CONYERS, GA-–Rockdale County Public Faculties (RCPS) will serve a vacation meal that includes a candy potato soufflé made with locally-sourced candy potatoes on Dec. 17. This farm-to-school initiative highlights the district’s dedication to offering contemporary, nutritious meals whereas supporting native agriculture, officers mentioned in a information launch.
Officers mentioned 2,000 kilos of native candy potatoes sourced from La Hacienda Sweets, a Latino-owned, 180-acre vegetable farm primarily based in Lyons, GA, might be used to organize the dish, which might be served to fifteen,342 college students throughout 20 RCPS colleges. The candy potatoes might be roasted complete to boost their pure sweetness, then blended with different components to create the soufflé.
The initiative is made potential partially by way of assist from the Georgia ACRE Collective’s Native Meals Incentive Pilot, a program facilitated by The Common Market Southeast and different Georgia-based organizations that intention to assist an equitable regional meals system. The pilot program has been instrumental in serving to RCPS combine extra locally-sourced components into its menus offering college students with contemporary, high-quality meals.
By sourcing regionally, RCPS not solely gives college students with brisker components but additionally helps Georgia’s agricultural economic system.
The recipe for the candy potato soufflé was first launched throughout a coaching session at RCPS’s pilot colleges, C.J. Hicks Elementary and J.H. Home Elementary. After receiving overwhelmingly constructive suggestions from faculty diet employees, Blaine Allen, RCPS College Vitamin Director, determined to serve the dish district-wide for this special day.
“We’re so proud to work with the Georgia ACRE Collective to carry native meals to our college students,” mentioned Allen. “This program not solely enhances the standard of our meals but additionally strengthens ties between our colleges and the native farming neighborhood.”
This 12 months’s vacation meal additionally will function “superstar servers,” together with principals, lecturers, neighborhood members, and native officers.
This vacation meal marks the second time this faculty 12 months that RCPS has served a locally-sourced merchandise district-wide. In October, the district celebrated Nationwide College Lunch Week with grass-fed beef burgers from Hunter Cattle of Brooklet, GA.
The district’s dedication to native meals is additional highlighted by its latest growth of the Georgia ACRE-supported pilot program to a 3rd faculty, Peek’s Chapel Elementary
The pilot program additionally serves Marietta Metropolis Faculties, and launched with its third district, Atlanta Public Faculties, this fall. In the course of the pilot’s first 12 months, 2023-2024, Marietta and RCPS reinvested $40,300 into the Georgia economic system, primarily by way of meals bought from native farms, launched 12 new recipes, and supported 24 Georgia farms and producers.
RCPS’s vacation meal is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec.17, 2024, and also will function oven-fried rooster, inexperienced beans, macaroni and cheese, and extra. See beneath for the candy potato recipe, developed specifically for Rockdale County Public Faculties by the native meals incentive pilot’s group.
About The Georgia ACRE Collective
The Georgia ACRE Collective works to advance agriculture, neighborhood, resilience, and fairness by way of values-based procurement. The Georgia-based initiative facilities on garnering buying commitments from Atlanta-area anchor establishments, whereas shifting procurement to producers that share the establishments’ values. The buying energy of those Atlanta establishments creates financial alternative for sustainably grown meals produced by Black farmers, girls farmers, and others traditionally excluded from wholesale markets. Made potential with the assist of The Rockefeller Basis, the ACRE Collective is a collaboration between The Widespread Market Southeast, The Conservation Fund’s Working Farms Fund, Georgia Organics,Well being Care With out Hurt, and the Turner Environmental Legislation Clinic at Emory College. To be taught extra about The Georgia ACRE Collective go to them on-line right here.
The candy potatoes for the districtwide vacation meal comes from La Hacienda Sweets, a Latino-owned, 180-acre vegetable farm primarily based in Lyons,GA.
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