Farm to School works at Bison School District

Bison School District is located in the northwestern part of South Dakota. It’s a small school in a sparsely populated area of the state; many of the students there are the children of area ranchers. The town of Bison has a population of 302.

Over the past three years, the school’s food service director, Virginia Utter, has accomplished something truly remarkable: She has built a Farm to School program that provides locally grown food in every single lunch that the students eat.

In the spring of 2021, Utter attended a school nutrition conference, where she learned about the national Farm to School program, and how that program works in South Dakota. A Farm to School program needs three components, she learned: local producers who can grow nutritious foods, school food service staff who can prepare the food, and students who will eat the food and learn about how that food was produced.

Utter returned to Bison and met with the school board. She presented a plan and asked for support as she built the program. She got the support she needed; school board member Chris Veal immediately volunteered to start her off with beef donated from his ranch. From there, Utter began reaching out to other community members. Using social media, she put out a call to local gardeners. Soon, she had fresh vegetables that had been grown in her community: green beans, carrots, potatoes, apples, corn, and zucchini.

A local woman had a hobby of raising hens for eggs. When she heard about Utter’s program, she worked with Utter to sell eggs to the school. Now, the woman’s 97 hens provide fresh eggs to the school every day. The eggs are primarily served on Utter’s impressive salad bar, and they are a hit with the students.

Recently, Utter received a call from a local gardener who had an excess crop of beans. “I went over to her house, and the next day, we had the most beautiful green beans for our lunch,” Utter said. “The kids were like, ‘what’s with these beans?’ because they didn’t look like the kind you get from a can. Then they tasted them, and they were amazed. They love getting the fresh vegetables.”

As word got out about Utter’s request for food, and the results she had in her cafeteria, more community members reached out to her to donate their excess harvests. Recently, students at Bison were served what the assistant cook called his “Harvest Salad” – a combination of zucchini, red onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, and a vinaigrette. When a new food comes on the menu, the food service workers call it a “try it day.” Students are encouraged to try one bite of the new food. If they like it, they get more. If they don’t, they still get a sticker that celebrates their willingness to try a new food.

About 50 percent of all meat served at Bison School District is local. The school purchases or receives via donation an entire cow or hog, and with that, Utter makes the typical foods like hamburgers or tacos, but she also is able to provide meals that are not typically found on school lunch trays. “We get roast, prime rib, pork chops, and side pork.”

Purchasing an entire animal keeps costs down for the school while providing high-quality protein for the students. For its most recent animal purchase, the school paid about $3.24 per pound of beef – a price that is lower than it costs to purchase hamburger in a typical grocery store. “You’re getting prime rib, steak tip lunches, roasts – you’re getting this level of food for $3.75 a meal,” said Dr. George Shipley, Bison School District superintendent. “We’re making sure we can spread those savings to improving other parts of the meal, and to make sure kids can get as much as they need.”

The benefits of Utter’s program go far beyond healthy meals for happy students, said Shipley.

“When we give our kids a high-quality lunch, we see a difference in their performance in the afternoons,” said Shipley. “We have higher protein in the salad bar and in the serving line. We’re able to provide them with more protein if they want it. That extra protein really does make a difference in their brain power. They need it to power them through the day.”

The education side of Farm to School is served by more than increased performance in the afternoons. The program supports the family and consumer sciences teacher, who uses the bounty to teach students to cook. A senior student is doing her senior capstone experience in Utter’s kitchen. Younger students make the program part of their art projects, as they create posters that advertise local foods available.

Although the program is relatively new, Utter’s commitment to Farm to School has transformed the way that Bison School District students eat lunch. Utter offered some advice to other food service directors considering implementing the program: “Do your homework,” she said. “Get ahold of someone who is involved in a Farm to School program, and ask them what they’re doing, how they’re doing it, and what you will need to do it right.” Then just do it, she said. “Just jump in with both feet.”

Shipley recommends communicating with ranchers and producers about the options they have in the way they provide food. For some, donations are the best way to approach it, since the donation can be used as a tax deduction. Other producers prefer direct payment, which can easily be arranged. One of the most important roles an administrator has is to support the food service director. “As an administrator, you need to have a head cook that has a passion for cooking, and that person has to believe in improving the quality of food for kids. This takes effort and passion, and as an administrator, my role is to support my people who have that passion and who put in that effort to do great things like Virginia has done.”

To learn more about South Dakota’s Farm to School program, visit doe.sd.gov/farmtoschool. Schools interested in implementing the Farm to School program can contact the Department of Education’s Farm to School coordinator Janelle Peterson for more information.