Northland Pines students in Eagle River are among students from 39 other districts involved in the "Farm to School" program.
The program is a cooperative effort of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and Americorps. It provides food and education says Northland Pines Science teacher Robin Indermuehle..
?"....trying to get fresh food and local food into the school systems. Whether that's in the lunch programs or as nutrition information in the classrooms, helping students learn how to grow food, how to make good choices...with the obesity epidemic and the kids not knowing where their food comes from...."
A Farm-To-School committee got together about a year ago to apply for the competitive grant. Two part-time Americorps workers have been hired to implement the program. One will be a nutrition educator working with teachers on programming, the other worker will be a community outreach specialist who will work with the food service and farms....
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".....most students have never tried Kale. Kale is very easy to grow. It's delicious. You can make chips out of it...students have loved it. So just to try to expose them to things other than french fries and ketchup..."
Vilas is one of 12 Wisconsin counties implementing the "Farm to School" program. Americorps is run with partnerships from the state's education and health agencies, UW-Madison and Wisconsin Rural Partners and others.
The Northland Pines school board Monday night approved the program.
