Organic education: Weathersfield School awarded fruits and vegetables grant

By Jordan J. Phelan
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ASCUTNEY, Vt. — As the school day comes to an end, students at the Weathersfield School are busy in the cafeteria learning an important lesson in responsibility and nutrition as they prepare fresh fruits and vegetables for their fellow classmates.

Among schools and parents alike, there always seems to be a common challenge: children often resent having to eat their fruits and vegetables. But students at the Weathersfiled School in Ascutney dispute that notion and consistently exemplify the exact opposite.

Last week, Weathersfield School Principal JeanMarie Oakman received a notification that the school would be receiving $11,300 as part of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Fresh Fruits & Vegetables Program (FFVP). The annual program provides funding for fresh fruits and vegetables to be served to all children in elementary schools across the country, prioritizing low-income areas and districts with above-average poverty levels.

In a Dec. 6 email to parents of students and members of the community, Oakman said: “Weathersfield School has been awarded $11,300.00 for this year’s Fresh Fruits and Veggies grant from the state of Vermont. We are very excited and pleased!”

Students were just as excited to hear about the news. Accessibility to fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables has become a staple at the school. For the past 10 years, the Weathersfield School has received funding from the program — ranging from $10,000 to $17,000 depending on the year — to provide a variety of healthy foods that most children have not seen or tried.

“Some of these kids never get fresh fruits and vegetables unless they get them at school,” Oakman said.

However, schools that are the recipient of FFVP funding are normally notified early in the academic year. So with just two quarters remaining in the 2019-2020 academic year, the school now has the amount of funds it would typically have for the entire 180-day schedule.

Between the beginning of the school year and the first week of December — when the school was notified of the FFVP grant — school officials attempted to devise a way to continue to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to students. But with a new food service and lack of funds, the school simply didn’t have the means — about $10,000 — to run the desired type of program on its own.

“The cheap way of doing it is to put a bowl of fruit every day out in the foyer and [have it] there until it’s gone. I objected to that, I said no,” Oakman said. “Because we actually have kids who go in the kitchen and prepare the fruit.”

Now with $11,300 in funding, Food Service Manager at the Weathersfield School Craig Locarno, along with Lead Cook Cliffton Young and Assistant Heather Gokey, sees this as an opportunity to give students the chance to expand their palate and knowledge of different foods.

“It’s all about educating,” Locarno said. “My goal for the program is to educate. With [this] grant, we can buy some different fruits other than apples and oranges and bananas to give kids the opportunity to see something and eat something that they might not have access to.”

The school tries to ensure that the fruits and vegetables made available for students is locally sourced. In doing so, Locarno and the kitchen staff have begun to establish relationships with local farms.

One farm in particular, Deep Meadow Farm — located just down the road from the school on Route 5 — has supplied the Weathersfield School with beets, carrots and kale as of recent.

“There is no question that it is wonderful that our local and federal government recognizes a need for higher quality food in institutional settings,” Jon Cohen, owner of Deep Meadow Farm said. “Accessing from local farms is the best option ethically, environmentally and economically”

Cohen is looking forward to being a partner with the school and finding a price point on various items that works for both parties.

“What makes the program work is Craig Locarno’s commitment to education,” Cohen said. “When the kitchen staff appreciates what we are doing and when there is consistency in the process, it works.”

At the Weathersfield School, students are not just learning math and history, but the science of nutrition, health and wellness every time they grab their class’ bucket and hear the P.A. system announce, “Your fresh fruits and vegetables are ready.”

“I love it,” Oakman said. “Kids are taking responsibility for the preparation of the fresh fruits and vegetables and they get to pick which fruits and vegetables are prepared for the day.”