School districts in St. Lawrence County in New York are looking to fill a new food processor position that would help bring more local food into school cafeterias, Watertown Daily reports.
The idea for the position came from members of the Cornell Cooperative Extension St. Lawrence County and the St. Lawrence-Lewis Board of Cooperative Extension Services who realized that while schools may have the necessary funds to purchase food from local farmers, they often don’t have the staff or equipment to process large volumes of it.
A two-year grant from the state Department of Agriculture & Markets will be used to fund the position, which would act as a liaison between local farms and the schools. The person in the role would be responsible for purchasing raw food from local farms and then processing (weighing, slicing, packaging) it inside the extension’s kitchen before it would be sent to school cafeterias.
The grant will offer $15,964 a year to cover salary expenses. The person in the role will be able to choose their hours and whether they would like to split their salary with others to help them.
Read the full story via watertowndailytimes.com.