Long Beach Island school recognized with New Jersey Farm to School —Cream of the Crop— award

The Long Beach Island Consolidated School District highlighted a new accolade at its meeting, telling the board that the district's yard-gardening program won New Jersey Farm to School's "cream of the crop" recognition and a $3,000 award.

A presenter said the school met a 12-part checklist covering classroom integration, cafeteria offerings and community engagement, and that the program has operated for 15 years. "We started working on the checklist in June and as we were going through it we were surprised to find out that not only had we met all 12 requirements, but we had been doing it for an extended period of time," the presenter said.

School staff described a day of activities for visiting New Jersey Farm to School officials that included a student-led VIP garden tour, two cafeteria taste tests provided through the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, and classroom lessons tied to children's literature. The presenter said students completed surveys after taste tests and that parental feedback was solicited and reviewed by administrators.

The board noted that the garden program is connected to wellness and curriculum goals and that the school collaborated with AtlantiCare's Healthy Schools, Healthy Children program to run health activities. "We were able to lay out three hours worth of garden-based learning for our visitors," the presenter said.

The superintendent thanked staff and volunteers for the event and noted that the related community activities included a fun run the same day.

The board did not take any action related to the award; it was presented as an informational item.