Schools Celebrate Regional Farmers with National Farm to School Month Event

October is National Farm to School Month, and LaRue County students are learning where their food comes from as part of the celebration.

LaRue County Schools are one of 67,300 across the country that take part in Farm to School Month. The Farm to School Network is a federal initiative created in 2010 to help students understand the relationship between agriculture and the food on their plates.

LaRue County Schools Food Service Director Stephanie Utley said this year’s events allowed for creativity in celebrating the month.

“This year, a lot of our staff dressed up as farmers to illustrate, in a fun visual way, the wonderful people who cultivate and produce some of the food served to them for breakfast and lunch during the school day,” she said.

Food items that have been sourced locally include Kentucky Dawgs from Campbellsburg, potatoes and bell peppers from Kentucky Farms through the DOD program, apples from Cleav’s Family Market, and Taylor Belle Ice Cream, according to Hodgenville Elementary School Cafeteria Manager Kay Howell. When students can make connections between what they eat and the areas their food is from, they’re more likely to eat with intention and support the farming efforts providing them with food.

Understanding the importance of eating local has a variety of benefits for any community. Supporting local farming efforts means more sustainable food for everyone. Thanks to shorter travel distances, eating local also reduces waste and greenhouse gas emissions. These are all benefits that students learn about through Farm to School events.

“We’re excited to bring Farm to School to our cafeteria,” Howell said. “We have menus posted for kids to see where all of their food is coming from as it’s placed on their plate.”

Utley mentioned that eating seasonally is one of the benefits for students through farm-to-school programming.

“The time of year determines the types of foods available to our students,” she said. “For example, sometimes we have apples and other times we have peppers and potatoes. Supplying one school system requires an incredible supply chain of varying food types and so we are grateful for every opportunity to add more local foods into our menus.”

For the LaRue County food services team, they’re glad they get to share the pride of home-grown Kentucky products with their students.

“It’s not only something that is delicious to eat, but it’s something we all can be proud of knowing it’s from here in our great state of Kentucky,” Howell said.