Eastbayri.com

Students in our local public schools are enjoying the rewards of the fall harvest starting this week.

As part of the statewide commitment to increasing healthy and fresh foods in school cafeterias and as part of the R.I. Farm to School project coordinated by Kids First, Chartwells School Dining Services in the East Bay area have scheduled this year’s Harvest Meal Celebrations.

School districts including East Providence, Barrington, Bristol-Warren, Tiverton, Little Compton and Portsmouth will feature on their menus roast turkey and gravy, mashed potatoes and butternut squash from Young Family Farm, apples from Steere Orchards, green salad, wheat bread and cranberry sauce.

Students in the Bristol Warren Regional School District enjoyed their Harvest Meal Celebration Tuesday, Oct. 18. Upcoming dates for other local districts are as follows: Tiverton: Thursday, Oct. 20; Little Compton: Tuesday, Oct. 25; Portsmouth: Thursday, Nov. 3; Barrington: Tuesday, Nov. 8; and East Providence: Monday, Oct. 10.

“Chartwells’ Harvest Meal Celebration features locally grown foods in all of our East Bay area schools, including locally grown potatoes, butternut squash and apples,” said Nancy Roberts, East Bay nutritionist for Chartwells School Dining Services. “Our breads and rolls are made by Calise Bakery of Lincoln. It’s great for our students to have healthy food that is grown or made in their own backyard. We always strive to purchase and utilize as much locally grown produce and locally made items as possible throughout the school year.”

The R.I. Farm to School program has proven to be popular in many districts, including those our area. Here’s a breakdown of the number of pounds of Rhode Island-produced food purchased by each district in 2010, including the average number of students and their amount of consumption.

• Barrington: 2,630 pounds purchased and 917 students participating (2.87 pounds per student)

• Bristol-Warren: 4,890 pounds purchased and 1,662 students participating (2.94 pounds per student)

• East Providence: 6,565 pounds purchased and 2,888 students participating (2.27 pounds per student)

• Little Compton: 536 pounds purchased and 109 students participating (4.92 pounds per student)

• Portsmouth: 2,376 pounds purchased and 780 students participating (3.05 pounds per student)

• Tiverton: 2,200 pounds purchased and 1,956 students participating (1.12 pounds per student)

Chartwells provides dining services for over 550 public school districts and private schools, comprising over 6,000 separate elementary, middle and high schools nationwide. Kids First is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the nutritional and physical well being of children. For more information, visit www.kidsfirstri.org.