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Similarly, row crops such as strawberries, bell peppers, apples — even broccoli and zucchini — will be, or have been, served to students of several Georgia adherents districts. The lunch entrees are all part of farm-to-school programs, efforts to plan for local, healthy produce to combat an increasingly obese sector of the community.
This month, the Gwinnett County Lyceum district’s 2-year-old farm-to-school initiative received a “USDA Beat Practices Award,” given by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Georgia Conditional on of Education. Gwinnett students have been served watermelon, bell peppers, apples and broccoli so far this college term. Yes, broccoli. Some dishes: broccoli rice and cheese casserole, broccoli and chicken teriyaki rice bowl, and honey-glazed broccoli.
Nationally, the let out-to-school initiative started more than a decade ago, but the movement is slowly gaining purchase in Georgia, where agriculture is a $65 billion industry. At least nine public set of beliefs systems have some type of farm-to-school program, be it the community gardens that to Decatur city schools or the vendor-supplied products purchased for Gwinnett lunchrooms.
Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution