Farm-to-table program reinvents school lunch

Students in Deer Lakes SD have enjoyed a farm-to-table lunch program called “Comfort Food Thursdays” this semester. The district offered freshly prepared beef selections from local Mish Farms Meat Market twice a month at lunch. In a Pittsburgh Tribune Review article, Joe Beaman, the district’s food services director, says increasing numbers of students purchased lunches on Comfort Food Thursdays throughout the year. The program is designed to not only provide access to healthy, high quality food, but to teach students where their food comes from and how to make better food choices. The bimonthly program is just part of the focus on student health. A Deer Lakes School Wellness Committee was recently created to encourage the overall health of the whole school.