Farmer in the School and Farm to School programs

Truro Central School's Farmer in the School and Farm to School programs reinforce the important themes of community, environmental health & sustainability, while also teaching about agriculture, health & wellness, science, art, literature, nature and stewardship. They began with an effort to source fresh, local food for our students and bring the TCS cafeteria into the local food network. Growers share their beautiful food with the school, and in turn, the school supports local growers. This is the essence of our Farm to School Program. Students enjoy chicken from Hillside Poultry in Truro, fish and shellfish from our local waters, and fruits and veggies from Cape Cod and New England farms and orchards. Please see below for a list of our Farm to School connections.
 
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We give thanks to our farming community!
wTo reinforce awareness of where our food comes from, students annually visit our local farms, pick cranberries in our local bogs, and visit shellfish grants. Sometimes we board lobster boats, harvest honey and gather fresh eggs. This was so much fun we decided to try farming ourselves, and we found we wanted to grow, grow, grow! Thus, our Farmer in the School program was born. We have teemed up with Sustainable CAPE and, thanks to their funding and support, Fridays are Farmer Fridays now.  Stephanie Rein, our farmer, helps us grow and harvest carrots, lettuce, kale, potatoes, zucchini, radishes, fresh herbs and more that we bring to our cafeteria. See below for more information about what we are planting, harvesting and eating! Also please check out  this website/blog by our amazing volunteer, Jill Mays:
​www.themotorstory.org/category/gardening/     
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Harvesting pea tendrils
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The cabbage seeds planted in the Spring were ready to harvest when students returned to school in September!
                                            A Rainbow of food grown this summer and fall of 2015!!!!

Farmer in the School

Gleaning Program

Thank you to Nestwood Farm and all others who have allowed us to glean fruit and veggies from their Truro orchards, farms and gardens
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Truro Apples!
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Planting potatoes
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10/17/14 kale destined for soup
To learn about our Pig Roast/Clam Bake fundraiser click here
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Farm to School is a community endeavor. Following is a list of farmers and community members whose harvest we have served in our cafeteria. If you would like to sell your harvest to TCS please contact Helen Grimm at 508 487 1558 x 205 or grimmh@truromass.org

Cape Cod Organics                                           Hillside Farms
Dave's Greens                                                   Hillside Poultry
Dave's Smokehouse                                          E & T Farms
Brian Davis                                                       Longnook Meadow Farm
Brad Kaplan                                                     Mac's Seafood
Stacey Klimkosky                                            Out there Organics
Gorn/Thrasher Family                                        Wild Truro
Truro Children's Garden                                     Nestwood Farm
Checkerberry Farm

Thanks to Sustainable CAPE for their generous funding and assistance in the development of our Farmer in the School Program
    Thanks also to the Cape Cod Five Foundation, Seamen's Bank Long Point Charitable Foundation, and the Whole Kid's Foundation for their funding. Thanks to Blackfish Restaurant and the Truro Vineyards for their support, and all who participated in the 2014 Spring fundraiser dinner and silent auction.  Lastly, thanks to John Burns, Megan O'Leary, Lynne Ready, Abby Roderick, Laura Gazzano, Jeanne Michalowski, Deb Raymond, Jill Mays, Danny Silva, Jackson Dutra, Dave DeWitt and AmeriCorp Cape Cod for their time and efforts to build our beautiful gardens, without whom these programs would not be possible.