06/04/2007

ABCs of Fresh Food

Schools join with farmers to bring produce to students

By CYMBRE FOSTER
Special to the Record-Eagle

Record-Eagle/Douglas Tesner
Taylor Peek, an eighth-grader at Traverse City West Junior High School, samples fresh asparagus recipes.

Eighth-grader Anton Chekhovskiy was a little hesitant about sampling the roasted asparagus at a taste-testing event at Traverse City West Junior High last week.

He was one of more than 125 students in seventh through ninth grades who lined up to not only taste a locally grown vegetable, but give their feedback about it as well.

Of those students trying the green stalk that is typically the harbinger of a new growing season, 22 percent said they had never tried it before, said Jodi Jocks, the TCAPS dietician who helped coordinate the event.

Jocks met with representatives from the Student Senate who volunteered to hand out the samples and also created informational posters on the local farm and healthy benefits of eating fresh asparagus and other fresh products.

"I think this is a good idea,” said Taylor Peek, 14, a member of the WJH Student Senate. "It will get students interested in other foods and show our generation that food can be about more than chocolate chip cookies and Cheetos.”

Chekhovskiy, 14, wasn't sure he had even eaten the green vegetable before but he tried all three offerings — the asparagus roasted with garlic and olive oil, chilled pasta tossed with asparagus and a wrap sandwich.

"This is really good,” he nodded after sampling. Many of his classmates agreed, noting that they would like to see some of the items added to the regular cafeteria menu.

Some students were even pleasantly surprised. Hannah Rickard, 13, typically doesn't like pasta salad.

"I liked that one the best,” said the eighth-grader. "It really surprised me.”

Roylene Casler, the school's kitchen leader, said that she and the kitchen staff went through about 60 pounds of asparagus purchased from Empire-area farmer Harry Norconk.

She said she was pleased that the students were enjoying the various selections.

"We're always trying to get kids to try something different,” she said.

This taste-testing event was part of the ongoing farm-to-cafeteria initiative that began in 2004 as a pilot program at Central Grade School in Traverse City.

The Michigan Land Use Institute has been collaborating with Traverse City Area Public Schools and other area schools to connect food service departments to local farms.

"The goal is to inspire children to make healthier choices by introducing them to the tasty flavors and community connection offered by local farms, and to regularly invest a portion of school food dollars in the local farm economy,” said Diane Conners, the farm-to-cafeteria program coordinator.

The program has continued to gain momentum. Last month, TCAPS was serving local asparagus throughout the district on varied days, pairing it with roasted chicken, in stir fries, wrap sandwiches and on salad bars.

Asparagus isn't the only local food children have had the opportunity to try. For instance, TCAPS purchased some 610 bushels of apples from local farmers this school year, and 76.5 bushels of winter squash. In all, TCAPS so far has spent more than $17,000 with local farms this year on apples, pears and winter squash, according to Kristen Misiak, TCAPS food service director. This figure does not include the asparagus purchased this spring.

The schools are buying it, but are the students eating it? Absolutely, said Jocks.

"From our experiences this fall and spring, students will tell you that they like the taste of the fresh, local food. We've heard this more than once this spring since the local apples aren't available anymore,” she said.

MLUI is building a farm-to-cafeteria Web page that will be ready in the fall and will share resources region-wide, said Conners.

"It will include a place for farms and school food buyers to find each other for potential sales, recipes that have been successful for school cooks, curriculum ideas and local farmers willing to speak in classes, host kids for field trips and provide local products at wholesale prices to sell in fund raisers,” she said.

For more information about the farm-to-cafeteria initiative as well as a list of local farms and products visit www.localdifference.org.

The following recipes are from the Michigan Asparagus Advisory Board.

Pesto Chicken Pasta

• 8 oz. uncooked farfalle (bow tie) pasta
• 2 c. cut-up fresh or frozen asparagus
• 3 c. (12 ozs.) cubed, cooked chicken
• 1 c. halved cherry tomatoes
• 1/3 c. chopped red onion
• 1 (2.25-oz.) can sliced ripe olives, well drained
• 3/4 c. prepared pesto sauce
• 3 T. freshly shredded or grated Romano cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions; rinse and drain.

Steam or microwave asparagus until tender crisp. Drain. Combine cooked pasta and asparagus in a large bowl. Stir in chicken, tomatoes, onion and olives. Gently toss with pesto sauce. Serve warm, garnished with cheese. Refrigerate leftovers; they make a great lunch. Makes six servings.

Italian Beef Wrap

• 2 T. mayonnaise
• 1/4 t. dried Italian seasoning
• 1 large (10- to 11-inch) flour tortilla
• 1 leaf romaine lettuce
• 2 thin slices mozzarella, cheddar or provolone cheese
• 2 thin slices (about 2 oz.) shaved roast beef
• 2 large pieces prepared roasted red pepper, well-drained
• 4 asparagus spears, cooked

Combine mayonnaise and Italian seasoning. Spread over one side of flour tortilla. Layer lettuce, cheese and roast beef. Place red pepper pieces near center of roast beef. Top with asparagus. Roll up. Cut in half diagonally to serve. Makes one serving.

Roasted Asparagus

• Fresh asparagus spears
• Olive oil
• 2-3 cloves garlic, chopped

Wash and trim spears. Spread on a large rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with chopped garlic. Drizzle spears with olive oil and roll them around to coat lightly. Roast in preheated 450 oven about 15 minutes (thin spears, about 10 minutes), occasionally shaking pan to roll them around for even browning. Test with a fork to determine doneness. Spears should be tender throughout and lightly browned, but not charred.