SCIO, NEW YORK - On Friday, February 15th, students from
Scio Central School tried something new for lunch: New York State Hot Dogs.
Scio CSD has made a commitment to serve more local products as part of their
new Farm to School program. They are one of the districts spearheading this
movement in the county. Scio was the first district to serve the NY franks,
with Genesee Valley and Wellsville schools serving them later in the school
year.
These hot dogs, produced by Red Barn Provisions, are made
out of 100% beef. Red Barn Provisions is
a New York Grown and Certified company that buys solely from small New York
Farms to produce ground beef, patties, and hot dogs. The company celebrates
that their products are made from cows that are never given growth-promoting
antibiotics or hormones.
Cassandra Bull, Farm to School Coordinator at Cornell
Cooperative Extension of Allegany County, was there to help promote this new
product. She helped serve students the NY Hot Dogs in the lunch line, and
handed out special stickers to the students who were willing to try the hot
dog. Bull used this opportunity to speak with students about regional food
systems, farm to table, and the importance of supporting your local farmer. "I'm
not sure that I would have been aware of these issues in grade school. I was
impressed with how many of the students knew the definition of
"local" and were interested in discussing it with me", Bull
remarked.
After lunch was served, Bull and cafeteria staff traveled to
each table to get feedback from the students. Their response to the NY hot dogs
was overwhelmingly positive. Cindy Winchell, Cafeteria Manager, states:
"the most important thing to me is that the students are happy with what
we serve. They are my customer, so it is paramount that they are as
enthusiastic about local food as I am. I think that this is a better tasting
product than our usual hot dogs, and the students agree. This was a great
experience and we will definitely be serving this again, hopefully as often as
once a month". Winchell has been working closely with Cornell Cooperative
Extension to identify kid-friendly local products for their school, and plans
to start serving more local products by the end of the 2018-19 school year.
The Farm to School Program is one of many programs offered
by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Allegany County. They put knowledge to work
in pursuit of economic vitality, ecological sustainability and social
well-being. Cornell Cooperative Extension offices bring local experience and
research based solutions together, helping New York State families and
communities thrive in our rapidly changing world. For more information, call
585-268-7644 or visit our website at www.cce.cornell.edu/allegany. Cornell
University Cooperative Extension provides equal program and employment
opportunities.
