BISD Farm to School Program aims to support students to learn about and try new foods while also supporting local farmers. Our program focuses on developing new recipes, using scratch cooking techniques and integrating local products. We emphasize students gaining access to healthy, local foods as well as education opportunities such as school gardens, cooking lessons and connections to the local community while celebrating cultural food traditions. We believe that farm-to-school empowers children and their families to make informed food choices while strengthening the local economy and contributing to vibrant communities. We are a part of a national movement! Please visit the National Farm to School Network and Washington State Farm to School Network websites to learn more. Check out more about the 3 C’s model we follow, integrating the Classroom, Cafeteria and Community as our approach to farm to school.
Farm Partnerships
Our local farms are key to a healthy and sustainable food system and we encourage our community to support local farmers whenever possible! We are excited to have partnered with the following farms and food hubs to source local produce, eggs and meats.
Scratch Cooking
Our team is excited to develop new recipes that are healthy and tasty for kids. We are working hard to prepare as many meals as possible here in our kitchens. Please see the monthly menu for daily meal choices that outline options that are cooked by scratch. Some recipes that we’ve been excited to roll out this year include:
Harvest of the Month
BISD Food and Nutrition Services is excited to launch a Harvest of the Month for the 2023-24 school year. Though local products will be regularly incorporated throughout our menus, Harvest of the Month is a model for featuring and promoting one local fresh fruit or vegetable each month. The “harvest” item is served in meals and snacks, used for taste tests, featured in education and highlighted in our community. It’s a wonderful opportunity to support our local farmers and try new recipes and foods. Please see our Harvest of the Month calendar, and the resources available for each month, listed below!
Tomato – September
Pumpkin – October
Apple – November
Winter Squash – December
Garlic – January
Potato – February