School Menus Offer Locally Grown Food

Initiative Promotes Maryland Produce

State and local officials are hoping a new initiative will help schoolchildren across Maryland appreciate local farmers and the crops they grow.

Last week, the state sponsored Homegrown School Lunch Week, an effort to teach children that the watermelon chunks and cucumber slices they see on their lunch trays come from nearby fields -- not the supermarket. Farmers and officials appeared at Maryland schools, where they set up displays of Maryland-grown produce.

"We at the departments of Agriculture and Education are excited about this new program and believe that our children and our farm community will benefit greatly,'' state Agriculture Secretary Roger Richardson said in a written statement.

Amid increasing concern about childhood obesity, the state's new Farm to School program coincides with efforts underway in some school systems to emphasize fresh produce. In Montgomery and Howard counties, for example, fruits and vegetables are offered daily. Many school systems have reduced the sugar and salt content in their menu offerings and provide parents with nutritional information about the hot dogs, pizza and other foods their children eat.

The program was created during the General Assembly's 2008 session to honor Jane Lawton, 63, a Maryland House of Delegates member from Montgomery County who died in November of an apparent heart attack. The legislation, sponsored by state Sen. Jamie Raskin (D-Montgomery), officially is known as the Jane Lawton Farm to School Program and was signed into law by Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) in May.

In addition to incorporating Maryland produce into school lunch offerings, the program is designed to teach students about the state's agricultural heritage.

"It's really exciting to see all this get going," said Sue duPont, a spokeswoman for the Agriculture Department. "We're taking a big step this year and there's lot of interest.''

As part of the initiative, the department introduced a Web site ( http://www.marylandfarmtoschool.org) that offers information about Maryland farms and markets where produce can be purchased. Many farmers markets are open through October. The site also features sample lunch menus and tips for packing healthy meals. The program's logo is a bright red apple with a backdrop of rolling green farmland.

Although Maryland is best known for blue crabs, duPont said, farmers across the state grow a variety of goods, including strawberries, watermelon and Silver Queen corn. The Eastern Shore is known for producing vegetables.

Mary Klatko, who heads the Howard County school system's food and nutrition program, said she tries to incorporate local offerings into the lunches of the estimated 20,000 students the schools feed each day. It is a challenge, she said, because many of Maryland's signature crops thrive during summer, when most of the students are on break.

Kathy Lazor, director of the Montgomery school system's Division of Food and Nutrition Service, said students who participate in the summer program may be served peaches, plums or strawberries. It is one of the benefits of being in school during the harvest of those Maryland crops.

Schools are not the only ones looking for locally grown items. Restaurants and grocery shoppers are buying local, too, from their suppliers and the farmers markets. The shift is driven by rising fuel prices that affect shipping and environmental concerns.

"We're seeing a big uptick in interest in buying local foods,'' said duPont. "People want to know where their food is grown, and there's also a lot of talk about reducing carbon footprints.''