Dougherty County School System receives ‘Golden Radish’ Award

ATLANTA — Georgia’s departments of Agriculture, Education and Public Health, the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension and Georgia Organics came together at the historic Georgia Railroad Freight Depot to celebrate the more than 40 percent of Georgia school districts with outstanding farm-to-school programs. Seventy-five school districts, serving more than one million students in Georgia, are now participating in farm-to-school. These districts served more than 97 million school meals with local food items during the 2016-17 school year.

The Dougherty County School System was recognized at the gold level for its accomplishments during the 2016-17 school year, including:

• Serving local food daily, accounting for more than 2.3 million meals with a local item.

• Coordinating and implementing three new teaching gardens in addition to maximizing use of established gardens. Students grew scallions, collards, romaine lettuce, kale, radishes and spinach. Produce was harvested and integrated into the school menu.

• Inviting farmers to schools on 14 occasions to teach students about growing vegetables, eating healthy and other interactive lessons.

The Golden Radish Award publicly recognizes school districts for all aspects of farm-to-school, from local food procurement to hosting taste tests and gardening with students. This year, the Golden Radish partners awarded 26 new school districts and welcomed a new partner, UGA Extension.

“UGA Extension is so excited to promote healthy eating habits and incorporate Georgia’s great agricultural food products into our school lunchrooms,” Associate Dean for UGA Extension at the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Laura Perry Johnson said. “This is a natural partnership that benefits us as well as the school kids who get to enjoy these tasty and nutritious products.”

Districts of all sizes are utilizing farm-to-school programs to teach academic standards in school gardens, support the local economy through local food purchases for school meals, and fight childhood obesity and other preventable food-related diseases.

“Access to fresh, locally grown food is not just important for students’ physical health – it’s part of their academic development as well,” State Superintendent Richard Woods said. “When children eat fresh, healthy meals, they have the fuel they need for a successful day of learning.”

Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Gary W. Black noted that while farm-to-school efforts support academic achievement, they also help build a strong agricultural economy.

“Feed My School For a Week, Georgia Grown Test Kitchen and the Golden Radish Awards are all great ways for school nutrition to support Georgia producers, and we are excited as to what current and future award winners will accomplish as we work toward our 2020 Vision for School Nutrition in Georgia,” Black said.

Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. J. Patrick O’Neal champions healthy food access for children and supports farm-to-school efforts.

“The vitamins, minerals and health benefits from local fresh fruit and vegetables not only allow our children to be physically healthy, but research has shown that healthy eating is also key to brain development,” O’Neal said. “Here in Georgia, we are leading the nation in identifying ways to increase early brain development, and healthy nutrition is an enormous part of that.”

Georgia Organics founded the state’s first farm-to-school program in 2007. Since then, communities across the state have embraced the benefits of bringing students and fresh, local food closer together.

“It’s astounding that over 40 percent of our school districts are actively involved in The Golden Radish Awards after only four years of establishing the program,” Georgia Organics Executive Director Alice Rolls said. “This is an exciting trajectory given the great impact farm-to-school has had on child nutrition, farmer prosperity, rural development, local economies and public health.”