Apr 20, 2018 -

From Farm to School Cafeteria

Farmers had a ‘show and tell’ at the Fresno Unified School District’s Nutrition Center recently to show students what food can grow and teach about new food selling opportunities.

Local grape farmer Maurice Smith said, “We haven’t partnered with Fresh Grub before, but we heard about Fresh Grub and the school system and we thought we’d come down here and see what they’re all about.”

Karina Macias, Community Educator for UC Calfresh, explains how their services helps Fresh Grub get students excited about fresh foods. “We’re specifically a community education program and what we want to do, the part we want to have is to bring the knowledge and education about eating healthy and making healthy choices,” said Macias.

Fresno Unified School District partners with a number of businesses to ensure that local, fresh and healthy produce is available to families and children here in Fresno.

“Fresh Grub is a partnership between those four groups you see on the banner, Fresno E.O.C and Fresno Unified are two of the major players,” said Nasreen Johnson who works for Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission.

“What we have is a partnership so we can all work together to find ways to incorporate more fresh, local food into school district purchasing,” said Johnson.

The Farmers ‘Meet and Greet’ is just one part of the process to getting locally grown fruits and vegetables into our schools right here in Fresno.

Taste testings are conducted at a number of middle schools throughout the district in order to receive feedback from students on the new food they could be eating and help teach them what grows in communities around their school

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