Somerville Farm to School Project

Tis the season for putting gardens to bed and planting garlic! School gardens around Somerville are planning fall garden clean-up days. Some schools are also planting garlic this month.   A second grade class at the Winter Hill Community Innovation School helped to plant 20 cloves of garlic. That means, when we harvest the garlic, we will have 20 bulbs of garlic!     We prepped the beds by removing all of the plants and large pieces of debris. Then we raked the soil to loosen it up. We wanted to make it easy for the students to plant the garlic, so we dug 3 trenches for them to plant their cloves.   Trenches for garlic Cloves planted 6" apart Carefully placing their garlic in the soil Watching other plant their garlic After planting the garlic, we took a peek at what was still growing in the rest of the garden. Eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, zinnias and chard are still hanging on! We even found a lethargic bee resting on a p...

We are still celebrating Food Day and National Farm to School Month! Today we held an apple taste test at the Winter Hill Community Innovation School. Students tried the ubiquitous Gala apple alongside the rare Macoun variety. Students took varied approaches to choosing their favorites. Some chomped on small bites of each apple and thought carefully about their selection. For some it was a tough decision. "Both of them are amazing," said 6th grader Luiz. Other students knew their favorites immediately, yelling out "Definitely this one!" pointing to the Gala. Principal Chad Mazza let his favorite be known by voting for the Macoun. Vote for your favorite! It was a very tight race, but in the end the Gala inched out the Macoun for the win! It was clear that the students enjoyed tasting both apples. As a 3rd grader named Luis told us, "These apples are soooo yummy!!" Content provided by Karyn Novakowski, Somerville Farm to School Proj...

In celebration of Farm to School Month and Food Day, we held the first of seven school wide apple taste tests this past Monday. We call the event A Tale of Two Apples. Each week we will visit a different school cafeteria and share two unique apple varieties with the students. Students will taste and vote for their favorite apple. The results will be shared with the students and here on the blog. We will also share apple variety facts with students and teachers. The West Somerville Neighborhood School tried Gala and Honeyscrisp apples.  Over 200 students participated in the taste test with 72% of the students choosing Honeycrisp as the clear winner!

Our Food Day celebrations are quickly approaching! For a full list of events in Somerville please visit the Food Day events page . How is the Somerville school district celebrating? On Monday, October 20 we kick off a series of apple taste tests featuring local apples! Our first varieties are Honeycrisp and Cortland both from Lookout Farm , Natick, MA. Students will taste and vote for which apple is their favorite! On Thursday, October 23 the Somerville Food Security Coalition presents Come to the Table. Join us at the Winter Hill School, 115 Sycamore Street, 5-7pm, for an evening of FUN and FOOD! On Friday, October 24 our school lunch menu will feature local items! Check back in for photos of the events.

Every once in a while we like to feature inspirational Farm to School work from around the state. Patricia DiPasquale, Paraprofessional for Somerville Public School, recently visited the Life Skills class at Haverhill High School. Below she shares her observations. Students in the Life Skills class at Haverhill High School are now learning more about how their food gets from the farm to their table. Handicapped accessible garden bed This year Nancy Burke, one of the paraprofessionals working with Haverhill High’s Life Skills students, received funding from a  Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) Farm to School grant. Through the grant, the Life Skills students now have a school garden where they can grow their own vegetables, harvest them, and cook delicious recipes in their classroom.   Using a plot of land outside that was covered with weeds, Burke helped to create a handicapped accessible garden for her students to use. There is a handicapped ram...

Somerville Food and Nutrition Services celebrated Massachusetts Farm to School Week with our annual Corn Shucking at Breakfast tradition on Thursday, October 2nd. Massachusetts Farm to School Week is an opportunity for schools across the state to celebrate the local harvest season. Students at all Somerville elementary schools and Capuano were hard at work early in the morning to get 3,500 ears of local corn from Verrill Farm in Concord, MA shucked so that fresh corn on the cob could be served at lunch that day. Hundreds of students as well as countless volunteers, parents, teachers and staff members joined together to get this mammoth task achieved before the first bell!   This event brought together students from all grades as well as students with varied corn shucking experience. Older students enjoyed the task equally as much as the younger students, and were able to help younger students get the first difficult husk off the corn. Many students have participate...

Sometimes you need a little Farm to School inspiration from around web! So take a break from your busy day and enjoy these interesting articles, videos or photos! This week we are sharing three inspiring videos! First, check out this inspiring video from Vermont FEED about what farm to school means to their network members. Then watch this video of the Farm to Five program in South Carolina where kids are eating "Five Star" soup! This week the USDA launched their Healthy Habits Take Root video series . Listen and learn about the impacts that farm to school programs are having on students, farmers, the environment and the local economy.

On the heels of Food Literacy Month, comes National Farm to School Month , Mass Harvest for Students Week , and Food Day (October 24). So many food holidays! Check out these posts about Food Literacy Month and how we celebrated . For more on our  National Farm to School Month , Mass Harvest for Students Week , and Food Day  celebrations keep reading! CORN SHUCKING On Thursday, October 2 we will be hosting a Corn Shucking Event at every Somerville Public School. Parents and students are invited to shuck a few ears of corn during morning drop off.  The corn will be served, later that same day, to all students who receive the school lunch. Volunteers from Groundwork Somerville , UMass Extension , Shape Up Somerville , and Somerville Public Schools will be generously donating their time to help with the success of this event. A TALE OF TWO APPLES For seven consecutive Mondays, beginning on October 20, we will be hosting a lunch time apple taste test...