- Hartselle City Schools
- Child Nutrition Program
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FARM TO SCHOOL - RIGHT HERE IN HARTSELLE, AL
Schools strive each and every day to provide healthy meals for our students, but it seems to get more difficult every year. With the ever-increasing demands for meeting nutritional specifications, it is difficult to continue purchasing processed foods that meet those specifications but also appeal to our students. In partnership with the Department of Agriculture, we are trying a different approach!
FARM TO SCHOOL
From farms all over the Southeast United States to Morgan County Farmers and even our own AgriScience Department at Hartselle High School, our students are eating and gaining nutrients from regionally grown produce.
We are a part of a Growing Movement!
What local products do Hartselle students have the opportunity to eat or try for the first time?
- Strawberries from Reeve Peach Farm (Hartselle, AL)
- Apples from Scott's Apple Orchard (Hazel Green, AL)
- Sweet Potatoes from Haynes Farm (Cullman, AL)
- Peaches - Sessions Farms (Mobile, Al)
- Satsuma Peaches from Sessions Farms (Mobile, AL)
- Greens from HHS AgriScience Dept
- Carrots from HHS AgriScience Dept
- Watermelons from Georgia
- Grape Tomatoes from Alabama
Eating locally grown foods has many benefits for the consumer, grower and the community.
- Locally grown food is full of flavor. When grown locally, the crops are picked at their peak of ripeness versus being harvested early in order to be shipped and distributed to your local retail store. Many times produce at local markets has been picked within 24 hours of your purchase.
- Eating local food is eating seasonally. Even though we wish strawberries were grown year round in Michigan, the best time to eat them is when they can be purchased directly from a local grower. They are full of flavor and taste better than the ones available in the winter that have traveled thousands of miles and picked before they were ripe.
- Local food has more nutrients. Local food has a shorter time between harvest and your table, and it is less likely that the nutrient value has decreased. Food imported from far-away states and countries is often older, has traveled and sits in distribution centers before it gets to your store.
- Local food supports the local economy. The money that is spent with local farmers and growers all stays close to home and is reinvested with businesses and services in your community.
- Local food benefits the environment. By purchasing locally grown foods you help maintain farmland and green and/or open space in your community.
- Local foods promote a safer food supply. The more steps there are between you and your food’s source the more chances there are for contamination. Food grown in distant locations has the potential for food safety issues at harvesting, washing, shipping and distribution.
- Local growers can tell you how the food was grown. You can ask what practices they use to raise and harvest the crops. When you know where your food comes from and who grew it, you know a lot more about that food.
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Child Nutrition Program
Our goal at Hartselle City Schools is to offer all students a healthy, nutritious meal while at school. All employees are trained to deliver high-quality customer service where everyone is welcomed, valued, and appreciated. We will go the extra mile to serve you with a smile.
We believe that the Hartselle City Schools Child Nutrition Services should be based on the educational and nutritional needs of students. The services should be cooperatively planned and implemented. The primary objective is to make available to every student in the school system an attractive, well-prepared, nutritionally adequate meal each day at an affordable price.
USDA NON-DISCRIMINATION STATEMENT
In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity. Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ad-3027.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged
discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:
1. mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or
2. fax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
3. email: Program.Intake@usda.gov
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.Espanol -
De acuerdo con la ley federal de derechos civiles y las normas y políticas de derechos civiles del Departamento de Agricultura de los Estados Unidos (USDA), esta entidad está prohibida de discriminar por motivos de raza, color, origen nacional, sexo (incluyendo identidad de género y orientación sexual), discapacidad, edad, o represalia o retorsión por actividades previas de derechos civiles. La información sobre el programa puede estar disponible en otros idiomas que no sean el inglés. Las personas con discapacidades que requieren medios alternos de comunicación para obtener la información del programa (por ejemplo, Braille, letra grande, cinta de audio, lenguaje de señas americano (ASL), etc.) deben comunicarse con la agencia local o estatal responsable de administrar el programa o con el Centro TARGET del USDA al (202) 720-2600 (voz y TTY) o comuníquese con el USDA a través del Servicio Federal de Retransmisión al (800) 877-8339. Para presentar una queja por discriminación en el programa, el reclamante debe llenar un formulario AD-3027, formulario de queja por discriminación en el programa del USDA, el cual puede obtenerse en línea en: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ad-3027s.pdf, de cualquier oficina de USDA, llamando al (866) 632-9992, o escribiendo una carta dirigida a USDA. La carta debe contener el nombre del demandante, la dirección, el número de teléfono y una descripción escrita de la acción discriminatoria alegada con suficiente detalle para informar al Subsecretario de Derechos Civiles (ASCR) sobre la naturaleza y fecha de una presunta
violación de derechos civiles.El formulario AD-3027 completado o la carta debe presentarse a USDA por:
(1) correo: U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; o
(2) fax: (833) 256-1665 o (202) 690-7442; o
(3) correo electrónico: program.intake@usda.gov
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Contact
Julie Bone
Child Nutrition Coordinator
julie.bone@hartselletigers.org
256-773-5419Suzanne Sharp
Child Nutrition Clerk
suzanne.sharp@hartselletigers.org
256-773-5419