Utah Farm to Fork

Exciting day at Majestic Elementary Arts Academy! Jordan School District celebrated "Squash Summer Hunger" with covering the event.

Students enjoyed a meal from their open summer feeding site and tasted delicious samples of local zucchini and squash from , based in Bountiful. amazing school nutrition staff got creative with the harvest, serving raw zucchini with homemade ranch, savory cooked zucchini, and yummy zucchini muffins from our Harvest of the Season recipes.

Our Squash Summer Hunger initiative ensures students and families are aware of nutritious meal opportunities during summer, while promoting healthy eating and local agriculture.

Are you celebrating this summer? Let us know!

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Subscribe now at www.utfarmtofork.org!

Happy 4th of July from Utah Farm to Fork! Whether you're grilling up farm-fresh veggies or packing a picnic with locally sourced treats, let's fuel our kids with healthy, delicious options.

We're nearing the end of Squash Summer Hunger! Is your school or organization hosting a summer meal site? Already celebrated or planning a celebration at a later date? We want to know! Want to engage students and families during meal times or pickups? Sign up today to get our toolkit packed with fun ideas to support local farms, gardens, and more!

Register today! --> https://www.utfarmtofork.org/squash-summer-hunger

We had the best time at the School Nutrition Association of Utah Summer Conference yesterday! It was wonderful to connect with and support school nutrition teams from across the state who are working tirelessly and passionately to ensure our students receive nutritious food.

We've wrapped up our 2024 culinary workshops at Tooele School District! The Culinary Solutions team guided us through dozens of recipes, including gourmet grilled cheese and homemade granola with dried fruit, all featuring locally grown ingredients from Utah. Stay tuned as we welcome them back next year in Alpine and Logan School Districts!

Join the Utah Farm to Fork team for a 1-hour Q&A session to learn how producers can benefit from Utah's Farm to School initiatives.

Explore current efforts to increase local food in schools and share your ideas for involvement! The session will be hosted by Dani Perez, Farm to School Specialist with the Utah State Board of Education, and Natalie McHale, Farm to School Specialist with the Utah Department of Agriculture.

Register here: https://utah-gov.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZItde-vrTsoGdWBcAI6-ULakUsr57Pma7JB



Photo Credit: Utah Department of Agriculture and Food and Creations

We had an amazing culinary workshop yesterday with the K-12 Culinary Team and the Sevier School District nutrition team, focusing on the value of local food! We learned how high-quality local ingredients mean less shelf time and higher yields, giving us better value. Our goal was to level up our scratch cooking skills and prepare for local sourcing.

One lucky attendee took home a Sunkist sectionizer for their school's kitchen! Everyone received an apron, chef's hat, cutting board, chef's knife, and more professional tools!

Thank you Chef Kelly, Chef Caroline, and Kathy from Sevier School District for making this event possible!

Next stop - Tooele School District!

It's time to start planning your Squash Summer Hunger celebration! Get your hands on the Squash Summer Hunger Toolkit for ideas and inspiration for fun activities, recipes and best practices for showcasing locally grown squash in your summer nutrition programs!

Visit our website to register for the event and download the toolkit via the link in our bio!

Are you part of the culinary or nutrition teams for a school in Utah?

We still have space in our culinary workshops for 2024! Join Chef Cyndie and the Culinary Solutions team for a series of cooking workshops based on Harvest of the Season recipes, focused on bringing local ingredients to your cafeteria!

Each workshop participant will receive a chef’s hat, apron, personal kitchen supply kit, and $200 stipend.

There are two workshop opportunities:

Workshop 1: Sevier School District

Tuesday, June 4 | 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Workshop 2: Tooele School District

Friday, June 7 | 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Sign up here! https://www.utfarmtofork.org/events-1/farm-to-fork-culinary-workshops-2024-06-04-08-00

Let's give a big round of applause to the fantastic school culinary teams who joined us for our Bison Cooking Workshop last weekend! Collaborating with the talented Tamara Stanger, Chef at Hells Backbone Grill in Boulder, UT, they delved into crafting kid-friendly recipes featuring bison from Ute Tribal Enterprises, infused with flavors inspired by indigenous cultures. It was a pleasure getting to know each of you, and we extend our heartfelt thanks for everything you do for Utah Students!

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A massive thank you to everyone who participated in our 2024 regional Movement Building Workshops, focused on expanding our network of farm-to-school advocates. From Cedar City to Boulder, spanning three months, we had the privilege of engaging with over 150 passionate Utah residents dedicated to connecting young people with local, wholesome food.

Each visit enriched our team with invaluable insights, and none of it would have been possible without the generous support of our partners. We're eager to share the knowledge we've gained and are inspired by the unwavering commitment of our community!

Stay tuned for updates as we're already planning our 2025 workshops!

Our inaugural Raising the Steaks promotion was a great success! Not only did we allocate nearly $2 million to schools for purchasing local beef and bison this academic year, but schools across Utah also invested an extra $15,000 in procuring local meat directly from producers in the region!

Congratulations to the following schools and organizations for participating:

Neighborhood House Utah
Uintah School District
George Washington Academy
Wasatch Peak Academy
Freedom Preparatory Academy
Scholar Academy
It's A Good Day Preschool
Heritage Craft Butcher's
Wilde Journey
Tooele County School District
Jordan School District
Sevier School District Office
Carbon School District

Stay tuned from highlights from the organizations sharing how they celebrated.

Meet Trevor, a hardworking farmer in Richfield, UT, who cultivates an array of vegetables and raises beef on his farm. We had the pleasure of meeting him at our regional Movement Building Workshop in Central Utah, where he even drove his tractor!

During the workshop, we facilitated connections between Trevor and local schools interested in purchasing his products, while also equipping him with resources to meet their packaging and processing requirements. This is just one example of the positive connections fostered at our workshops this year, as we strive to enhance youth’s access to locally sourced food across the state.

Stay tuned for our final stop in Boulder, UT, for an exciting weekend adventure at !

Monday, April 29th | 1:00 PM MT

Utah Farm to Fork is honored to be featured on the next Q&A session to share more about Utah’s innovative approach to implementing the USDA Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program.

While most states directed funding to schools for local purchases, Utah flipped this narrative by administering a statewide bidding process at the agency level. The result: competitive contracts with local meat producers and a streamlined ordering process for food service professionals. Learn about the benefits and challenges of this model from agency staff and a participating rancher who will share lessons learned from implementation.

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIlde-qqjoiHN1gvOHmNfSjKQPJOhO3cv16 #/registration

Today's featured recipe for Raising the Steaks are Thai Peanut Noodles with Green Beans and Chicken! Join us throughout the month of April for recipe and activity inspiration to celebrate local meat producers!

Our featured recipes were developed by Chef Cyndie Story especially for Utah child nutrition programs! You can find the full preparation instructions, along with more of Chef Cyndie's delicious scratch recipes and seasonal cycle menus on the Utah Ag in the Classroom website.

How are you Raising the Steaks?

Today's featured recipe for Raising the Steaks are Korean Beef Bowls. Join us throughout the month of April for recipe and activity inspiration to celebrate local meat producers!

Our featured recipes were developed by Chef Cyndie Story especially for Utah child nutrition programs! You can find the full preparation instructions, along with more of Chef Cyndie's delicious scratch recipes and seasonal cycle menus on the Utah Ag in the Classroom website.

How are you Raising the Steaks?

Today's featured recipe for Raising the Steaks is Chicken Tagine with Fresh Apricots. Join us throughout the month of April for recipe and activity inspiration to celebrate local meat producers!

Our featured recipes were developed by Chef Cyndie Story especially for Utah child nutrition programs! You can find the full preparation instructions, along with more of Chef Cyndie's delicious scratch recipes and seasonal cycle menus on the Utah Ag in the Classroom website.

How are you Raising the Steaks?

Today's featured recipe for Raising the Steaks are Beef and Mushroom Tacos! Join us throughout the month of April for recipe and activity inspiration to celebrate local meat producers!

Our featured recipes were developed by Chef Cyndie Story especially for Utah child nutrition programs! You can find the full preparation instructions, along with more of Chef Cyndie's delicious scratch recipes and seasonal cycle menus on the Utah Ag in the Classroom website.

How are you Raising the Steaks?

It's time to start planning your Raising the Steaks celebration! Get your hands on the Raising the Steaks Toolkit for ideas and inspiration for fun activities, recipes and best practices for sourcing local meat.

Visit our website to register for the event and download the toolkit: https://www.utfarmtofork.org/raising-the-steaks

Raising the Steaks begins April 1st and isn't just for steak. . . or hamburger, or chicken. It's a celebration of all the amazing meat products we raise and eat here in Utah.

Flashback to last week when our team and Movement Building Workshop participants in Logan toured Gossner Food's cheese factory. It was eye-opening to witness the meticulous planning, effort, logistics, and time required to craft cheese.

Were you aware that Foods produces 20% of the Swiss cheese consumed in our country, sourcing all of its dairy locally from Utah?

We have a few more regional workshops to finish out the year. Visit www.utfarmtofork.org to see when we will be in your region!

Raising the Steaks isn't just for steak. . . or hamburger, or chicken. It's a celebration of all the amazing meat products we raise and eat here in Utah. Every April, we extend an invitation to all those interested in supporting Utah kids and families to join us in celebrating local protein products and the individuals behind their production!

Register your group today and follow along throughout the next few weeks for ideas and inspiration how you can celebrate and support Utah's local meat producers.

Register here! https://www.utfarmtofork.org/raising-the-steaks

To celebrate National Breakfast Week, our highlighted recipe showcases a great menu item that can be sourced locally all year round: Egg and Potato Breakfast Bowl! Eggs and potatoes can be conveniently sourced locally year-round, providing a versatile foundation for countless dishes and culinary creations.

Find the recipe here:https://cdn.agclassroom.org/ut/outreach/harvest/recipes/winter/egg.pdf

Join us this week for tips and recipes on incorporating locally-sourced ingredients into your school breakfast menu!

Join us in celebrating the importance of a healthy morning meal.

To celebrate National Breakfast Week, our highlighted recipe showcases a great menu item to celebrate Apple Crunch Day in October: Apple Breakfast Crisp! Locally grown apples, abundant in Utah from September through November, are the star ingredient in this delightful morning treat.

Find the recipe here:https://cdn.agclassroom.org/ut/outreach/harvest/recipes/fall/applebreakfast.pdf

Join us this week for tips and recipes on incorporating locally-sourced ingredients into your school breakfast menu!

Join us in celebrating the importance of a healthy morning meal.

To celebrate National Breakfast Week, our highlighted recipe showcases the flexibility of adding seasonal vegetables to any meal: Vegetable Frittata! Pick and choose season vegetables throughout the season to surprise students with a unique flavor with every serving!

Find the recipe here:https://cdn.agclassroom.org/ut/outreach/harvest/recipes/spring/frittata.pdf

Join us this week for tips and recipes on incorporating locally-sourced ingredients into your school breakfast menu!

Join us in celebrating the importance of a healthy morning meal.

To celebrate National Breakfast Week, our highlighted recipe showcases the bountiful harvest of the season: Peach Sheet Pan Cake! Locally grown peaches, abundant in Utah from June to August, are the star ingredient in this delightful morning treat.

Find the recipe here:https://cdn.agclassroom.org/ut/outreach/harvest/recipes/summer/peachy-sheet.pdf

Join us this week for tips and recipes on incorporating locally-sourced ingredients into your school breakfast menu!

Join us in celebrating the importance of a healthy morning meal.

Embrace the spirit of success as we ride the wave of National School Breakfast Week from March 4-8!

National School Breakfast Week (NSBW) celebrates the importance of a nutritious school breakfast in fueling students for success. This special observance during the first week of March celebrates the national School Breakfast Program and the many ways it gives kids a great start every day.

Join us this week for tips and recipes on incorporating locally-sourced ingredients into your school breakfast menu!

Join us in celebrating the importance of a healthy morning meal.