On Thursday, June 9, the students and staff of St. Johnsbury Middle School taste-tested Joe’s Brook Farm spinach pizza made by the school’s sixth graders. In the words of one kindergartener, “Tasty, tasty, yum yum yum!”
The taste test of the spinach pizza was part of an effort by the St. Johnsbury Farm-to-School program to introduce more locally grown foods into the school cafeteria. After tasting the pizza, students and staff had the opportunity to vote on whether or not to add the pizza to the cafeteria menu for the next school year. By an overw
helming percentage, the enthusiastic kindergartener’s peers agreed that they would like to see spinach pizza on the lunch menu next year; there were 476 positive votes with only 48 against.
In addition to being a very healthy food, spinach is a great choice for the school lunch program because it grows so plentifully in Vermont and keeps well frozen. The spinach for the pizzas was supplied by Joe’s Brook Farm in Barnet, Vermont, and hopefully next year when the dining service begins serving spinach pizza, the spinach will again be locally sourced.
Local purchasing has several benefits; in addition to supporting local agriculture and the local economy, the spinach has been transported less, so not only does it generate fewer greenhouse gas emissions, but it is fresher and retains more of its nutrients.
During the next school year, monthly taste tests will be held to introduce more dishes made with local ingredients into the cafeteria’s menu. For more details about the Farm-to-School program, contact the St. J. Food Co-op, 802-748-9498 or info@stjfoodcoop.com, or St. J. ALFA at www.stj-alfa.org.org.
