Somerville Farm to School Project

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! ...

School's out, but that doesn't mean an end to the fun lunches you enjoyed at school. Healthy, delicious and FREE meals will be served throughout the summer at various Somerville locations--a great way to reunite with your friends and share a meal together. Both breakfast and lunch will be available to everyone ages 18 years and younger.  Please see the f lier --in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Haitian Creole--for a list of locations and dates. Bring your brothers, sisters, cousins and friends for breakfast and lunch! The Somerville Public Schools is participating in the Summer Food Service Program. Meals will be provided to all children 18 years old and younger without charge and are the same for all children regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability, and there will be no discrimination in the course of the meal service. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination against its customers, employees, and applicants for emp...

A big congratulations to the following Somerville Public Schools, who are recipients of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Healthier US School Challenge (HUSSC) Bronze Award:   ·          Dr. Albert F. Argenziano School ·          East Somerville Community School ·          Arthur D. Healey School ·          John F. Kennedy Elementary School ·          West Somerville Neighborhood School ·          Winter Hill Community Innovation School   What does it mean to be a HUSSC Bronze School? Well, besides being among an elite group of schools, only approximately 7% of schools throughout the United States are certified as HUSSC schools, this means that these Somerville schools have been working day in and day out...

  The Somerville Farm to School Project has a new logo! This design was inspired by our tagline:  EMPOWERING MINDFUL EATERS ! As a project of the Food and Nutrition Services Department of the Somerville Public Schools we work closely with kitchen staff, educators and community based organizations to provide good food inspiration and education to students and parents so that Somerville's youth can eat well all day long- both in school and at home. GROW, COOK, EAT, REPEAT Through food literacy programs in our cafeterias, classrooms and communities, students will acquire the tools to make informed decisions about personal and environmental health. From the garden to the table to the compost pile, students will have opportunities to interact with food at various levels. CULTIVATE A SENSE OF PLACE By purchasing locally produced food when possible, we will connect students to their immediate urban surroundings and the larger Massachuse...

At the end of the school year, Lauren Mancini, Director of SPS Food and Nutrition services was asked to reflect on the accomplishments of the past year and examine the Food and Nutrition Service Department ’s  efforts to support the schools work in feeding students healthy meals each and every day.  "This review serves as a critical reminder that we have many achievements to celebrate, which in turn gives us the energy and momentum to keep moving forward," Lauren said. "In just a few minutes of reflection I tallied up several successes worthy of applause. " In September, we launched our Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program at 3 of our schools.   In October, we held our annual Corn Shucking & Food Service Staff Appreciation Day. During the winter months, we were awarded a Farm to School Grant through the USDA and we introduced our Farm to School Project Director, Karyn Novakowski. This has allowed us the opportunity t...

Students at Argenziano, East Somerville Community School and Winter Hill Community Innovation School tasted ripe, fresh picked strawberries, organic oranges, crunchy celery as well as many other fresh fruits and vegetables this school year as part of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP).  All students at the three schools were offered a fresh fruit or vegetable as a midmorning snack Monday through Friday.  Students gushed with enthusiasm about the program and voraciously consumed the fresh fruits and vegetables on a daily basis!   We are excited to announce that the FFVP will be continued at Argenziano, ESCS and WHCIS during the 2014-2015 school year!   The goals of the FFVP are to establish lifelong healthy eating habits and to fight childhood obesity since it promotes healthy eating habits among students by introducing a variety of produce on a regular basis, giving students an opportunity to try fruit...