Shift aims to make school lunch better for students, farmers

If parents joined their children at lunchtime during National School Lunch week (Oct. 15 19), they may have noticed the days of “mystery meat” and the never-ending vat of creamed corn are gone.

Today’s school nutrition programs take into consideration changing palates, nutritional and budgetary guidelines and food trends.

One of the hottest trends among restaurateurs and foodies is increasingly reflected in school cafeterias. It’s the farm-to-table movement, where locally sourced produce, meats and other foodstuffs, often organic, are favored.

Georgia students are right in the thick of this shift with farm-to-school, a similar strategy. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it’s good for child nutrition and community economic development.

Studies by Upstream Public Health, a nonprofit to help people lead healthier, fuller lives, show that every dollar spent on local food can generate up to an additional $2.16 in economic activity. School districts’ local food purchases can lead to over $1 billion in local economic activity over one school year, according to the USDA Farm to School Census.

The most current USDA Farm to School Census data show that in the 2013-2014 school year, five of Georgia’s largest districts spent nearly $9 million combined on locally grown food.