Seedless watermelon, grown in Hemet, is June's 'Harvest of the Month'

Every month San Diego Unified¹s Farm to School team is creating Harvest of the Month videos to connect students to their food and the local farmers that grow it. This month (June) we will be serving Red Seedless Watermelon at school salad bars every Wednesday. The video highlights the watermelon farm in Hemet, CA, the history of watermelon, and the nutritional value of watermelon. Watch video»

What's a Nagami Kumquat? It's the April "Harvest of the Month"

Grown in Rainbow, in northern San Diego County, Nagami Kumquats are a delicious fruit is a Wednesday special on salad bars throughout the San Diego Unified School District. Watch video»

March 'Harvest of the Month' in cafeterias: Easter Egg Radishes from Suzie's Farm

Helping mark National Nutrition Month, Easter Egg radishes are the featured Harvest of the Month vegetable on San Diego Unified School District salad bars during March. Watch video»

Just like Easter Eggs, these delightful little munchies come in a variety of colors and are a fun addition to kids' lunch.

The organic rainbow-colored radishes are coming from Suzie’s Farm, located in the Tijuana River Valley just north of the International Border, where Robin Taylor and Lucila de Alejandro’s California Certified Organic farm has been producing organic fruits, vegetables and edible flowers since 2004.

The Greek name for the radish is Raphanus sativus which means “quickly appearing,” a perfect name for a plant that can go from seed to sprouts in just three days and be fully ready to eat in three to four weeks.

There are many varieties of radishes with ranges in color, size and in flavor from mild-tasting to hot. The flavor is also intensified if the vegetable is left in the ground too long. Radishes provide a good amount of potassium, vitamin C, folate and fiber and are usually eaten raw to add crunch and flavor to salads and many dishes.

Enjoy these colorful radishes on your Kid’s Choice Café and SanDi Coast Café salad bars on Wednesdays in March.

 

National Nutrition Month is a nutrition education and information campaign sponsored annually by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The campaign is designed to focus attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits.

September Harvest of the Month: Plums and pluots on salad bars

The Harvest of the Month in San Diego Unified cafeterias this month are plums and pluots from Kingsburg Orchards in the town of Kingsburg, in California's Central Valley.

The Harvest of the Month program a different California-grown and/ or organic fruit or vegetable each month in our Kid’s Choice Café salad bars. Fruits and vegetables chosen are grown in San Diego County, Southern California or California by family farms.

"We have the best kids and the best farms in the world," said Gary Petill, Food Services Director. "We want California food for our California kids."

Part of a larger program called Farm to School, San Diego Unified's program connects K-12 students with local family farms so that they may eat fresh local foods in school and gain a greater appreciation for local agriculture, especially what it takes to grow healthy fresh foods. The grower this month, Kingsburg Orchard, is a farming dynasty with more than 10 family members managing the farm today and more than five generations of farming experience. The orchards are located in the San Joaquin Valley, and they qualify as one of Farm to School’s California farms.

Pluots are a sweet and juicy hybrid of plums and apricots and a great source of Vitamins C and A and fiber, that students can enjoy with plums on the salad bar on Wednesdays in September. To learn more about our programs, please visit the Food Services website.

Harvest of the Month are Pixie Tangerines from Ojai

Ojai Pixie Tangerines are the June Harvest of the Month from the Food Services Department and will be enjoyed by students at the more than 30 schools that are on year-round schedules.

"The Pixie Tangerine comes only from this small valley high above on the lower central coast," said Vanessa Zajfen, Farm To School Specialist. "Pixie tangerines are pale orange colored, moderately juicy and always seedless."

Each month, cafeterias serve a Harvest of the Month that brings a fresh vegetable or fruit from a nearby field to our students. The Farm to School program connects schools and local farms with the objectives of serving healthy meals in school cafeterias, improving student nutrition, providing agriculture, health and nutrition education opportunities and supporting local and regional farmers.

For the Pixie Tangerine, students will learn that it was developed right here in Southern California, Howard B. Frost at the University of California Citrus Research Center at Riverside, in 1927. They grow only in the Ojai Valley, north of Santa Barbara.

A collective of 40 small family farmers works together to meet the high demand for their tangerines. Some of the orchards are small with just a few dozen trees, while others have several thousand. Each orchard is harvested individually when the fruit is at its peak.

"We think this will be very popular with all our students," said Zajfen. "Even our kindergarteners with their little fingers can enjoy this Pixie."

For more information, go to the Food Services website at www.sandi.net/food and click on "Farm to School." The Pixie has its own website at http://www.pixietangerine.com/