These kids grow their own vegetables for lunch, and their school won an award for it

OAKLAND — Dogwood Hill School received the state's only Best in New Jersey Farm to School Award during lunchtime ceremonies Friday.

The New Jersey Department of Agriculture presents the award each year to the school or district with "outstanding achievements in the incorporation of farm-to-school principles into their school meal and snack programs."

After getting funding from a Parent-Teacher Organization donation five years ago, librarian Kelly Bosgra and her students have grown leafy greens in a tower garden. The crops are shared on a regular basis with the school's Pomptonian Food Service, which serves them for lunch, supplemented with produce from area farmers. Special tasting events such as "Build Your Own Salad Day," "Strawberry Yogurt Parfait Celebration" and "Eat the Colors of the Rainbow" encourage student sampling.

"The parents have to sign permission slips for kids to participate, and a fair number come back with notes saying 'my kid will never eat this,' but they do," Bosgra said Friday.

Sampling stations were set up in outside the Grade K school in advance of the award ceremony Friday, giving students a chance to try applesauce, popcorn, mozzarella cheese enhanced with basil and balsamic vinegar, plus a competitive watermelon-rolling race. At another station students learned how they can re-root celery, Boston lettuce and sweet potatoes to grow at home.

"We want students to understand why New Jersey is called the Garden State," said Principal Sean Bowe, sporting a "Locally Grown" vegetable T-shirt for the occasion. "The integration of agriculture and healthy eating into the school curriculum has undoubtedly made a significant impact on the students' understanding and appreciation of local food systems."

Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Division Director Rose Chamberlain piqued student interest during the ceremony with a round of guesses on how many farms there were in New Jersey. Guesses ranged from 50 to 7,000 farms.

"Would you believe 9,996 farms?" Chamberlain concluded to student "ah's."

Toni Bowman,  director of nutrition services with Pomptonian, said the state received some financial support through the Local Food for Schools program during COVID to encourage the purchase of domestic local foods for distribution to schools.

"That funding is coming to an end, but we are hoping to see it continue," Bowman said. "It makes a great difference."

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: These kids grow their own vegetables for lunch, and their school won an award for it