Smart Food, Local Food

It's already September. Summer is over. And here come the kids with their new backpacks and crisp jeans, like little soldiers, marching in their own unruly cadence. Those dreaded three words --"Back To School,"-- are plastered across store windows and newspaper ads.

From kindergarteners to high school seniors, kids are getting back into the swing of things. Some are kicking and screaming, some are going quietly, while others are excited to sharpen that first pencil, solve that first math equation, and buy that first carton of milk or, in the case of the Chelsea Public Schools, bite into that first organic carrot or broccoli florette.

You see, the public schools in Chelsea don't have your traditional lunchrooms. Sure they have chocolate milk, soda, a pizza station, and burgers. And yes, all that food mixes together to form the un mistakeable "lunchroom smell." But, these lunchrooms have something other schools in Washtenaw County, not to mention most of Michigan, don't: Locally grown produce.

When the bell rings for lunch at a Chelsea public school they not only get traditional items to nosh on but they can also pile onto their trays locally grown, organic fruits and vegetables.

"We've been doing this for about a year and a half now," says Karen Carty, who has been the food service director for Chelsea Public Schools for fourteen years.

Carty has arranged with local farmers (mostly Chelsea-based Tantré Farm and Merkel Gardens) the delivery of some of the most famous vegetables around. locally grown corn and broccoli, kale and melons, onions, tomatoes and green beans have all made their way to local schools onto local lunch trays, and into the bellies of Chelsea's students.

"The Food System Economic Partnership (FSEP) contacted Chelsea schools with this potential pilot program to get local foods into the schools," Carty said. "And with Chelsea being inside somewhat of a farmer's community it just kind of made sense."

Think global, buy local

The Farm to School Program (FtS) is FSEP's attempt to promote local food systems and encourage the kind of sustainable practices that build healthier local communities and economies.

Depending on the season, nearly 10 percent of the food offered at Chelsea Public Schools is locally grown and organic. Strictly fruits and vegetables, it may not seem like much but considering that most school systems lack any locally grown food, it's a significant first step. (Proteins, like meat and cheese, are highly regulated and often purchased through the Department of Defense's Commodity Food Distribution Program at a greatly reduced rate.)

"We naturally try to push these items as much as we can," Carty says. "We feature a fruit or veggie of the month. It's not really a tough sell and most kids will supplement their meals with the fruit and veggie bar, which they can take as much as they want."

Carty says the portions required by law are quite small (just 2 oz. of meat for instance), which leaves a lot of room for the local produce.

"We're always saying, 'Be sure to eat your veggies' or 'Get some fruit,'" she says. "We promote five-a-day – five fruits and veggies a day. Kids are keyed into that."

Carty's 10 percent was made possible by the efforts of FSEP, not to mention her own drive and ambition to bring healthy food to her students.

But FSEP and FtS provided Carty and Chelsea schools a connection that wasn't previously there, linking local farmers to a large population of local eaters. (Red Tomato in Boston has successfully done the same thing for several years.)

"Most kids don't eat enough produce and obesity and diabetes are a problem," says Jeremy Moghtader, a chair member on the FtS committee that works with FSEP. "We want to increase consumption, exposing kids to foods and get them to understand the impact of local foods on the economy and the environment."

"Our goal is to facilitate and lubricate the interaction with schools and farmers," he says. "We want to be the bridge between local farmers and local eaters to get this done."

A new model

And there needed to be that bridge. Access is one of the biggest challenges to any local grower, especially when it comes to public institutions. From the purchasers to the distributors to making sure farmers know the procedure to correctly processing their produce, it's a minefield of obstacles and hurdles.

"Local food from local farms is a unique challenge for schools," Moghtader says. "There are a lot of barriers and legwork to get local foods into the schools. There are all the logistics like deliveries, calling them, them calling you. There is a lot of overhead when it comes to interaction."

Carty concurs.

"Finding a farmer that will deliver was a challenge," she explains. "And the growing seasons doesn't really match up with the school year. We're going to stick with it. It just needs a little work. We have to get a routine down."

There's also the bigger issue of distibution. For most schools, food is provided through a major business hubs like Sysco or Gordon Food Service. These large distributors handle and consolidate vast quantities of food, which, sometimes, can include local growers (depending on the season and cost). But the bottom line is cost and efficiency. School food service directors are given a list, order whatever is convenient and cost appropriate, and recieve those items year round. It's easy.

"Purchasers are used to calling one place. It's quick and painless," he says. "There is a lot of inertia in the current system."

But for these large food service companies, the landscape is changing. With high gas prices translating into high shipping costs, locally produced food starts to look more attractive. And with a growing demand for sustainable and healthy practices, new models are being considered.

The FSEP is looking to influence and even speed up this movement toward regionally distributed food, allowing schools and businesses to easily connect with local farmers to get organic, healthy foods to their students and customers.

"It's time for a new model, to evolve and form a new system for the local food producer," Moghtader says. "A school's demand (for local food) will create a distribution demand. This [current] large scale model won't do what the schools want it to do."

Of course, evolution is never quick and easy. Especially when the old system is so convenient. Large schools systems, like Ann Arbor, change course slowly. There are contracts with food service companies to be honored and long standing systems in place.

"It's like outsourcing," Moghtader says. "These contract-opp schools have someone else taking care of all their food, all their distribution, everything that deals with anything when it comes to the their food service program."

Chelsea's school system, on the other hand, has a self-operated food service system. Carty, beyond the schools commodity foods supplied by the DoD, makes all the decisions. So, if she wants to call up Tantré Farms and grab a bushel of their latest pickin's, she can. She has fewer obstacles.

Can't stop a movement

Still, the buy local/eat local movement has and energy of its own. Despite Ann Arbor Public Schools' contracts, they are looking into emulating Chelsea's successes. Carty says she's already been to a number of meetings with school officials.

Dexter Schools are also spearheading their own farm to school program. Still in the earliest stages, they are asking Carty and FSEP for advice.

"I think local food could potentially be the dominant food systems of the future," Dan Courser, president of Eat Local/Eat Natural, a company that deals with local, "beyond organic" proteins for restaurants in the region. "I'm not crystal balling here, I really feel this. Local will have a lot more relevance in the future, and it's the right thing to do."

"This is a wonderful way to connect with the community and sustain a community," Carty says. "I encourage any school to do it. It's extra work, it's hard work, it's one more thing on your plate – so to speak – but it's worth it."