Fargo Public Schools (FPS) Nutrition Services has formed a new partnership with Fresh Connect Food Hub to bring regionally-grown produce to our schools’ breakfast and lunch programs.
By Fargo Public Schools Nutrition Services Director Cindy Hogenson
Fresh Connect Food Hub is located in Fergus Falls, MN and is a member of Lakes Country Service Cooperative. “Food hubs” act as aggregators and distributors of regionally-grown produce from small and medium-sized farmers. Food hubs specialize in connecting growers with customers and assisting with the delivery and marketing of their products. Services provided by Fresh Connect include coordination of the institution’s produce needs, food safety training for producers, marketing, packaging, and delivery of produce to institutional customers such as schools, hospitals, and nursing homes.
Dave Rice, FPS Nutrition Services operations manager, recently toured the Fresh Connect warehouse and facilities in Fergus Falls (pictured at right). He also attended a workshop about food safety and regulations related to local food and farm-to-institution distribution.
Fresh Connect Food Hub will enable fresh produce from regional family farms to be served in FPS cafeterias. A variety of produce is available, depending on the growing season. Items from early to late fall range from tomatoes and cucumbers to potatoes and squash. Nutrition Services is especially excited to serve local apples to students this fall.
Although prices can fluctuate slightly throughout the season, the cost of produce from Fresh Connect is generally comparable to prices from a broad-line food distributor. While purchasing produce from outside a prime vendor can mean accepting items that are not quite the “picture perfect” vegetable and fruit shapes found in conventional grocery stores and additional washing before serving, the benefits are valuable:
- Consumers can taste the “homegrown” flavor.
- Time from harvest to table is shortened, ensuring the produce is as fresh as possible.
- Food hubs offer consolidated ordering and weekly delivery service.
- Fresh Connect Food Hub purchases support our community and the local economy.
FPS Nutrition Services received its first weekly delivery of locally grown produce from Fresh Connect on September 1. Sliced tomatoes, grape tomatoes, and cucumbers from the shipment were offered in our cafeterias this week. FPS Nutrition Services will continue to receive weekly shipments from Fresh Connect while produce is available throughout the local growing season.
National Farm to School Month is October. Colorful posters showing the families and farms where the produce is grown will be posted in the FPS cafeterias over the coming weeks to help our students make the connection between the food they consume and local agriculture.
