(Riverton, WY) – Last month St. Margaret’s School celebrated Farm to School Day with a menu chock-full of locally sourced goods, which fed hungry students/staff with a healthy, fun and free meal.
The Wyoming Department of Education’s Farm to School Day is an initiative that “celebrates the connection between schools, local farms, and healthy eating.” The goal is to support “local farmers while enhancing students’ understanding of where their food comes from and the importance of eating fresh, local produce.”
St. Margaret’s School Food Services Director Hannah Thoman “worked tirelessly to offer a unique experience for students,” the school’s Principal Meagan Mosbrucker shared with County 10.
“She really understands the importance of good nutrition, especially for children, and she is passionate about supporting local producers, so when she got the opportunity, she made a whole event out of it. She really went above and beyond to coordinate local sponsors, purchase local products, and prepare an incredible meal.”
Mosbrucker also shared that some of the ingredients were grown and delivered from the students’ own fields, “like the corn from 1890 Farms.”
Thoman told County 10 that the menu consisted of chili, cornbread, “apple chunkies dessert,” and pumpkin cider.
Some of the folks responsible for providing local (local in this sense also extends to other parts of Wyoming and surrounding states like Montana, Nebraska, Idaho; not just in Fremont County) goods included:
- Bobby Thoman, with Lost Wells Cattle Company donated 10 pounds of his homegrown, grassfed, all natural ground beef for the chili.
- Fremont Local Market, in collaboration with various farmers and producers, donated a significant portion of the food for this day, including Onions from 7HT Brand Foods; Garlic from Wyoming Bread (Wyoming Bread also donated several loaves of fresh, homemade artisan sourdough bread); Tomatoes from Lake View Gardens; Flour from Wyoming Heritage Grains; and Apples from Matthew & Monica Thoman
- The Anderson family (1890 Farms) donated the fresh corn.
- Bobby Lane, with the WDE Farm to School Program, also donated Navy Beans himself, and acquired a donation of pintos from bean producer Kelly Bean.
Thoman also shared that Lindsey Stewart, the manager at the Fremont Local Market, was “instrumental in promoting their various producers and working with us to make this happen,” and that she also came to help serve the food.
Thoman added that even the items that were not donated, were purchased locally, including:
- Cornmeal and kidney beans from Miller Bulk Foods
- Chugwater Chili seasoning from Chugwater Chili
- Pumpkin from SonHarvest Farms
- Local pork sausage, honey, and more tomatoes were also donated by anonymous donors
“Hannah inspired me to make the meal free for all students and staff on Farm to School Day,” Mosbrucker commented. “It was really special, and students will remember it for a long time. They tasted the positive outcome of hard work, and they experienced the powerful way a good meal can bring people together.”
“The kids thoroughly enjoyed the meal, and many came back for seconds,” Thoman also told County 10, and added that the students were already asking about when the next Farm to School Day would be (at this time, it’s once a year, in October).
In total 64 people were served (19 adults, the rest students) for free, “thanks to the kind donors,” and Thoman added that “there weren’t too many leftovers at all!”
You can check out some of the Farm to School Day fun in the St. Margaret’s video below!