Students in seven counties will have access to nutritious, farm-fresh food throughout the school year thanks to an innovative pilot project launched by the Greater Wabash Food Council earlier this year. The pilot program will use a blast chiller to freeze locally sourced, seasonal produce—like sweet corn—and support its distribution to local schools. To make this unique school food system initiative in southeastern Illinois successful, Trish Bellmore, Director of the Greater Wabash Food Council (GWFC), has pulled together a work group and an advisory committee with diverse perspectives and expertise that is truly the first of its kind in southeastern Illinois.
Who is Involved
The GWFC is a nonprofit based in Bridgeport, Illinois that promotes agriculture and technology to support food access and environmental sustainability throughout counties in southeastern Illinois. Their project is part of the Lake Michigan School Food System Innovation Hub, convened by the Illinois Public Health Institute (IPHI) and supported by USDA’s School Food System Transformation Challenge Grants. It involves collaboration with ten school districts in the region, with three pilot schools taking the lead: Edwards County CUSD #1, Grayville CUSD #1, and Allendale CUSD #17. The schools will taste test the flash-frozen corn in various recipes, and students will be polled for feedback and preferences before the project is rolled out to other schools and expanded to additional varieties of local crops. The project will benefit communities in Clay, Edwards, Lawrence, Richland, Wabash, Wayne, and White counties by providing access to fresh, local food for students and supporting regional agriculture. By connecting schools with nearby farms, the project seeks to create a sustainable model for local school food systems, enhancing student nutrition and bolstering the local economy.
How It Works
The innovative, cross-disciplinary and diverse relationships that Bellmore is facilitating in the region are key to the success of this project. She formed a work group by bringing together the food service directors from each pilot school to collaborate with the GWFC team. The group also includes two local farmers, a county board of health representative, and an extension expert specializing in recipe development. The work group will draw on this range of valuable expertise to address the technical aspects of food preparation and equipment logistics.
The other key collaboration in this project is the advisory committee. It consists of two students and a faculty member from each of the three pilot schools, along with the GWFC team. This group will focus on planning the taste testings, determining how to poll students, and organizing the collection of necessary data. The students were selected by their school Superintendents based on their interest in agriculture, nutrition, or culinary careers, and diversity was an important consideration.
“Creating pathways between local foods and the school lunch tray requires the development of connections between community, farmers, schools, and other players in the food chain,” says Diane Chapeta, the Illinois Farm to School Network Manager for Seven Generations Ahead—an environmental nonprofit that serves as the Illinois State Lead for the Lake Michigan School Food System Innovation Hub. “With the support and connectivity of these partners, projects like the Greater Wabash Food Council have already tackled and surpassed the first hurdle to add local foods to the tray.” While Bellmore’s initial process for convening these diverse groups involved mostly phone and video calls, she’s prioritizing more in-person meetings as the project progresses to deepen the relationships being forged and strengthen the collaboration between stakeholders. And she’s sensitive to ensuring all the voices she’s bringing to the table are heard equally.
“I’ve empaneled participants before on special work groups,” says Bellmore. “But not from all these perspectives.” This unique approach to implementing her school food system innovation project is just the beginning of building a robust and equitable local food system in southeast Illinois.