Harrison County Schools to introduce students to local foods in returning WV Wednesdays program

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — This school year, Harrison County Schools are bringing back the WV Wednesdays initiative for the second year, which looks to introduce students to local foods.

The program was started last year by Child Nutrition Director Steve Gibson, who told 12 News that the state has regulations that require school boards to spend a certain percentage of the annual budget on purchasing local foods. He said that Harrison County had already been purchasing from some local places, such as West Virginia Harvest, but then came up with this initiative to make things a bit more interactive.

“I kind of came up with an idea of doing West Virginia Wednesday to kind of maybe spark some enthusiasm with our kitchens and…doing the menu with the students and so forth,” said Gibson.

After two successful months of the program last school year, the program is making its return and will be held once a month throughout the school year, excluding August and December.

“I think it’s important for students and everyone to purchase local as much as possible,” Gibson stated. “I think it also allows students to know what we have available here in West Virginia.”

On Sept. 18, WV Wednesdays featured West Virginia beef that is used to make hot dog chili, as well as West Virginia pears. Gibson said that next month, the program will be featuring West Virginia pulled pork and West Virginia apples.

“We’re trying to just get as much as possible to increase local awareness, and get the kids to eat products that are grown locally in addition to what we normally put on our menus,” said Gibson.

According to Gibson, the school district tries to balance the sodium, carbohydrates, etc. in the food that’s provided to students on their traditional menus to make sure that these foods meet the standards set forth by the USDA. He added that the staff makes sure that any West Virginia products being served to students fall under those same guidelines.

“We’re always trying to increase pride in our state,” said Gibson. “So we think…just recognizing that our state has a lot to offer to the students, and we’re very fortunate in this county that we have a levy and we try to give back to the community as much as possible.”

Gibson stated that many times, local products tend to be more expensive than the food they purchase from their normal distributor. Therefore, Harrison County Schools receives a levy that allows them to provide this service to the community by providing them with extra funds to purchase it.

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