Superintendent Kirsten Baesler | www.nd.gov/
North Dakota is leading the mountain plains region in several Farm to School activities, according to the United States Department of Agriculture's recent Farm to School Census. The region includes Colorado, Montana, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.
The program in North Dakota is managed by the state's Department of Agriculture and Department of Public Instruction. "North Dakota leads the region with 75% of school food authorities in the state serving local foods in school lunch," said Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring. He emphasized that the program helps students understand food origins and provides opportunities for them to meet local producers and engage in activities like taste testing and farm field trips.
State School Superintendent Kirsten Baesler highlighted the importance of nutrition for learning: "Students who are well fed are better able to learn. That’s true of their teachers and principals too. And no one does a better job than North Dakota farmers and ranchers in supplying nutritious food for our school cafeteria plates."
North Dakota also excels in other areas such as serving local foods in salad bars, growing culturally relevant foods, promoting local foods at schools, and hosting community events related to Farm to School. The most served local foods include beef, milk, baked goods, apples, and potatoes.
Further details on North Dakota's performance can be found at https://farmtoschoolcensus.fns.usda.gov/census-results/states/nd. For more information about the program in North Dakota, contact Jenna Nieters at jnieters@nd.gov or Amanda Olson at amolson@nd.gov.
Information from this article can be found here.
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