2008 Woodie Awards
Grace Olson - Staff Writer
Local farmers produce fresh fruit for schools
Issue date: 4/9/04 Section: News
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When Ray Hetnar was approached by a member of the Office of Sustainability Programs about his family's orchard supplying apples for an initiative involving local schools, he said he was open to anything.
It turns out Hetnar made a wise business decision.
The program, called Farm to School, took off like wildfire throughout the state of New Hampshire, exceeding the expectations of all involved.
Last July, the UNH Office of Sustainability Programs (OSP), in partnership with the N.H. Coalition for Sustaining Agriculture, received a three-year, $76,000 Sustainable Agriculture Research Education Grant from the United States Department of Agriculture.
The result was New Hampshire's introduction to the Farm to School Program, whose goal is to support the local economy through an increase in access to local markets for local farmers and build a closer connection to the agricultural community by encouraging students to "Eat Local" through classroom and cafeteria education, according to Julie Newman, the education director for the OSP.
"That way students begin to enjoy their food while connecting with local farms," she said. "And the farmers get to expand their market."
Seventy-two schools participated during the 2003-04 school year, in 23 school districts, purchasing 785 cases of apples and 1,331 cases of cider (24 pints/case).
"The response was fantastic," said Mark Saunders, the program's distributor. Saunders, a 3rd-generation farmer himself, serves as a liaison between the schools and the farms, bringing the apples and cider to the cafeterias.
This year, all those products came from one orchard, owned by Ray and Sandy Hetnar, in Epping.
Ray Hetnar, a 2nd-generation farmer, is very happy with the outcome: His orchard saw 10 to 12 cases per week of his Rudy's Blend cider distributed to cafeterias from the Seacoast to the Lakes Region and even as far as Dartmouth College.
This is a welcome boost, as over the years farm acreage has been dwindling and more and more of America's produce has been shipped overseas as cash crops, according to Hetnar.
It turns out Hetnar made a wise business decision.
The program, called Farm to School, took off like wildfire throughout the state of New Hampshire, exceeding the expectations of all involved.
Last July, the UNH Office of Sustainability Programs (OSP), in partnership with the N.H. Coalition for Sustaining Agriculture, received a three-year, $76,000 Sustainable Agriculture Research Education Grant from the United States Department of Agriculture.
The result was New Hampshire's introduction to the Farm to School Program, whose goal is to support the local economy through an increase in access to local markets for local farmers and build a closer connection to the agricultural community by encouraging students to "Eat Local" through classroom and cafeteria education, according to Julie Newman, the education director for the OSP.
"That way students begin to enjoy their food while connecting with local farms," she said. "And the farmers get to expand their market."
Seventy-two schools participated during the 2003-04 school year, in 23 school districts, purchasing 785 cases of apples and 1,331 cases of cider (24 pints/case).
"The response was fantastic," said Mark Saunders, the program's distributor. Saunders, a 3rd-generation farmer himself, serves as a liaison between the schools and the farms, bringing the apples and cider to the cafeterias.
This year, all those products came from one orchard, owned by Ray and Sandy Hetnar, in Epping.
Ray Hetnar, a 2nd-generation farmer, is very happy with the outcome: His orchard saw 10 to 12 cases per week of his Rudy's Blend cider distributed to cafeterias from the Seacoast to the Lakes Region and even as far as Dartmouth College.
This is a welcome boost, as over the years farm acreage has been dwindling and more and more of America's produce has been shipped overseas as cash crops, according to Hetnar.
