{"id":23674,"date":"2019-09-26T16:35:16","date_gmt":"2019-09-26T20:35:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/?p=23674"},"modified":"2019-09-26T17:21:00","modified_gmt":"2019-09-26T21:21:00","slug":"state-local-leaders-kick-off-12th-annual-maryland-homegrown-school-lunch-week-at-denton-elementary-school-in-caroline-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2019\/09\/26\/state-local-leaders-kick-off-12th-annual-maryland-homegrown-school-lunch-week-at-denton-elementary-school-in-caroline-county\/","title":{"rendered":"State, Local Leaders Kick Off 12th Annual Maryland Homegrown School Lunch Week at Denton Elementary School in Caroline County"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>ANNAPOLIS, MD <\/strong>\u2013 Governor Larry Hogan has designated September 30\u2013October 4 as Maryland Homegrown School Lunch Week<\/a>, a time when Maryland schools promote and serve local foods in the cafeteria. Students in public schools across the state will get to experience fresh, Maryland-grown and produced food.<\/p>\n

This year marks the 12th<\/sup> anniversary of Maryland Homegrown School Lunch Week. Today\u2019s kick-off event was held at Denton Elementary School (DES) in Caroline County. At the start of the event, Denton Elementary School students attended an assembly and heard from agriculture and education officials about the connection between farms, food, and nutrition. Speakers included: Denton Elementary School Principal Susan McCandless, Caroline County Public Schools Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services Mr. Milton Nagel, Maryland State Department of Education State Superintendent Dr. Karen Salmon, and Maryland Agriculture Secretary Joe Bartenfelder.<\/p>\n

Following the speaking program, officials joined students for lunch featuring local agricultural products. The menu included blue catfish tacos made with blue catfish from Chester River Clam Company, Inc.<\/a> in Centerville; roasted chicken from Tyson<\/a> in Worcester served on hydroponic lettuce from Red Acres<\/a> in Worton; all beef hot dogs from Hoffman\u2019s Meats<\/a> in Hagerstown; chicken salad on local bread from Tilghman Island Baking Co. located in Tilghman; watermelon slices from Bartenfelder Farms<\/a> in Preston; Maryland crab soup made with ingredients from Blough\u2019s Seafood<\/a> in Denton and Clayton Farms<\/a> in Denton; tomato and feta salad with tomatoes from Bartenfelder Farms and Clayton Farms; and cantaloupe from Bartenfelder Farms and Clayton Farms.<\/p>\n

During lunch, students also had the opportunity to sample locally-grown and produced items during a \u201cTaste Test.\u201d Tasting stations featured the following local agriculture and seafood products: cheese from Chapel\u2019s Country Creamery<\/a> in Easton; Maryland crab soup with ingredients from Blough\u2019s Seafood and Clayton Farms; applesauce and apple cider donuts from Blades Orchard<\/a> in Federalsburg; microgreens and mint from Red Acres; milk from Bailey and Sons Dairy from Greenwood, Delaware; Oysters from Phillips Wharf Environmental Center<\/a> in Tilghman; crab claws from The J.M. Clayton Company<\/a> in Cambridge; pumpkin-cranberry bread from Shore Gourmet Market<\/a>\/Savor Maryland in Denton; cucumber slices from Bartenfelder Farms; and cantaloupe from Clayton Farms.<\/p>\n

Culinary arts students prepared pork chili using hogs raised by Caroline County Career and Technology<\/a> agriculture students and purchased by Caroline County Public School Food and Nutrition. Caroline County Public School culinary staff also made a watermelon mint soup.<\/p>\n

Other activities at the \u201cTaste Testing\u201d included a display from the Maryland Food Bank<\/a>, tower gardens from Farming 4 Hunger<\/a>, and a pumpkin seed activity from the University of Maryland Extension<\/a> \u2013 Food Supplement Nutrition Education.<\/p>\n

After lunch and the \u201cTaste Test,\u201d agricultural and educational leaders read ag-related children\u2019s books to students. In addition to all of the day\u2019s activities, the Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation<\/a>\u2019s \u201cFood, Fiber and You\u201d mobile science lab was on-site all week, teaching Denton Elementary School students where their food and fiber comes from.<\/p>\n

Local school districts across the state will celebrate 2019 Homegrown School Lunch Week by providing students with locally-sourced lunches and educational materials. A list of activities by county is available online<\/a>. Some highlights include:<\/p>\n