NASH COUNTY, N.C. — Inside school cafeterias, students are getting a taste of North Carolina farms.
North Carolina’s Farm to School program is a partnership between the N.C. Department of Agriculture, growers and the school system. Running since 1997, the program is available to any school wishing to participate in all of North Carolina’s counties.
“I know it humbles us here in the warehouse, knowing that we're feeding the kids and making sure that they're healthy and not getting the additives and preservatives they get in all the different places else,” said Jacob Moore, an assistant warehouse manager with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Moore and his team spend every day moving the items that keep students fed. They believe learning and good nutrition go hand in hand. Anything coming through a warehouse bay is fresh from the fields, and then it is sent to schools around the state, where the fruit is repackaged and put straight on the lunch lines.
“We deal with strawberries, blueberries, whole sweet potatoes, diced sweet potatoes, sliced apple slices, whole apples, watermelons, cantaloupe, honeydew melons. You name it, we almost do it,” Moore said.
When he started this job 10 years ago, he said there were seven states that had farm to school programs in place. Today, North Carolina is the only Department of Agriculture running a farm to school program.
“Last year, we did over a million cases to the schools, and this year we've already exceeded that number,” Moore said.
According to Carolyn Pennington, a school nutrition director and dietician, school lunches have to include five things — meat, bread, milk and a half cup of either a fruit or vegetable, but she said it’s often a challenge to get kids to eat those healthier components.
“But when they're strawberries and these fresh things that come from our North Carolina gardens, it makes it a lot easier,” Pennington said. “They look good, they taste good, and they want to take them.”
Because they are bidding on behalf of the school nutrition program, N.C. Farm to School has to follow all USDA procurement standards, which means every load is inspected before ever being sent to the schools.
“I know the kids love the pizza, but there's nothing better than fresh fruit and vegetables,” Moore said. “Every kid deserves the opportunity to get fresh fruit and produce.”