A student at Prine prepares for a healthy lunch

(BRADENTON, FL - February 27, 2007) The boiled red potatoes served to students at Prine Elementary on Tuesday, February 27th, were straight out of the fields of Manatee County.

The potatoes at Prine, along with green beans grown by South Florida farmers and served the same day at 11 schools around Manatee County including Prine, are all part of the "Farm to School" program being piloted in Manatee, Sarasota and Charlotte Counties.

"The purpose of the Farm to School program is to provide our schools with fresh food by connecting the local farmer, especially the small farmer, to the local market place," said Sandra Ford, Director of Food Service for the school district.

Ford was joined at Prine by District Dietician Susan Triola; Robert Kluson of the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Services; and John Hattaway and Kevin Stanaland of Jones Potato Farm in Parrish, which grew the potatoes that ended up on the lunch plates at Prine.

Hattaway and Stanaland both said it was very gratifying to see the vegetables they helped produce being served to local students.

"Manatee County is one of the leading producers of fresh vegetables in the state of Florida, so it makes a lot more sense to feed our students with locally grown food then to serve them canned products that come from California or somewhere else," Stanaland said.

Other kinds of crops grown in Manatee and surrounding counties include tomatoes, peppers, watermelons, cucumbers, cantaloupe and squash, according to Stanaland.

Kluson said the Farm to School Program also makes economic sense.

"When you spend a dollar on food and it stays here locally, then it has a multiplying effect on the local economy," Kluson said.

Prine Cafeteria Manager Jan Baither, whose crew cooked and served the fresh potatoes and green beans, said she loves having access to locally grown vegetables.

"I think it's fantastic," Baither said. "It helps our local farmers and it helps us serve healthy fresh vegetables to our children."

Milene Smith helps to prepare the home-grown potatoes