Tomorrow is Taste Washington Day in many schools
Washington Ag Today September 28, 2010 Meals at about sixty Washington schools will have a special focus tomorrow. Tricia Kovacs, manger of the Washington State Department of Agriculture’s Farm-to-School Program, explains. Kovacs: “Wednesday, September 29 is Taste Washington Day so schools all around Washington will be serving locally grown or Washington-sourced meals for their students and highlighting them so that they can celebrate the farms that feed us here in Washington state and the bounty of items available grown here.” Kovacs says the Washington School Nutrition Association is a partner in the program and has provided schools with sample menus. Kovacs: “So one of them is a baked potato with a beef or lentil, in some cases chili. Things like a grown in Washington salad. There is another menu option that is a hamburger with lettuce, tomato. A pretty simple menu that can be pretty easily sourced but that highlights apples, cheeses, potatoes, things like that, that can be grown in Washington. It is a flexible menu so schools are being very creative in doing different menus based upon what is available in their local area.” Whole wheat bread sticks, broccoli and onions are some other menu items. Kovacs says the Farm-to-School project’s goal is to feature seasonal Washington-grown foods throughout the school year, but Taste Washington Day helps to see the gains being made to get local foods into school lunches and snacks. Schools from Bellingham to Sunnyside to Freeman in the Spokane area are participating in Taste Washington Day. I’m Bob Hoff and that’s Washington Ag Today on Northwest Aginfo Net. ?
