CARPINTERIA - Farm fresh food is coming to a school near you!
It's a special farm to school connection cultivated thanks to the School Food Initiative. A critical relationship as the Santa Barbara School District makes the move from processed to produce.
Farmer Jose Alcantar is now growing organic produce for his son and for your children too.
Alcantar was handpicked for this exciting opportunity. The Carpinteria School District owns the land and they gave him an affordable lease. In exchange, he sells the fresh produce back to the school at a very competitive price. This means the school has a bigger bounty. It's also good for Alcantar, as many small organic growers struggle to survive.
Nancy Weiss is the Director of Food Services in the Santa Barbara School District. She says it's important to teach kids the importance of eating close to the earth and hopefully a decrease the type two diabetes and the obesity epidemic which is really very rampant and very obvious in our schools.
"I feel really good. I feel happy about doing this," says Alcantar. "If the district finds more property to lease I'm happy to put it to good use and grow more fresh products."
Alcantar is happy to have a hand in school food reform!
"I'm very proud of my dad," says Jose Alcantar Jr.
It's special farm to school relationship hoping to plant the seed for a healthy new trend!
