SAN DIEGO — A new progress report on farm-to-school food programs, released December 19, indicates that more than one-third of children in San Diego are overweight or obese. For many children, eating a lot of processed foods means they eat fewer whole foods, which can affect learning.
The report is a joint effort of San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative and San Diego County Farm to School Taskforce, of which the San Diego Unified School District is a member.
“San Diego Unified has been a pioneer in farm-to-school,” says Kathryn Spencer, who works in food services. She and a colleague procure local foods, provide nutrition education, and fight old ideas about school meals being “gross and unhealthy” by promoting items like a ranch-dressing alternative a local company tailored to their needs. The districts serve breakfast, lunch, and, increasingly, supper.
“We feature a different item from a local farm each month, so any given school year we work with 10 to 12 farms,” says Spencer.
Yet, the four-year-old program still faces “major obstacles,” including the ability to source local foods, the report finds. That’s not uncommon around the country, but San Diego has year-round growing conditions and more small farms less than ten acres than anywhere in the U.S., according to the Farm Bureau.
In fact, San Diego growers produce more than $560 million per year of fruits and vegetables suitable for the school market, the report says. These include three of the top five produce items schools buy (apples, lettuce, oranges, tomatoes, bananas). The “vast majority” of it leaves the county. Every day, schools serve over 300,000 meals — much of the food trucked or flown in from afar; meanwhile, San Diego-grown fruits and vegetables hit the road — and skies.
“Local produce is exported to a number of different markets,” says JuliAnna Arnett, the director of operations and food systems for the San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative and the task force facilitator. San Diego foods get shipped to local packing houses and to the L.A. Terminal market, she says. They may then be distributed to international or domestic markets. “Since San Diego is a large producer of high-end organics, much of this also leaves the county.”
The report, the 2014 State of Farm to School in San Diego County, discusses the area’s great potential, enthusiasm for local foods, and the progress schools made.