Hyperlocal potatoes served in school cafeterias
“You grow potatoes perfect,” a third-grader at Ferguson Elementary School told Marc Staunton, a South County farmer who grows and sells potatoes with Cal-Ore Produce.
“Oh man! Thank you!” Staunton responded giving the student a high-five.
Staunton – Farmer Marc to the students – was at Ferguson to talk to students about how he grew the potatoes on their lunch trays. Locally grown potatoes from Cal-Ore were served in all Klamath County School District cafeterias today (March 22) as part of the district’s Farm to School program.
Overall, 2,500 pounds of Cal-Ore’s yellow potatoes were purchased by the district and then cooked and served as roasted potatoes in all school cafeterias.
Staunton, as a representative for Cal-Ore, has been working with the schools for the past four years, providing potatoes and visiting with students. He also is a member of the Klamath County School District Board of Directors.
“It’s fun to visit different schools and talk to kids about what they enjoy eating,” he said. “I get some interesting answers.”
At Brixner Junior High School students also had a chance to try purple potatoes as part of special tasting and naming event. The purple potatoes served at Brixner are a yet-to-be released variety provided by the OSU Klamath Basin Research Station. The students, after tasting the potato, were asked to make name suggestions for the new variety.
The district’s Farm to School program procures Oregon-grown and hyperlocal meat and produce to serve to students. Last week, students ate local beef for lunch from Flying T Ranch in Sprague River thanks to rancher Bruce Topham. For the meal of tacos, cooks used 1,600 pounds of Flying T Ranch beef.
|