Skyler and Dylon comment on the greens they tried.

Lalita tells the 5th/6th graders about arugula and how  easy it is to grow!

    Hello, W.E.S. families, I want to introduce myself as the F.T.S. Coordinator.  W.E.S. is fortunate to have been one of three area schools to have received a grant for obesity prevention that is administered by Ottauquechee Community Partnerships (O.C.P.) to fund this program.  Some of the activities that the F.T.S. team has developed include integrating local food into the lunch menu.  On Wednesday, November 4th, we had a local salad taste test from the True For Now Farm, located just three miles from school.  Students sampled greens that are still growing in VT. frost and all!  The selection included; arugula, chinese cabbage, bibb lettuce, sorrel and kale.  We offered a taste of sorrel and potato soup. (Recipe below)  Students were surveyed on the taste of the greens and asked if they would eat it regularly as part of a school lunch.  We also set up a living salad bar wit potted greens as a reminder that we can all grow our own food, even if it is on windowsills.
    On Tuesday, November 17 our cafeteria staff will be preparing a traditional Thanksgiving meal with local food and the sixth graders from Pomfret and Barnard will be joining our sixth graders for this delicious meal. One of our objectives of the F.T.S. program is to increase the school lunch program participation by 15%.  We are connecting local growers with our cafeteria staff to provide mineral rich, heritage foods from the area in a year round supply.  We are also planning our school garden to provide the cafeteria with student favorites.  We hope that you will consider the W.E.S. lunch program as a way to buy local.
    Volunteers who would like to assist in taste tests, chaperone field trips to local farms, or help in classrooms to prepare a fresh, local food snack may contact me at: Lalita Karoli 457-2508. You may visit my farm to talk F.T.S. at 6506 Densmore Hill Rd. Woodstock. We raise, goats, poultry, pigs, rabbit, organic vegetables, herbs, maple syrup and have created a hillside root cellar for winter storage.
     If you have garden surplus, please consider contacting me to offer a taste test at school.  We are also seeking donations of potted herbs for a very local selection, grown within W.E.S. for the children to garnish their school lunches i.e. pizza and pasta days.  These herbs may include: oregano, thyme, basil, parsley, rosemary and sage.

Sorrel Soup (students taste tested this on November 4th)
Sorrel is a lemony wild green that can be grown as a broad leaf cultivar.  It grows well in VT producing multiple cuttings without replanting.  Order seeds from Fedco of Maine.
 
Ingredients
½ pound sorrel
2 tbsp. Butter
6 cups water
½ pound potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 tsp. salt
1cup milk

Clean and shred sorrel, then chop.  In a large heavy pan, heat butter.  Add sorrel and cook, stirring, for ten minutes.  Add the water, potatoes and salt.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer 30 minutes.  Puree the vegetables, stir in milk.  Cook until hot.  Salt.