OAKLAND — Dogwood Hill School received the state’s only Best in New Jersey Farm to School Award during lunchtime ceremonies Friday.
The New Jersey Department of Agriculture presents the award each year to the school or district with “outstanding achievements in the incorporation of farm-to-school principles into their school meal and snack programs.”
After getting funding from a Parent-Teacher Organization donation five years ago, librarian Kelly Bosgra and her students have grown leafy greens in a tower garden. The crops are shared on a regular basis with the school’s Pomptonian Food Service, which serves them for lunch, supplemented with produce from area farmers. Special tasting events such as “Build Your Own Salad Day,” “Strawberry Yogurt Parfait Celebration” and “Eat the Colors of the Rainbow” encourage student sampling.
“The parents have to sign permission slips for kids to participate, and a fair number come back with notes saying ‘my kid will never eat this,’ but they do,” Bosgra said Friday.