A UNIQUE Farm to School CULINARY EXPERIENCE IN ITHACA, NEW YORK
NEW YORK SNA ARTICLE RE-SHARE
NEW YORK SNA, FARM TO SCHOOL CHAIR BY JULIE M. RAWAY, MPH, RDN, CDN, SNS, FAND
Broome-Tioga BOCES Rock on Cafe TM along with their farm to school partners, the Food and Health Network and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County hosted their first ever hands-on Farm to School Culinary Experience for BOCES and area school nutrition staff, managers and
Service Director for Broome-Tioga BOCES. “We provide area farmers the opportunity throughout the school year to supply our students with the freshest ingredients. The training further educated staff on skills in utilizing the plethora of farm-fresh products to their fullest. “We are excited to build a solid foundation of new skills for our employees to further our students’ exposure to locally grown and sourced products”, Hudock added. Attendees practiced knife skills and learned to use a Robot Coupe, which has been a key piece of equipment in processing local fresh fruits and veggies for students to enjoy. In the culinary kitchen, attendees fine-tuned cooking skills such as roasting veggies and appropriately seasoning recipes. The menu included Chicken and Veggie Lo Mein, Pasta Fagioli Soup, Garden Salad, Cheesy Cauliflower, Maple Sweet Carrots, ABC Salad (made with apples, beets, and carrots), and Strawberry Shortcake. Participants found the knife skills training the most valuable aspect of the experience and are looking forward to offering the Chicken and Veggie Lo Mein to students out of the recipes they prepared. After surveying participants, 91% were satisfied or very satisfied with the culinary experience. “Exposing our youth to fresh, local, and nutritious foods is at the heart of our Farm-to-School program,” said Tara
directors. The event was held June 27-30 at Coltivare in Ithaca, NY. Coltivare is the hub for all of the hospitality programs that are offered by Tompkins Cortland Community College. Over 4 days, 200 school nutrition professionals from the 15 districts in the Southern Tier participated in a hands- on skill-based training to support the NY Thursday and Farm to School Program. The experience kicked off with Sonya Joy Key, Chef and Garden Educator at Poughkeepsie Farm Project , whose vision is a community that works collaboratively to provide equitable access to nutritious food through a just and resilient food system. Attendees learned preparation and cooking skills while making Farm to School recipes that will be served to students in area schools this fall. “Our hands- on Farm to School training has been many years in the making,” said Annie Hudock, Senior Food
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