Recent policy changes are raising the opportunity for many more Connecticut students to taste fresh, locally grown food in their school cafeterias. UConn Extension is well positioned to make the most of these changes. First, in 2021, the CT Grown for CT Kids Grants program was created by the state to help school districts and […]
Put Local On Your Tray
From This Land: Honoring Native Foods of Winter
Along with Narragansett artist, farmer and educator, Dawn M. Spears, Put Local On Your Tray is pleased to announce a new campaign series called, “From This Land: Honoring Native Foods“. The first installment of the series looks at native foods of winter, including maple syrup! You can find more information about artist Dawn M. Spears, […]
Register Today For “Bringing the Farm to the School” Training
An organized partnership between Put Local on Your Tray, Connecticut Department of Agriculture, UConn Extension, and Connecticut Farm To School Collaborative is excited to offer “Bringing the Farm to the School” a producer training for CT Farmers to navigate the opportunities and challenges of selling into public K-12 schools! Learn more HERE! Did you know that Districts across the state are […]
Carrot Recipes
Did you know carrots are packed with Vitamin A? This vitamin is a key nutrient for healthy eyes! Carrots can be a great and healthy addition to any meal. Put Local On Your Tray has complied a list of carrot recipes to increase their use in school meals. View the recipes here: putlocalonyourtray.uconn.edu/carrots-2
Rooting for Winter – Put Local on Your Tray
Are you root-ing for winter? Winter roots include carrots, beets, potatoes, and more! Click here for ideas on how to incorporate these delicious roots into your meals. Put Local on Your Tray’s “Root-ing for Winter” campaign is working towards connecting schools with local farmers to increase the incorporation of local root vegetables in school meals. Click […]
HardCORE CRUNCH: Apple & Pear Activity Worksheets!
October is National Farm to School Month and Put Local On Your Tray has apple and pear activity worksheets to share! These worksheets include a coloring page, apple fun facts, a maze, and a delicious apple-themed recipe from New England Dairy. The worksheets are in English and Spanish. These can be distributed and shared with […]
Meet Alyssa Benoit: Sustainable Food Systems Intern
Hi! My name is Alyssa Benoit and I am interning with Sustainable Food Systems Educator Jiff Martin through UConn CAHNR Extension. I am a rising senior at UConn majoring in Allied Health Sciences, and in the Fast-Track program for a Master’s in Public Administration (MPA) through the Department of Public Policy. I help with communications on […]
How to Make a Strawberry Kale Smoothie with Molly Basak-Smith
Molly Basak-Smith of our UConn Extension Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) walks through how to make a strawberry kale smoothie as part of our Slurpie challenge with the Put Local On Your Tray program. Make your own smoothie at home and join us in the Great Smoothie Slurp!
The Great Spring Smoothie Slurp!
SLURP your way into Summer With Put Local on Your Tray and New England Dairy! Spring is the perfect time to SOURCE, SERVE, and CELEBRATE local. Popular spring harvests includes our dark leafy greens like Kale, our colorful fruits like Strawberries and, of course, we can’t forget our local Dairy products, which are in season […]
Communities Feed Kids
There are amazing stories from across Connecticut about the efforts being made to feed our communities. Responding to COVID-19 requires generosity and ingenuity. We recognize, more than ever, it is clear the roles schools play and the necessity of school meal programs to connect and serve healthy and local food with our communities. Put local […]
Rooting for Root Vegetables
We’re rooting for winter with root recipes from our Put Local On Your Tray program. Visit https://putlocalonyourtray.uconn.edu/root-recipes/ to find some warm, filling and nutritious ideas for how to cook carrots, parsnips, beets, radish, or another root vegetable.
Why We Need Local Food in our Schools
Who wants local food in schools, and why? We’re partnering with 81 school districts in Connecticut through our Put Local On Your Tray program, and helping them to source local food from Connecticut farms. This short video explains the importance of local food in our schools: https://youtu.be/v9QrMjryulY #UConnImpact
Farm to School Month
It’s here! National Farm to School Month, which means its time for the HardCORE Challenge – eat a #CTGrown Apple or Pear to the CORE! Follow this link to find an Orchard near you. Fall is the quintessential time to visit a farm with apple and pear picking, corn mazes, pumpkin patches, cider donuts and so much more! We will be celebrating local agriculture […]
October Apple Challenge with the Tray Project
October meant apple challenges for school districts participating in the Put Local On Your Tray Project. You can find recipes for apples on the website. They also share the following about apples: In the Past: Apple trees belong to the rose family, and originated in Central Asia in the mountains of southern Kazakhastan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, […]
Put Local on Your Tray Sign Ups for 2018-2019
VERNON, CT, (June 13, 2018) – UConn Extension and the Connecticut State Department of Education is currently inviting school food service professionals across the state to sign up for the Put Local on Your Tray Program in the upcoming 2018-19 school year. Schools and districts that sign up will get help increasing fresh, locally grown […]
Patriotic Smoothies
In Meriden schools, they served Red, White, & Blue Smoothies in honor of the winter Olympics and local dairy in February. What a cool idea! And one that you can replicate at home in honor of Memorial Day. It’s a fun and delicious smoothie. The layers were strawberry, banana, and blueberry served at breakfast with graham crackers. Put Local […]
Put Local On Your Tray (Or Plate) In April
Put Local on Your Tray is a farm-to-school program helping Connecticut schools serve and celebrate regionally grown food. Even if you’re not a school, they have some advice for getting local onto your plate this season. Days are getting slightly warmer and longer, the breeze is sharp, and the land is both awakened and nourished by fresh spring rain. […]
The First HardCORE CT Apple Challenge
The First HardCORE CT Apple Challenge with Put Local On Your Tray! October is special for a few reasons. Everyone is getting back in the swing of things at school, the foliage outstanding, and the many varieties of delicious crisp apples are ripening atop trees in orchards across the state. The combination makes a perfect […]
Put Local on Your Tray
To our neighbors across the ocean, lunch in American schools is evidence of our culinary inferiority. The fact that one third of the nation’s children are growing up overweight and obese leads many to point a finger at school food. But in reality, the age of sloppy joes and tater tots is steadily giving way […]
School Districts Invited to “Put Local on Your Tray” This Fall
Just in time for National Farm To School Month in October, UConn Extension and its partners at the Connecticut State Department of Education, FoodCorps Connecticut, and the New England Dairy and Food Council are excited to announce an opportunity to participate in a new program called “Put Local On Your Tray”. Put Local On Your […]
Highlights of Extension
Learn how UConn Extension is tying research to real life in your community through our 2015 Highlights of Extension.