{"id":26851,"date":"2022-10-09T09:24:56","date_gmt":"2022-10-09T13:24:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/?p=26851"},"modified":"2022-10-09T09:24:56","modified_gmt":"2022-10-09T13:24:56","slug":"governor-hogan-declares-oct-10-14-maryland-homegrown-school-lunch-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2022\/10\/09\/governor-hogan-declares-oct-10-14-maryland-homegrown-school-lunch-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Governor Hogan Declares Oct. 10-14 Maryland Homegrown School Lunch Week"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Celebration to be Held at Greensboro Elementary School on Oct. 12<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

ANNAPOLIS, MD (Oct. 9, 2022)<\/b> \u2013 Governor Larry Hogan has designated October 10-14, 2022, as <\/span>Maryland Homegrown School Lunch Week<\/span><\/a>. Now in its 15th year, this annual promotion encourages Maryland schools to serve local food in lunches to show students where their food comes from and to introduce them to fresh, nutritious products made right here in Maryland.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maryland Homegrown School Lunch Week is an element of the Maryland Farm to School Program, which is administered by the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) and Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE). The program aims to bring locally-produced foods into schools, provide hands-on experiential learning to students, and integrate food-related education, while promoting the benefits of local, nutritious foods.<\/span><\/p>\n

This year\u2019s celebration will be held at Greensboro Elementary School (GES) in Caroline County. Planned activities for the event include<\/span> Greensboro Elementary School students attending an assembly and hearing from agriculture and education officials about the connection between farms, food and nutrition. Speakers include: Greensboro Elementary School Principal Dawn Swann, Caroline County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Derek Simmons, and Maryland Agriculture Secretary Joe Bartenfelder.<\/span><\/p>\n

During lunch, students will have the opportunity to sample locally-grown and -produced items during a \u201cTaste Test.\u201d Tasting stations featuring the following local agriculture and seafood products: cheese from <\/span>Chapel\u2019s Country Creamery<\/span><\/a> in Easton; Maryland crab soup prepared by Chesapeake Culinary Center with ingredients from JM Clayton Seafood in Cambridge and Clayton Farms; applesauce and apple cider donuts from <\/span>Blades Orchard<\/span><\/a> in <\/span>Federalsburg<\/span>; microgreens from Red Acres hydroponics; milk from Bailey and Sons Dairy from Greenwood, Delaware; O<\/span>yster demo from Rink to Reef in St. Michaels<\/span>; Spirulina from Cropper Farms in Salisbury featuring apple cider from Blades orchard ; zucchini bread from <\/span>Shore Gourmet Market<\/span><\/a> and Bartenfelder Farm<\/span> cucumber <\/span>slices from Harris Farms<\/span>; <\/span>and Watermelon and Fall Vegetables from Bartenfelder Farms in Preston. The lunch menu will also include <\/span>wild caught Chesapeake Blue Catfish Cakes and local beef hotdogs by Hoffman’s Meats.<\/span><\/p>\n

Culinary arts students prepared Italian Sausage using hogs raised by <\/span>Caroline County Career and Technology<\/span><\/a> agriculture students and purchased by Caroline County Public School Food and Nutrition. <\/span>They also made Watermelon Mint Slushies with Watermelon from Bartenfelder Farms and Mint from Schafer Farms.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Other activities at the \u201cTaste Testing\u201d include a display from Choptank Community Health, tower gardens from Caroline County Public Schools, Shore Gourmet Mobile bus on site and a pumpkin seed activity from the <\/span>University of Maryland Extension<\/span><\/a> \u2013 Food Supplement Nutrition Education<\/span>.\u00a0Caroline Career and Tech Students from the Culinary Arts program and the Ag class will be promoting their classes during this event.<\/span><\/p>\n

After lunch and the \u201cTaste Test,\u201d agricultural and educational leaders will read ag-related children\u2019s books to students.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Other school districts across the state will participate in Maryland Homegrown School Lunch Week by providing students with locally-sourced school meals and educational materials. Highlights from other counties are listed below:<\/span>
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