip with strawberries and apple slices Week 2 – Moroccan carrot salad Week 3 – “Green Monstah” smoothie We...

Although students are out of school for the summer, it is still a great time to  create conversations surrounding food literacy!  By purchasing whole, nutrient-dense foods, our young learners will be best prepared to return to the classroom in just a few short weeks with sharp minds and healthy bodies!  Certain foods are particularly effective in improving brain function! Here's a list of the best brain booster foods youth and adults can enjoy to restore brain function and improve memory! Thank you to  Ira Toyota Danvers in Danvers, MA  who made this cool infographic as part of their community wellness initiative!  For more information on Brain Boosting foods, please visit   Eat Right's  article: "4 types of Foods to Help Boost Your Memory".  Do you have a summer nutrition education program in your school or community that provides brain booster foods?  Do you have other brain booster foods not ...

It's been a weather roller coaster this year! We've had hot days then cold days, rainy then dry--all proving a challenge for our plantings. Even so, over the past couple of weeks many of the schools were able to harvest and eat fresh veggies right from their gardens!  Groundwork Somerville hosted "Salad Days" at Argenziano and East, while parent volunteers at Brown hosted an end of the year Harvest Party with a variety of leafy greens! Meanwhile, the Farm to School Project worked with elementary schoolers at Brown, Winter Hill, and Kennedy School to start their gardens. 5th Graders at Kennedy learned how to use basic permaculture principals to plan a garden, and explored ways we can improve and replenish soil. 2nd graders became experts in cherry tomato varieties thanks to Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds  who generously donated over 75 different seeds!! 1st graders continued their study of "Sylvia's Spinach" by learning how to plant spinach seeds, ...

March is National Nutrition Month!  Each year the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics develops new topics to celebrate National Nutrition Month. This year's theme, Put your best fork forward, encourages us to consider that every bite counts. Even "small shifts in our food choices, can add up over time." Here in Somerville we are celebrating National Nutrition Month in a few ways. ~ We are releasing Veggie of the Month kits in each school's library! The kits contain books, taste testing supplies, and a binder with lesson materials for each month!  ~ We are visiting a few PreK-2nd grade classes to "taste-test" the veggie of the month: leafy greens!  In the classroom, we are reading Sylvia's Spinach and making a simple salad dressing to drizzle over spinach! (Be sure to check back later for the results of our visits!)   ~  Our  Wellness Champions and Farm to School Staff are posting bulletin boards and fliers around the schools! ...