"This Doesn't Taste Like Normal Spinach"

May has come to an end.  This means many things: the end of the school year, the beginning of nicer weather (hopefully), the start of the La Grande Farmers Market, and, of course, the end of Farm to School’s “Spring Greens Month”.

I’ve written quite a bit previously about some of the principles behind Harvest of the Month: It introduces the idea of seasonality in a world where we can buy “fresh” tomatoes year round, it allows students to sample foods they are unfamiliar with, and provides an inroad for local producers to sell to schools and students.  Sounds good on paper, right?  But how does it play out in real life?  I know I had my doubts, which definitely weren’t assuaged by how difficult it ended up being to get local spinach after a cold snap in late April.  

Doubts aside, the Oregon Rural Action Farm to School Program piloted three tasting tables in the month of May.  Elementary and Middle School students at North Powder, Imbler, and Union sampled a fresh local spinach salad, and a fresh local spinach smoothie.  They then voted on which they liked better.  If a student just couldn’t decide which they liked best, they were allowed to vote for both (Hey, it’s not civics class).  In the end 323 students participated in the project.  In all schools students voted for the smoothie by about 2:1.  

Volunteering at the tasting tables was a moving experience.  It was so much fun seeing the students dare each other to try the bright green smoothie and tell their friends how delicious the salad was.  Many kids even asked for the recipe.  I heard things like:

“This doesn’t even taste like spinach”

“This spinach tastes different than spinach I’ve had before”

“This doesn’t taste like normal spinach”

“I love spinach, and trying all foods”

I was able to have conversations with several students about why this spinach was special, and why it’s important that I bought it directly from the farmer who grew it, a farmer whose family has been growing spinach for 100 years, and yes, that does mean eating lots of spinach helps you live a really long time!

There are still several questions that need to be worked out.  I think if this type of project is really going to make a difference it needs to happen regularly, not just on one special occasion and I think it would be great if the program could be expanded to touch more students.  This type of long-term program will be difficult.  It will take both a time commitment AND a financial commitment from the community if it is going to work.  

The Oregon Rural Action Farm to School Committee will have their first meeting in June.  This is an opportunity for interested community members to join Oregon Rural Action in answering some of these important questions.  Let me know if you want to help with this exciting project.