Ohio Success Stories

The Ohio State University dining services has set a goal of serving 40% local or sustainably grown foods by 2025. This is an admirable goal, when you consider they have 17,000 students on their meal plan. Their definition of local foods is providing items grown within the state, according to Lesa Holford, associate director of residence and dining food service. Due to volume of business, much of our produce arrives processed, however, with local produce, most of it comes to us whole and we have to process and sort. Kale may come in washed and chopped from our produce distributor, but will need cleaned and cut from our local partners. This takes time and planning, and we’ve become much better […]

During 2015, Springfield City School District Springfield received an USDA Farm to School planning grant for more than $44,000. Springfield City Schools (SCSD) is an urban district with 8,000 students, the Springfield Grows, Farm to School Initiative contributed to a more economically stable, academically strong, physically healthier, and food secure community. They had two overarching goals; to support the academic, social and career success of youth through project-based learning through agriculture, and to develop an integrated local food system that links local producers with the various SCSD food programs. The planning grant accelerated the success of the initiative by providing the initial support to retain a part-time project coordinator to ensure the development of a stakeholder team and a strategic […]

Bauman Orchards of Rittman, OH began selling their fruit to schools, more than 25 years ago. “We started in our hometown of Rittman and branched out to Wadsworth schools,” said Jason Myers manager of business and growth development. Primarily they sell schools their apples and peaches, although they grow other produce. “Providing our apples to schools has been a wonderful addition to our operation. This has enabled us to grow our business. We are fortunate to have four generations of growers and an amazing team pulling together to deliver the best fruit to our customers. In the past, our operation has focused on growing larger apples. However, we have adjusted our production procedures to ensure that there is an adequate […]

When Columbus City Schools food service director Joe Brown and his team selected the first meal to serve for Ohio Days they wanted to start out with something really popular such as a turkey dinner. After some researching they then selected Bowman and Landes turkey raised near New Carlisle. Bowman & Landes Turkeys, Inc. raise their own turkey from day one to harvest and process them on the farm. Turkeys have been raised by the Bowman & Landes family farm since 1948 through a partnership that began with Dennis Landes and Kenneth Bowman. Their original mission to produce the highest quality free range turkeys using home grown grains has not changed and continues to drive their organization. They are committed to quality […]

Local Matters is a non-profit organization founded in 2008 that teaches children and families what healthy food is, where it comes from, how to grow it, and how to access it affordably. Although, they are located in Columbus they have already grown to reach additional satellite partners with their Cooking Matters program in Toledo; Delaware, OH; Newport, KY; and Cincinnati. The proprietary nature of their curriculum allows them to train satellite partners and expand their reach. Their mission is to create healthy communities through food education, access and advocacy. They do this by teaching children and adults about healthful food. Local Matters has delivered lessons to more than 80 sites across Columbus, reaching more than 11,000 individuals annually. Most of […]

By Amy Fovargue -Students at Columbus Jewish Day School (CJDS) are learning to grow food and seeing how it relates to their faith by sharing the produce with homeless teens and elders living in poverty. The school located in New Albany covers K-6 grades and has 69 students enrolled. In 2016 with help from a local organic farm, the students shared 1,400 pounds of produce with people in a nearby senior apartment building. “We eat a little, but we share a lot,” said Dr. Gina Freeman, the Dean of Students at the school. “We want the children to learn about the environment to complement Judaic curriculum,” Freeman said. The curriculum reflects on the origins of food and the connection with […]

Veggie U Success Story By Amy Fovargue “Our students are eating better, making better choices for snacks, and getting up on their feet to live healthier lifestyles, that will in turn help them grow into adults who live life to its fullest.” This is a testimony from a special needs teacher using Veggie U curriculum. “I have always been interested in helping my students make better choices about food and daily exercise and this was the greatest gift, to have a program that was designed to do just that. To top it off, Veggie U A+ was already aligned with the Ohio Academic Content standards-extended version (which are used for students with learning disabilities),” said Kristin Dickerhoff a teacher at […]