Hutchinson Public Schools and Young Family Childcare in Hutchinson received top honors this year, taking home Cream of the Crop in the school district and family daycare category. However, local schools were also recognized.

New Ulm Area Catholic Schools (NUACS) was awarded the Silver Squash for their work in promoting locally grown foods at the school.

NUACS Food Service Director Nate Struffert said this year, school made a concerted effort including locally sourced foods in the cafeteria as well as the classroom.

“Everything worked out very well this year,” Struffert said. “We have been part of the farm to school grant program for years, but it was kind of on the quiet end. This year, we decided to step things up.”

NUACS Food Service Director Nate Struffert teaches a class in the cafeteria on meats. Submitted photo

At the start of this school year, Struffert and his team met to figure out how to expand this beyond food service and into the classroom.

Struffert said several NUACS teachers were receptive to bringing food and farm education into the classroom. The STEM teachers were all on board. Struffert even taught some food classes to the high school and middle school classes throughout the year.

Each month, the school would have programming dedicated to a type of food. In September, they started with melons; in October was apples. By January, they moved on to meats and in March, micro greens.

Struffert said that with apple month, they were able to do comparisons on the different varieties and compare them with apples produced in other states.

“The fifth- and sixth-graders were really engaged in these projects,” he said.

NUACS Food Service Director Nate Struffert demonstrates the safe way to cut vegetables to Cathedral High School students. Submitted photo

Struffert said the program was a great way to promote healthy food and local farms in the school.

“We’re surrounded by farm country here in New Ulm, but many students still don’t understand where their food comes from,” Struffert said.

He found that in teaching in the classroom, there were some high school students who were unfamiliar with how food arrived at the grocery store. In the classroom, he was able to show the kids the basics of where the different meats come from and how they are prepared.

Struffert said one of his favorite moments for this last year was bringing watermelons and cantaloupes to the school from Platz Family Produce.

“It was some of the best watermelon and cantaloupe,” Strufffert said. “The students were able to hold a watermelon seed contest later.”

Later in the year, the STEM classes experimented with growing bean seeds.

Struffert said he was impressed with how the students ran with the project. He was also grateful that many local farms supported NUACS throughout the year, providing different food products.

Struffert said during food services, he would place labels on the food to let students know which specific farm they were getting food from.

Struffert said he was proud the school received the Silver Squash award from MDA. He also congratulated the other schools for their work. In applying for the award, he saw what many of the schools in the state were doing to promote local foods and was impressed with many of their programs.

MDA Commissioner Thom Petersen congratulated all the schools for their work in promoting Minnesota Ag.

“These schools and childcare providers should be proud of the work they’re doing. Not only are they serving great food, but they’re helping kids understand where it comes from, building stronger connections to Minnesota agriculture every day,” he said. “We’re seeing firsthand how farm to school is creating new opportunities for Minnesota farmers, from produce to locally raised proteins like beef and turkey. That’s a win for our farmers, our kids and our communities.”