A recent Farm to School regional workshop in Imperial County was a well-attended opportunity for school nutrition professionals to see how local produce could be utilized in creative and fun ways for healthy school meals.
“We’re showing how you can dress up vegetables, making some really commonplace vegetables the stars,” Chef Ann Foundation Chef Zach Thomas told the Imperial Valley Press in an article about the event. “[We’re] giving inspiration to school food professionals on how they can make their veggies a little bit more interesting for kids and a little more approachable.”
CDFA Farm to School Engagement Specialist Jennifer Huang coordinated the event at the Imperial Valley Food Bank, along with the Chef Ann Foundation and the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Desert Research and Extension Center. Part of Huang’s role is to help school nutrition professionals source meal ingredients from local food producers. The produce featured in the workshop was grown in Coachella Valley.
“The blueberries and the strawberries you see today, and also all the produce you see for the morning culinary workshop, are from Aziz Farms,” Huang told the Imperial Valley Press.
Another purpose of the workshop was to remind attendees that the next round of CDFA’s California Farm to School Incubator Grant Program is expected to begin accepting applications in 2026. She encouraged attendees to network and build potential partnerships that would make grant applications stronger.
Learn more at CDFA’s Farm to School Program website.
Click here to view this original CDFA Planting Seeds blog post.