Union Community School District students enjoy a lunch tray containing a variety of local foods on Wednesday, Sept. 25, during Iowa Local Food Day. PHOTO COURTESY OF CARA GLENN

LA PORTE CITY – Union Community School District celebrated Iowa Local Food Day last week on Wednesday, Sept. 25, over the lunch hour. For the celebration’s main course, the district served sloppy joes made with local beef from Ackley, Iowa; Snopac corn; kiwi berries from Deb’s Berry Farm in Newhall, Iowa; fresh vegetables from the district’s own middle school garden; and apples from the Union Community FFA and Ag Science classes.

“[W]e were able to grow our very own apples, cucumbers, cantaloupe, peppers, and cherry tomatoes for Local Food Day [this year] as well as for daily use on our salad bar in all four buildings,” Union Food Service Director Cara Glenn told the newspaper in an email. “I am happy to say that this was a group effort [between] Ag Science, FFA, and Nutrition staff.”

While the district has been celebrating Local Food Day annually for several years now, Glenn said incorporating local food into the district’s menus every week, all year long has become vitally important.

“Local food is very important to Union and I try to incorporate as much as I can on our menus throughout the year. We did receive another round of the Local Food for Schools grant this year which allows us to work with local food hubs and [access] a [wide] variety of local foods.”

Glenn also said members of Union’s Nutrition staff have been involved recently in learning more about the process of bringing local foods to students’ plates.

“This summer a few of our Nutrition staff took an opportunity to tour the local food hub in Decorah as well as Country View Dairy out of Hawkeye,” Glenn explained. “This is a great way to see where some of our local food comes from.”

Iowa Local Food Day takes place annually on the fourth Wednesday of September as part of the kickoff to October’s National Farm to School Month.

Cantaloupe plants grow on the Union Community School District grounds this past summer as part of the district’s efforts to include local food offerings on all four buildings’ lunch menus. PHOTO COURTESY OF CARA GLENN

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Harvested watermelon and cantaloupe bound for Union students’ lunch trays. PHOTO COURTESY OF CARA GLENN