Job Harvest of the Month Profile: Walpole Public Schools

Maria Hall is the food service director at the Walpole School District. We caught up with her to talk about how she incorporates Harvest of the Month in their food program.

Procurement

The Walpole School District mainly source their local food from  Tangerini’s Farm and Hornstra Farm, as well as Costa Fruit & Produce.They also partner with the USDA FNS Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, which highlights sources of locally grown produce when there is availability.

Promotion & Implementation

Food Service Director, Maria Hall, promotes Harvest of the Month in a variety of the schools’ programs. On certain days during breakfast, students can participate in a “lucky plate” raffle where they can win Harvest of the Month posters, trading cards, and stickers. During their afterschool program, Hall and her staff promote and educate students about HOTM crops and healthy eating. During open houses, she also highlights the HOTM program in order to inform parents about the different ways it is promoted at the school.

Walpole School District has an interactive digital lunch menu on their website. On the menu, there is a widget with the icon of the Harvest of the Month that links directly to Mass. Farm to School’s website, enabling for an easy access to a variety of additional resources. Their digital lunch menu also allows parents and students to see which items incorporate the Harvest of the Month.

For popular recipes, Hall notes that kale chips are very popular, especially among elementary students, as well as apple pear crisps. She is also excited that Massachusetts Farm to School has added seafood as part of the Harvest of the Month program. She plans to incorporate fish tacos and salmon burgers into the menu.

Advice & Challenges

Hall finds the Harvest of the Month easy to integrate in the food program at Walpole School District, stating, “what I love about Mass. Farm to School is that I get the emails, I order what I need, and it’s an easy payment” for the resources.

When asked for her advice to other food service directors who are thinking about participating in Harvest of the Month, she believes that “it’s a no brainer in [because] the work is set. Similar to Fuel Up to Play 60 and the National Dairy Council, why create everything from scratch when it’s already there?” Still, she also recommends that food service directors can be creative in tailoring Harvest of the Month to their individual programs and incorporate it into other events such as National Nutrition Month or National Breakfast Week.