FAYETTEVILLE — Students at one local school are learning more about the food they eat from their school garden and about farm operations because of FoodCorps service workers assigned to the Fayetteville School District.
At A Glance
FoodCorps
FoodCorps is part of the AmeriCorps National Service Network, supported by federal money and private partners such as the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, the Woodcock Foundation and individual supporters. FoodCorps is a nationwide team that connects kids to real food and helps them grow up healthy. Workers are placed in limited-resource communities for a year of public service where they conduct hands-on food education, build and tend school gardens and facilitate getting high-quality local ingredients into school meals.
Source: foodcorps.org
Students throughout the district will benefit from an expanded farm to school program, intended to bring more locally grown food into cafeterias.
FoodCorps is similar to the Peace Corps or AmeriCorps VISTA. It brings together primarily young leaders with children to introduce healthy foods and eating habits. The threefold mission is to teach kids about what healthy food is and where it comes from, build and tend school gardens and bring high quality local food into public school cafeterias, according to the organization website.
FoodCorps is an avenue to get additional staff support in specific areas the district is interested in expanding, said Dana Smith, sustainability coordinator for Fayetteville schools. She began her work in local schools as an EnergyCorps worker, which is like FoodCorps. Instead of food, EnergyCorps workers focus on sustainability and conservation issues.
Goals of the program include educating students and their families about healthy foods and nutrition, working with local growers to develop a purchasing program and expanding the school gardens program, Smith said.
Sophia Gill is assigned to Holt Middle School where she works with the students and the school garden. She also assists in getting the harvested food to the cafeteria, Smith said.
“I identified Holt as a school with a strong garden already in place,” Smith said.
Several schools, including Leverett, Owl Creek and Butterfield Trail elementary schools, have gardens that are planted and tended by students.
Smith said she wants to see the Holt garden developed as a model for other schools.
Gill said she has already done several classroom lessons on food and nutrition and has worked with teachers to broaden use of the outdoor classroom. She is looking forward to cooking and gardening camps next summer.
Winter gardening is also a project for Gill, using a type of cloth that keeps the temperature 10-15 degrees warmer underneath for growing argula, kale and carrots.
Gill and fellow FoodCorps worker Ally Mrachek recently hosted a cooking class for 10 families at Holt. The class featured preparation of a chicken and mozzarella cheese dish, sesame and green beans and roasted potatoes seasoned with thyme. Participants received tips for healthy preparation and staying on a budget.
Mrachek, a registered dietitian, works at the district level with farmers and the food service department.
FoodCorps workers also are in Little Rock and Yellville schools this year, said Rachel Spencer, the coordinator for the Arkansas program, which is sponsored by the National Center for Appropriate Technology in Fayetteville.
FoodCorps projects also address childhood obesity, Spencer said. Someday, the program wants to see a food and garden educator working in every school, she added.
“This is a great asset for the district with new energies and ideas,” Smith said.