Farm to Pizza with Third Graders!

East Elementary students made mini pizzas as part of a grant to teach “Farm to Pizza” curriculum! After reviewing the components of MyPlate, students drew pictures of pizza toppings and ingredients while determining if they are a grain, fruit, vegetable, dairy or protein! Continue reading

Preschool and Kindergarteners Make Yogurt Parfaits!

Seasonality, or the concept of eating according to the current season’s harvest, and location (the beautiful and hilly driftless!) were the determining forces behind the development of the Northeast Iowa Harvest of the Month calendar. This calendar (see below) is a three-year curriculum guide for introducing seasonal, local foods to school aged children. Continue reading

Give Your Brain a Break!

When I began as the Allamakee School District service member, I was given an Action Plan put together by the School Wellness Working Team and former service member Andrew. This plan outlines past Food & Fitness activities, current initiatives and goals for the future to be accomplished by none other than myself. I was overwhelmed. There was no way I could even begin to accomplish all that was listed, I barely had a school email address! Continue reading

Harnessing the Harvest

It is harvest season here at Allamakee and boy do we have a bounty! In clearing the garden beds for a winter planting, we harvested beautiful beets and krafty kohlrabi to be used by the Waukon Middle School Cooking Club. We also pulled a few surprise carrots from the beds! Continue reading

Farm to School Month in Allamakee!

October was a very special month for students across the nation that eat school lunch – Farm to School Month! Throughout the weeks leading up to Halloween, Allamakee schools celebrated by hosting cafeteria taste tests, learning how local food impacts the communities we live in and filling lunch trays with locally grown apples, pork and beef! All local food was purchased through the Iowa Food Hub which provides transportation and a market for farms growing food within 150 miles of West Union, IA. Typically, these are beginning farmers who harvest within the six county region of Northeast Iowa. Continue reading

Farm to School Month Special Guest: Kohlrabi!

October is an exciting month in northeast Iowa! The leaves are changing color, the air is becoming crisp and harvest season is winding down for most farmers. As we enter autumn, we honor the summer of hard work by harvesting and sharing garden bounties with friends and family. Schools across the county have joined together to celebrate this time of plenty through Farm to School Month, a month dedicated to developing and applauding strong connections between schools and local foods. Continue reading

Fresh from the Courtyard Garden – Tomato Salsa

Today was a special day in the Waukon Middle School cafeteria. Not only was it quesadilla day (Yum!), we also had a special guest – tomato salsa entirely sourced from the courtyard garden! Continue reading