Gas prices are hitting all time highs and food prices are soaring, and that has led Suncoast schools in Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties to look closer to home for fresh fruits and vegetables.
ABC7's Linda Carson shows us how the farm to school program saves money, benefits the environment by cutting down on all those long distance trips, and provides fresher and many say better tasting food for our kids.
Every school day 7400 students in Charlotte, Manatee and Sarasota counties line up in school cafeteria for lunch.
"They're good, I like it, I like spaghetti, vegetables, I like corn, and carrots," says 5th grader Harlan Dennis.
Much of the food is trucked from as far as 1500 miles away. Meanwhile, just east of I-75, the same products are grown on local farms.
"We grow potatoes, green beans, citrus and cattle," says Alan Jones of Jones Potato Farm. These rows of potatoes were planted a week ago. In a few weeks the little sprouts will pout up thru the ground, and they're ready to harvest. The day they come out of the ground they can be on a school lunch tray in a Sarasota school."
Now, Sarasota County Extension Service is working to bring these two groups together and use produce from the local farmer for the school lunch.
"By us taking this step and eliminating the miles that it would travel with our locally grown products we can get fresher products," says Local Food Systems Coordinator John Matthews.
Sarasota County' director of food and nutritional services, Beverly Girard, says it's also better tasting. "You might actually find that locally grown produce is a little tastier because it can be harvested closer to the time its ripe. If you have to bring tomatoes or citrus from another state they may have to be harvested a few day before they're completely ready."
Everybody agrees that it's important to make sure the school lunch is as tasty and nutritious as possible, and with the high cost of gas bringing food from right down the road instead from across country makes financial sense.
"There has been a big increase in fuel prices and if we can buy local and use local products we would be absolutely thrilled," says Girard.
The farm to school program can also be used as an education tool.
"What we hope kids will learn, # 1 bananas and oranges don't come from the store. It takes people, and we can take care of our environment. That's a very strong message," says Girard.
Local farmers say they would love to show off their fields to students. "We could have field trips to get kids interested in agriculture and come out here and see what's going on."
What do the kids think?
"That would actually be very good."
"That'd be cool, that would good, it'd be healthy."
