FREEZING! It’s not just the winter weather here in the Rockies. A USDA Farm to School grant is supporting Guidestone Colorado’s farm to school program in Salida, Colorado, with a blast freezer, a walk-in cooler, new fruit crops, and curriculum support. Guidestone grows food for the Salida School District on a 4-acre Community and School Farm, leased from the school district. In addition to providing local foods in the school meal program for over 1,300 K-12 students, Guidestone leads classes and camps at school gardens as well as service-learning opportunities and field trips at the Community and School Farm. At 7,100’ elevation, Salida has hot summers and intense sun, yet the 100 frost-free days of the growing season fall largely outside the school year.

This January, the school district installed a blast freezer at the high school kitchen to preserve summer produce, enabling local food on the menu in the frigid winter. The freezer will also help when last-minute shifts to remote learning leave school kitchens with produce to serve, but no students to eat it! Cafeteria staff can use the freezer to preserve the produce they order to use at a later time. One cafeteria manager shared with Guidestone “We were finally able to use the beautiful Kale you brought us last month. It froze beautifully and made our Zuppa Toscana so pretty & delicious. I had several students tell me they weren’t fond of kale, but they really liked it in the soup. We appreciate all you do for us!"

On the farm, there is also a need to keep up with increasing production and enable local food deliveries on Fridays, when school is not in session. To address these capacity needs, Guidestone built a walk-in cooler on the farm this past December, with help from Chaffee County Habitat for Humanity. In another exciting leap in capacity, Guidestone Farm to School Director, Monica Pless, is excited to grow strawberries and blackberries for the school breakfast program. Frozen berries will soon make appearances in muffins year-round!

 Gear up for National Nutrition Month!

National Nutrition Month® is an annual campaign created by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. During the month of March, everyone is invited to learn about making informed food choices and developing healthful eating and physical activity habits. This year’s theme, Personalize Your Plate, promotes creating nutritious meals to meet individuals’ cultural and personal food preferences. Check out the Academy’s website to find resources for spreading the message of good nutrition and the importance of an overall healthy lifestyle for all. Follow National Nutrition Month® on the Academy’s social media channels including Facebook and Twitter using #NationalNutritionMonth.

Bulk Meal Pack Ideas from the Chef Anne Foundation

As the COVID-19 landscape continues to unfold, school food programs are looking for ways to feed their students efficiently and safely. Bulk meal packs enable school food programs to serve multiple meals for a week or more, all through one convenient distribution drop. The Chef Ann Foundation has new resources for school districts: bulk meal pack ideas and home recipe cards. These downloads are available as part of their ongoing Emergency Feeding support for school food teams serving during COVID. The Chef Anne Foundation is a 2016 Farm to School Support Services Grant recipient.

Teach, Grow, and Learn with FoodCorps

 The application is now open to serve with FoodCorps for the 2021-2022 school year. As a FoodCorps AmeriCorps service member, you’ll spend a year teaching kids about healthy food. Whether you teach virtually or in person, you’ll earn a stipend, a year’s worth of training and professional development resources, and a network of passionate food educators. This is a great opportunity for folks who are committed to food justice, inspired by strong local communities, and creative in the face of a challenge- like serving during a pandemic. FoodCorps is accepting applications until all service member positions are filled, but they recommend applying early. Learn more and apply at www.foodcorps.org/apply.