Forestville and Pine Valley school districts are the proud recipients of a two-year $81,820 New York state Farm-to-School grant.

Forestville superintendent Renee Garrett announced the good news during a recent school board meeting, informing the board that, “The purpose is to offer our students more fruits and vegetables that are locally grown and farm-fresh, daily year-round and showcases for them what is available right in our community: lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, celery, carrots, onions, apples, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, corn, and squash (plus maple syrup, honey, beef, pork, and chicken). Any time we are able to make a school community connection like this everyone benefits.”

A large portion of the grant will be going towards the purchase of new kitchen equipment, said Garrett.

“It’s equipment required for properly preserving, preparing/cooking, and serving farm products, such as: countertop vacuum sealer, blender for fruit/vegetable smoothies, commercial sectionalizer, blast chiller (freezer), countertop convection steamer, reach-in and walk-in commercial refrigerators and coolers, knives, cutting boards, and aluminum pans.”

Garrett said that Forestville “is the host district (for the grant), so everything is coming through our kitchen and our staff and we transport to Pine Valley. But it’s Pine Valley farmers and Forestville farmers that will help us make this happen.”

Terry Brown, Forestville’s cook manager told the board that, in addition to the grant, Governor Andrew Cuomo is proposing an incentive package for “school districts to use more local farm-fresh products,” said Brown. “Cuomo will propose an increase in the reimbursement of schools to receive from the current 5.9 percent per meal to 25 cents per meal for any district that purchases at least 30 percent ingredients from New York farms. What a perfect situation with the grant coming through. It’s amazing.”

Garrett spelled out some of the funding details in a newsletter.

“The project will serve all 457 Forestville students in grades PreK-12 and all 551 Pine Valley students in grades PreK-12, for a total of 1,008 students and 14 farmers/farms.

“Because 61.9 percent of the request is comprised of equipment costs, and all but $757.80 of the equipment costs are for items that will last several years, the investment is primarily one-time and just $28,584.72 of the requested 2-year amount represents ongoing costs.

“The ongoing program cost is expected to be $14,292.36 per year. Some equipment will be new equipment the districts lack, but other equipment items (such as the walk-in cooler and refrigerators) will replace existing equipment well past its useful age and failing and therefore requiring replacement to support a robust, expanding farm-to-school program. Replacing these items will eliminate ongoing kitchen equipment maintenance costs averaging $5,000-6,000 per year, per district.”

The Farm-to-School grant program totals $1 million state-wide.

“This investment continues our efforts to help our youngest New Yorkers learn healthy eating habits while also supporting the state’s agricultural industry,” Governor Cuomo said in a statement. “The program is a win-win for our communities and with $1 million awarded to projects across the state, we are helping to create a stronger, healthier New York.”