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Farm Fresh Wednesday’s started in October of 2005 as a 10 week pilot program in the Fresno Unified School District with the goal of introducing elementary school students in Fresno County to locally-grown fruits and vegetables and encourage increased consumption of such items. The program included nutrition and agriculture-based learning. Each participating teacher would give a lesson on a featured produce item in class, conduct taste tests and provide information on growing the featured item. The featured produce would then be purchased from locals growers and served each Wednesday in the cafeteria. Sampled produce items included items such as grapes, kiwifruit, carrots, and sweet potato.
This program was a culminating result of a series of workshops attended by school districts’ food service staff, teachers, parents, farmers, and health advocates. The Central Valley Regional Farm to School Workshop, which took place in Fresno was coordinated by Fresno Metro Ministry with the help of the Community Alliance with Family Farmers, the Center for Food & Justice, the Fresno County University of California Cooperative Extension, and the Network for a Healthy California. The workshops addressed issues, such as how to get more fresh produce from local farms into schools, and how to teach healthy eating habits and staying active among elementary school students. Farm Fresh Wednesday’s involved over 400 students in taste tests, farmer visits, gardening and nutrition education.
In February, 2006 Fresno Unified passed a wellness policy that includes language for preferential purchasing of locally grown fruits and vegetables and hosting fruit and vegetable taste tests at schools.
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