About 35 Blue Mountain School (BMS) students, along with several BMS teachers and parent volunteers, spent a recent morning planting potatoes as part of Floyd’s Farm to School Program (FTS). The planting, supervised by the Five Penny Farm farmers at their fields on Shooting Creek Road, was the latest step in building on last year’s FTS pilot program, in which students from Floyd Elementary School and BMS harvested potatoes that were later prepared and served countywide at Floyd public schools.
SustainFloyd director Mike Burton said that public school students weren’t able to attend the potato planting because they were busy taking SOL tests but that they will participate in the harvest in the fall. Burton foresees the growth the FTS program, with more locally grown food – such as potatoes, cabbages, and apples – being incorporated into public school lunch menus each year. Although the programs are supported by the state and the local school system, they are currently under-funded. One of Burton’s jobs as director is to pursue grants and other support for Floyd’s FTS efforts.
…Read more at Loose Leaf Notes