Schools: Meals and Education

Farm to School  

School lunch matters. It matters for the students who depend on nutritious food everyday. And it matters for farmers who depend on a reliable and local market.  

That’s why Red Lodge Schools are hard at work to bring fresh, local, and healthy food into the cafeteria. Establishing the connection between school lunch and local producers has already begun. This year we enjoyed local beef, greens, squash, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, beets, and potatoes! Some students were able to visit the farms where their food is grown, and others got to chat with farmers in the cafeteria during lunch. In partnership with the school Wellness Committee and the Boys & Girls Club, the school food service program is helping to bring healthy food and nutrition education to youth throughout the community.  

And planning for next year’s menu is already underway.  After compiling a list of what the school is looking to purchase next year, we can now begin conversations with local producers. Sharing these purchasing needs means that farmers can plant with more confidence, knowing that next season there is a commitment from the schools for purchases.  

To learn more about farm to school programs in Red Lodge Schools, to help us connect with farmers growing good food throughout our region, or to volunteer to help out in the school cafeteria, contact FoodCorps member Alyssa Charney at redlodge.foodcorps@gmail.com.  

Community Youth Garden  

Red Lodge students don’t only want to eat fresh, local food. They also want to grow it!  

So in partnership with Red Lodge Public Schools and the Boys & Girls Club, FPC is developing a community youth garden. The garden will be a space where youth and community members can learn, through hands-on activities, about where their food comes from. These experiences are empowering, as youth become excited about eating nutritious, local food that they helped to grow. Through school visits, afterschool activities, and summer programming, the garden will become an outdoor classroom for students, teachers, and community members.    

Now how can we make it happen?  

It takes a community to build a garden, and there are ways for everyone to get involved:  
· Sign up for workdays to help build and plant this spring.
· Donate materials that are needed for the garden.
· Volunteer to be a mentor for youth in the garden.
· Contribute funding to help support the garden.
· Bring other unique skills and ideas that you have to offer.
· Attend upcoming community events.
· Tell your friends, family, and neighbors to get involved too!  

Contact FoodCorps member Alyssa Charney at redlodge.foodcorps@gmail.com for more information and to get involved.  

Thank you for helping to create a garden that will sustain our community, our youth, and our land into the future.