Representatives from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) visited Rappahannock County Elementary School (RCES) last week to tour the school’s garden and cafeteria, which are now flourishing because of a federal grant the school district received in August.
The federal Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative grant aims to improve the nutritional quality of meals in small and rural schools through the implementation of new programs. RCPS, the only district in the state to receive the grant, was awarded more than $147,000.
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Cindy Long, administrator of the Food and Nutritional Services agency, thanks lunchroom staff member Wanda Early for her part in serving students healthy and nutritious lunches. After touring the courtyard, Long put on an apron and gloves and helped serve lunch to third graders.
Using those funds, RCPS hired local farmer and chef Brian Volmrich, who has overseen the addition of scratch-made breakfasts and lunches in the school cafeteria, partnered with local farms to provide students with locally-grown food and bolstered school gardens and agricultural programs to educate students about food in a hands-on way.
Four representatives from the USDA and Food and Nutritional Services, an agency within the USDA, traveled to Rappahannock to tour the facilities along with representatives from the Virginia Department of Education, U.S. Senator Mark Warner’s office and the Rappahannock Board of Supervisors.
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Jason Williams and Bentley Brown show Cindy Long, administrator of Food and Nutritional Services, and Dr. Patty Bennett, regional administrator for the Mid-Atlantic Office, Food and Nutrition Services, fresh lettuce the farm-to-table class is growing in the Rappahannock County Elementary School courtyard. The fresh herbs and vegetables are used in cafeteria meals.
The tour, led by food service supervisor Jackie Tederick, started in the elementary school’s courtyard and garden, where students grow a variety of herbs and vegetables for use in cafeteria meals. Students in the farm-to-table elective class mostly manage the gardens, but all students have access to the space, and many teachers utilize it as a hands-on learning tool.
Farm-to-table students Jason Williams and Bentley Brown, both in seventh grade, chose the elective because of their interest in farming and the outdoors. “When we first came in, you could see the weeds overgrowing and now we can see that we’ve put in this hard work and we can see the transition,” Williams said in an interview.
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Representatives from the Virginia Department of Education grab a lunch tray at the Rappahannock County Elementary School cafeteria. After all of the third grade students were served lunch, guests had an opportunity to try scratch-made pizza and locally grown apples. Farmer and chef Brian Volmrich (right) was hired using funds from a federal grant and has started serving several new scratch-made recipes in Rappahannock school cafeterias.
Cindy Long, administrator of the Food and Nutritional Services agency, emphasized the importance of school meal programs, saying some children get more than half their daily calories from what they eat at school.
“When kids connect to food, it makes a real difference in their long-term health,” Long said in an interview. “We know that in order to make more scratch food and use more fresh fruits and vegetables, it takes resources.”
So far, Tederick said students have been receptive to the changes, besides a natural level of skepticism when it comes to trying new foods. The cafeteria often holds taste tests and trial runs of recipes to get students’ input, and she said surveys will be conducted throughout the two-year grant period to quantify the impact of the funding.
“We really are focusing on making the cafeteria a learning experience, too, and engaging with our kids. And the staff actually have been coming more and eating our lunches,” Tederick said.
Tederick hopes to use further grant funding to continue expanding on learning opportunities for students and growing in-house produce, with several projects already in the works such as plans for a hoop house at the high school where students will grow herbs and lettuce to be used in school meals.
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