Locally grown fruits and vegetables were featured in Niskayuna school lunches in honor of New York Harvest for New York Kids Week (September 29 through October 5).
Students in the district’s five elementary and two middle schools nibbled on locally-grown Salem potatoes that were baked and then topped with broccoli and cheese, meat sauce or just plain butter for “NYS Potato Lunch Day,” on Wednesday, Oct. 1. Niskayuna food service director Debbie Mahan purchased the locally grown spuds from Roots and Wisdom in Schenectady – a youth agriculture and community-based program. Roots and Wisdom brings together urban, suburban and rural Schenectady County residents to grow organic vegetables that are donated to local food pantries and are distributed for sale within the county. Representatives from Cornell Cooperative Extension were also on hand to educate elementary students about the many different kinds of potatoes that are grown in New York State. Birchwood’s first-graders seemed particularly fascinated by the purple potatoes.
Other locally-grown produce featured in school lunches this week included broccoli, apples, cabbage, carrots and pears. “We worked with our food supplier to try and highlight as many fruits and vegetables from local farmers as possible this week,” Mahan said.