A Boon to the School Diet

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Friday announced that a grant of about $95,000 has been awarded to the Southampton School District for the East End Farm-to-School Project, which will benefit more than 1,600 students specifically in the Southampton, Bridgehampton, and Tuckahoe School Districts.

“These farm-to-school programs are a win-win that supports New York farmers and helps ensure our children have access to healthy, locally grown produce,” Governor Cuomo said in a statement. “This is one more step toward a stronger, healthier New York for all.”

The money will be used to hire a farm-to-school program coordinator, train the schools’ food service staff, educate students on proper nutrition, and integrate more locally produced specialty crops into school breakfast and lunch programs. On the North Fork, the Greenport School District received a $69,000 grant for a similar program that supports six school districts.

“With the North Fork and the South Forks getting these sizable farm-to-school grants, the East End will again be able to lead the way in changing the face of school food,” said Judiann Carmack-Fayyaz, who teaches botany and nutrition at the Bridgehampton School and was named New York State’s Agriculture in the Classroom Teacher of the Year earlier this year. “Bridgehampton students will be able to eat more fresh produce and fruit as a result of this grant,” she said. “Ultimately, we would like to see a change in the school food menu, with a vigorous emphasis on plant-based offerings.”

Ms. Carmack-Fayyaz said the grant will connect schools and farms in a number of ways. She said it has the potential to increase farmers’ customer bases by allowing them to contract with schools, while also supplementing what individual schools’ gardens produce because those gardens usually do not grow enough to feed an entire school. 

“By linking farmers and schools, much more produce can be locally sourced. . . . This grant will help link students to their community and to the environment in which they live,” she said. “This last benefit is important as it provides a gateway to environmental awareness.”