SCSD#2 Farm to School

At the Monday, March 3 SCSD#2 board meeting, Leslie Haberkern, SCSD#2 food services director, gave a report to the board about the Farm to School and the Ranch to School program.

She added they have had multiple visits from Wyoming Department of Education, and the State Nutrition Director has come up to see what SCSD#2 is doing. She said that the Farm to School Coordinator from Cheyenne came to Sheridan as well, and she said SCSD#2 is a really good example about what other districts in state can accomplish.

“I can’t wait to see what more comes out of the greenhouse. We are hoping to continue the greens and lettuce,” Harbekern said.

This year, the varieties have included romaine, butter, spinach, swiss chard, and oakleaf. The kitchen has also received jicama, grape tomatoes, and potatoes.  “We have requested bell peppers, carrots, cucumbers, onions, steak potatoes and green beans,” she added.

These are used in the school salad bars and in the premade salads at the secondary schools. 

Having this local product grown on district grounds and brought directly to the kitchens allows the staff to serve superior quality produce, above anything they have previously received through commercial vendors. 

The collaboration and partnerships that have been created have allowed district students from the elementary through secondary levels opportunities to visit the greenhouse on field trips. Visits have included both education on growing practices and hands-on planting of new seeds. As always, in-person education like this allows the students to better understand plant life cycles and appreciate where their food comes from. 

SCSD #2 continues to operate the Ranch to School Program by accepting donations or discounted purchases of beef from local ranchers.

A total of nine beeves have been either donated or sold at a reduced rate so far this year. The meat processed by Western Heritage Meat Company yielded 6,890.50 pounds of ground beef. Brian McGuire of Western Heritage Meat Company has been a key promoter of this program over the past two years and is essential to its success. 

To date, SCSD2 has received 60 beeves totaling 44,232 pounds of ground beef, since the inception of this program in August 2021, thus saving the district approximately $167,196.96.

To help support this great program, SCSD2 has been awarded $15,000 in grant funds through the School Protein Enhancement Project and the Wyoming Department of Education for SY 2024-2025. These funds are used to help cover the processing costs of beef for this program. This is the third year SCSD2 has received this grant award.

Rancher Cori Enders contributed to the program last year by educating students in the after school program. She furthered that involvement this year by educating SCSD2 students about ranching, agriculture, and the ranch to school process during elementary health classes. This allowed students to gain an understanding of where their ground beef comes from.

Trustee Doug Moore added that this is a great example of community partnerships, not only providing food but and also the educational opportunities. Moore and Trustee Ed Fessler wanted to pass on how thankful they are for these partnerships.