{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Radio Chatskill","title":"Farm to School: Sullivan County Coalition Brings Local Food, Fresh Lessons to Cafeterias","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":873,"description":"What started as a federal grant has blossomed into a countywide movement connecting Sullivan County farms with school cafeterias — and reshaping how students experience lunch.The School Nutrition Action Coalition, supported by partners including Sullivan 180, Cornell Cooperative Extension and local school districts, formed when Sullivan 180 received a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant last year aimed at strengthening ties between local farms and schools.“The USDA grant was really what brought everyone to the table,” said Denise Frangipane, executive director of Sullivan 180. “The goal was to build a collaboration around getting a better connection between our local regional farms and our school cafeterias.”The coalition now includes every school district in Sullivan County, along with food service directors, staff, and community organizations. Together, they’re working toward a shared vision: providing two free, healthy, locally sourced meals each day to every student — and making the cafeteria a place where food is celebrated.A New Kind of LunchroomWhen the coalition began, universal free meals were still a dream. But that vision is now reality. New York State last year passed universal free school meals for all students — a change that helps make the coalition’s work more impactful.“Our goal is to really enhance the lunch experience,” Frangipane said. “It’s not just about what’s on the plate, but about making the lunchroom a happy, educational space — a place where students want to be.”That means introducing students to fresh, local foods — and helping them understand where those foods come from and why they matter.“For some of our students, this may be the only meal they get in a day,” Frangipane said. “So it’s our best shot at giving them something healthy and nourishing.”From Chicken Nuggets to CarnitasFor Dara Williams, food service director at Sullivan West Central School District, the shift toward scratch cooking and local sourcing has been both...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/q7XXsnSXT_u4mZLCn3chUorwDmUD_kWiB272D6emB18/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS80N2Uy/OGY5MWUwZThkYTEw/NDVkZGM2ZGZkZDIw/ZjliOS5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}