The 6th Massachusetts Harvest for Students Week was a Big Success!

Last week, September 17th to 21st, schools and colleges across the state celebrated the 6th annual Mass. Harvest for Students Week in a big way! Our staff spent the week visiting schools, talking to press, and coordinating events from Cape Cod to the Berkshires. We are so proud of all the food service directors and staff who made local foods even more of a priority this week, and thankful for the farmers and distributors who made it all possible!

Here are profiles of Mass. Harvest for Students Week activities from one school and one college, to give you a taste of Harvest Week 2012 celebrations:

Tri-County Schools (Easthampton, MA)
Monday: Students did taste tests of four kinds of local apples from Bashista Orchards in Southampton, Mass.
Tuesday: State Representative Colcott joined students and staff for a lunch featuring local produce from Mountain View Farm in Easthampton, Mass, from which the school receives weekly CSA shares.
Wednesday: Prospect Meadow Farm in Hatfield, Mass, where some of the Tri-County students work, made stuffed peppers and broccoli cheddar soup from their own produce to share during lunch. Emily French from the Mass. Farm to School Project and a representative from the Hampshire Gazette joined students and staff for lunch and to hear from the students about their favorite kinds of farm work.
Thursday: Pepin Farm in Easthampton, Mass, served up their own cucumbers with ranch dip, which were complemented by cherry tomatoes and green beans from the Tri-County School gardens.
Friday: The week ended with a staff cooking contest, where the main ingredients had to be locally sourced. Guest chefs from Smith College, Popcorn Noir and Sunrise Bakery judged the entries, students got to taste the local creations, and the winner won a gift certificate to Easthampton’s Popcorn Noir.

Assumption College (Worcester, MA)
Each day during Mass. Harvest For Students Week, a farm or local foods distributor set up a table in the Assumption College dining hall to share information and samples with students.
Monday: FreshPoint Produce displayed some of their locally sourced products, shared information of their sustainability initiatives and
farmer reports of the Massachusetts farms from which they source product for their institutional accounts. Free samples of “Black Currant: Super Juice of the Future” from Maple Farms in Connecticut were shared with students.
Tuesday: Bolton Orchards and Country Store from Bolton, Mass. expressed great interest in this event for the 2nd year. Native and local Cortland, MacIntosh, and Honey Crisp Apples and fresh baked Apple-Cider-Cinnamon Donuts were given out, and students were invited to visit the orchard that’s been named the “Best Local Pick-Your-Own!”
Wednesday: Andy Reseska, owner of Reseska Apiaries, which produces local honey in Holliston, Mass., shared information on honey types, beekeeping and bee population declines, and handed out Honey Sticks produced by his farm!
Thursday: Julie Rawson, owner of Many Hands Organic Farms in Barre, Mass. and Executive Director of the Massachusetts Chapter of the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA Mass), displayed some of her fall crops and discussed the benefits of organic farming. Sweet Red and Purple Concord Grapes, fresh and straight from their Arbors, were offered as samples!
Friday: Chris Faucher of Willow Brook Farm in Sterling, Mass, shared the story of reviving his old family farm, and the startup of his CSA, New Roots. Willow Brook sugar pumpkins were shared with the students.

Mass. Harvest For Students Week is always an inspiring look at how schools and colleges can support local farms and educate students about local agriculture and healthy eating. We at the Mass. Farm to School Project support these kinds of farm to cafeteria initiatives year round, and are always happy to help farms and institutional customers create sustainable purchasing relationships that are affordable for schools, profitable for farms and are a celebration of local agriculture in our communities. For more info, contact info@massfarmtoschool.org.

And mark your calendars for next year’s Mass. Harvest for Students Week celebration, September 30- October 4, 2013.

Pictured at top: West Tisbury School principal Michael Halt, Island Grown Schools program coordinator Noli Taylor, superintendent of schools James Weiss, State Representative Tim Madden, and cafeteria director Jenny Devivo dish it up in the school’s newly renovated kitchen.  The school celebrated the opening of the new kitchen in conjunction with Mass. Harvest for Students Week.  Photo credit: Ralph Stewart