Fruits and vegetables are a vital part of a healthy life, and the North Carolina Farm to School program is helping Rowan-Salisbury School System make sure all students get the nutrients they need.
North Carolina Farm to School connects the Rowan-Salisbury School System to produce grown by North Carolina farmers. The partnership provides fresh fruits and vegetables to students and boosts sales for local farms, such as Patterson Farms in China Grove.
Schools receive North Carolina peaches, Asian pears, watermelon, sweet potatoes, collards, apples, cabbage, carrots and more, according to Libby Post, Rowan-Salisbury’s director of child nutrition.
She especially likes it when they receive unique fruits and vegetables that are new to the students.
“We try to really introduce different things to everyone,” she said, adding that the program allows the students to try things they might not have ever had before.
“They say, ‘We don’t get these at home,’” Post said.
The Rowan-Salisbury School System has participated in North Carolina Farm to School program six of the last nine years. Farm to school was established in North Carolina in 1997.
The North Carolina Department of Agriculture picks up the produce from North Carolina farms and gives it to the distributor that delivers to Rowan-Salisbury schools on Tuesdays.
“It’s fresh,” Post said.
School nutrition employees then use those fruits and vegetables in their regular meals.
Two weeks ago, the district ordered 350 cases of North Carolina strawberries, and roughly 200 of those cases came from Patterson Farm in China Grove.
North Rowan Elementary first-grader Jeremiah Martin tried kiwi for the first time through the USDA grant.
“It was good,” he said. “This was my first time trying it.”
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