Local Grass-fed Beef Served at New York City Schools
Cattle roam freely on Slope Farm, Meredith, NY
On Thursday, October 14th public school children across New York City enjoyed local grass-fed beef sourced from Slope Farms in Meredith, NY. The event marked two years of collaboration between Ken Jaffe of Slope Farms, NYC School Food and Wellness in the Schools.
The event, which served local grass-fed beef in 18 schools, is part of the National School Lunch Week 2010 and demonstrates how relationships between farmers and institutions can have a meaningful impact on school lunch.
Ken Jaffe, a former physician turned grass-fed beef farmer, shared his feelings on the event:
“During the years that I’ve been raising grass-fed beef, after 25 years of practicing medicine, I like to say that sustainable farming is ‘applied public health’. The US has no more urgent public health priority, or challenge, than improving the nutrition of school children, including the hundreds of thousands of children who are served lunch every school day in the NYC schools. By serving children local grass- fed meats, with healthier fat profiles, raised without antibiotics or added hormones, this event makes a statement to children and adults that improved nutrition and farming practices are linked. “
The fact that grass-fed beef was enjoyed by so many school children demonstrates that downstate and upstate alliances can create channels that would otherwise have not existed. Jaffe worked with NYC SchoolFood to create standards for local grass-fed beef, procurement policies and healthy made-from-scratch recipes. The ground beef was raised on an upstate farm, processed in a New York USDA plant and shipped down to New York to be cooked and served to thousands of children.
The program sends a message that healthy food starts on the farm and is prepared freshly with health and taste in mind. This winning combination was evidenced by how much the kids enjoyed it.
After attending the school lunch where his beef was served, Jaffe said:
“It’s been great to play a small part in the movement to improve the nutrition and health of NYC children, and to demonstrate that we can improve the health of our children by the way we produce food on the farm.”