11/28/2023
Farm to School News:
Today, In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, the Amherst Regional Middle School kitchen staff prepared a Three Sisters Stew made with beans, corn, and fresh, local butternut squash from Joe Czajkowski Farm in Hadley. 🍲This stew makes a delicious, colorful, nutrient-packed meal. “Three sisters” is one example of Indigenous sustainable agriculture practices – strategies that Indigenous people have been developing over thousands of years which provide guidance for caring for the land, reducing pesticide and fertilizer use, and modeling interdependence. Intercropping beans, squash, and corn together in mounds yields multiple benefits. The beans 🫘 draw nitrogen, an essential nutrient, into the soil, the squash’s broad leaves help retain soil moisture and shade out weeds, and the corn’s 🌽 stalks provide a trellis on which the bean plants can climb. There are many ways to incorporate the three sisters into meals, why not give it a try!
There’s even more local food planned for December’s school menus, including Gingered Hadley Carrots 🥕– Dec 6th (elementary & ARMS) and Dec 7th (ARHS).
Remember, every student can receive one free breakfast and one free lunch!!
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