If you’re a school district like South Seneca – situated right next to some of the Finger Lakes region’s best farms and produce – wouldn’t it be ideal to use those resources for your school cafeteria’s menu?
Well, that is exactly what South Seneca Central School District and Food Service Director Adam Snell aspires to do. Throughout the last several years, the school has implemented a farm-to-table program for its dining services that is now an integral part of how the district builds, and prepares, its menu.
Snell, who is in his fifth year in the district, explained what makes the district’s food prep unique.
“I would say that we have a unique food process in a couple of different ways,” Snell said. “First, I worked in the restaurant business for twenty plus years before switching to child nutrition. Along with this experience, I have made several great connections with farmers, growers, and producers. Sourcing local, regional, and organic foods is paramount to any food service operation. Why would it be any different for school food?”
Snell elaborated, adding that all of the beef the district uses is local, grass-fed, and humanely raised by Autumn's Harvest in Romulus, New York. All of the district’s apples are New York grown, with the majority of them coming from Geneva, New York. And all of the district’s squash comes from a farm right down the road at The Pumpkin Stand Lodi, New York.
The list goes on and on.
“We serve real New York maple syrup,” Snell continued. “I am currently in the process of switching to a more local sugarbush. All of our milk is from New York farms. We use sharp New York cheddar cheese in our from scratch macaroni and cheese. Our flour is New York sourced and milled at Farmer Ground Flour in Trumansburg.”
The food fun does not stop there. Snell explained how the district even grows some of its own ingredients – which lets students get involved in the process.
“We have hydroponic grow towers in our cafeterias and throughout the school,” he said. “We supplement our mixed greens with the hydroponic lettuces and pick fresh herbs right in our cafeterias. We have served veggies from our student gardens. There are many more local seasonal fruits and vegetables that we give first priority throughout the school year.”
Snell noted that thanks to all of these efforts, he is especially fond of the school’s salad bar.
“The salad bar is beautiful,” he said. “It is tremendously rewarding to hear from students how much they enjoy some of these items.”
“Parents and students should be excited,” he added, “because they are helping to support our local and regional economy. The students are also learning that food comes from farms not factories. Showing them through school food how to eat local and healthy. Teaching them these lessons that will follow them throughout their lives.”
Snell said while the district’s menus stay relatively the same month to month, there are new variations throughout the year to help keep students excited about their options.
“It is tricky to balance serving things the students like to eat with healthy foods and commodity foods that we get using entitlement money,” he said. “I do try to get kids excited about breakfast and lunch by offering new and exciting items when it is possible. I am trying to increase our breakfast participation in the middle and high schools so we have a couple of strategies that I hope will help. Recently we served cheesecake parfaits with New York tart cherries for the afterschool snack. The kids loved it, and now it is on the breakfast menu next month. We make banana bread from scratch on the regular and serve it as an afterschool snack. The students love it.”
Snell also broke down some of student’s current favorites, which not only included locally sourced ingredients, but also fit in line with his aspirations to give students nutritious options.
“There are definitely some meals that are more popular than others,” he said. “Taco day is usually our biggest lunch of the week. I think tacos are a comfort food and the kids love this meal (which is made with local grass-fed beef). Whenever we have smoothies (tart cherry and maple) or parfaits, more students eat breakfast. I think they enjoy the smoothies and parfaits because they are delicious and also convenient for them to eat. Not to mention healthy. Smoothies meet two of the three meal pattern requirements and parfaits meet all of them. So it is basically an entire breakfast in a cup.”
All in all, Snell is excited about the success South Seneca’s farm-to-table initiatives have had during his tenure in the district, and is always looking ahead to how to make sure that progress continues moving forward.
“I feel that our food quality, diversity, and taste have improved or evolved considerably,” he said. “I am striving to move away from foods that are highly processed and have lots of ingredients. Replacing them with from scratch, simple, delicious foods with ingredients you can pronounce. All of the people that work in our food service department are hard working and dedicated to serving our students. I am grateful for their teamwork and service. Without them none of this would be possible.The thing I am most proud of is being a part of the South Seneca community. A place that I am proud to have my family be part of."