Bloomington Farm to School Events

This month we have been fortunate enough to be able to be a part of two farm to school events in Bloomington. With such close proximity to our farm, we can be visible with the students and interact with them to share our farm story.

Recently, Monroe County Community School Corporation Food Service Director Matthew Tomrell and Corporation Registered Dietician Westley Penland met with the Fischer Farms Team to talk about ways to integrate local meats into their lunchrooms. By starting with Smashburgers, they created themed events we have been a part of called: Fischer Farms Fridays!

The first 2 Friday events have been a success as we served lunch and interacted with students at both Bloomington High School North and South. Joseph was able to serve lunch both days while Heather our Marketing Director spoke with students about their lunch selections as they finished up and exited the lunchroom each period.

We received quite a bit of feedback from students to staff that ranged from:

"Best burger I have had here"

"It tasted like ground up steak"

and this one which we heard more than once-

"It didn't taste like it came in frozen".

Feeding children of all ages is a great responsibility and for many students- lunch is the best meal they eat all day. We all have a responsibility to provide them with the best possible foods and educational experiences. Watching so many (over 3,000 students in 2 days) students eat lunch and eat OUR burgers was a humbling experience and one we did not take lightly. We appreciated the opportunity to get their feedback.

We would like to thank the Administration of MCCSC from the Superintendent to the lunchroom staff. We appreciated the welcome and the continued support of our family farm!

For more information on Indiana's farm to school initiatives visit Indiana Grown for Schools.