Fresh, Locally Grown Lettuce Now on CW Menus
Farm-to-Table food operations have always been an important part of promoting healthy and safe eating options, and now students at Chetek-Weyerhaeuser Area School District will have an opportunity to have access to fresh, locally grown lettuce as they team up with Green Leaf Farms of Chetek.
CWASD will begin working with Green Leaf Farms of Chetek, owned and operated by Clayton and Kelly Timm, to provide fresh, farm-to-table lettuce for the food service program. Green Leaf Farms is an aquaponics farm specializing in locally grown, fresh fish in addition to chemical-free, dirt-free, year round vegetables.
Aquaponics is a system in which water from an aquaculture system (raising aquatic animals like fish) is fed to a hydroponic system (cultivating plants in water) where fish by-products are broken down into nutrients that are then utilized to fertilize and grow plants. Fish are fed a specifically formulated diet free of hormones and antibiotics. The fish produce ammonia and solids that include beneficial bacteria that are broken down into usable forms of nutrients for plant growth. The nutrient-rich water is pumped into the greenhouse for the plants; these plants utilize the nutrients and clean the water. Clean water is pumped back into the aquaculture system, and filtered water is re-introduced back into fish tanks. The lettuce or produce is then harvested, and the fresh, completely organic greens can be sold and eaten.
For students at Chetek-Weyerhaeuser, the new partnership will be an opportunity to have fresh, organic lettuce available in their lunches. According to Food Service Director Sandy Stevens, it will be available in fresh salads and sandwiches to begin with. Stevens notes that she has seen other vendors with lettuce grown using an aquaponics system at various food shows that she has attended, but it’s often expensive. However, when the opportunity came up through a local vendor like Green Leaf Farms, it was hard to pass up.
“Promoting and utilizing farm-to-table, fresh produce is a great opportunity for us to continue encouraging safe and healthy eating habits,” notes Stevens. “It’s organic, so no chemicals are used to grow the lettuce; it’s not grown in dirt, so it’s cleaner and lessens the likelihood of food-borne illnesses. It’s also grown and available year round.”
Stevens adds that it’s also important, especially with the youngest of students, to teach youths where food comes from. By using farm-to-table lettuce, it’s one step that schools can take to help teach just that. In the future, field trips to Green Leaf Farms may also take place. Additionally, providing farm-to-table opportunities also builds family and community engagement and encourages healthy eating habits at home.
Stevens hopes to add to the farm-to-table selections at CW in the future. She adds that she’d like to see a garden at the school or maybe even apple trees grown on campus. Green Leaf Farms is also growing some herbs which she’d like to include in some recipes as well.
