HERMON -- Assemblywoman Addie A.E. Jenne had an opportunity to get a first-hand look and taste of her “Drive to 25” pilot farm to school program when she recently joined students, producers and farmers for lunch at Hermon-Dekalb Central School.

Assemblywoman Jenne gladly took the opportunity to discuss the program with students, school staff, the farmers that had provided the beef for the day's hamburgers and producers responsible for the greens and vegetables at the tsalad bar.

She secured $300,000 in funding for the second year of the pilot program in St. Lawrence and Jefferson counties in the 2017-18 state budget.

“I came here to see how the second year of our farm to school pilot program in St. Lawrence and Jefferson counties is being kicked off. Now that it is in its second year, it has hit the ground running,” she said.

“Last year, we had to work our way through the process with the schools and set up a framework to connect our schools with farmers and producers. Those connections have now been made so this year our schools are off and running,” Assemblywoman Jenne noted.

Tom Fetchie, food services director at Hermon-Dekalb Central School, said funding the district received through the pilot program allowed him to offer the salad bar featuring local greens for the first time this school year.

Hermon-Dekalb is one of 19 schools in the North Country taking part in the farm to school pilot program in the North Country this school year.

“It's definitely a great program. I was kind of iffy when we first started talking about it, but it has really taken off,” Fetcie said.

Renee Smith, an AIS teacher at the school and volunteer with the school's farm to school venture, said the numbers show the success of the program.

She said the salad bar is available for students in grades six through 12, and one-third of the district's students are taking advantage of that option.

“This is the first year of the salad bar, and we never imagined the kids would love it as much as they do. We have a number of students who have never eaten school lunches in the past now not bringing their lunches to school,” she noted.

Smith said school officials wanted to provide an opportunity for the school's students to interact with Assemblywoman Jenne and the farmers and growers responsible for the food on the day's school lunch menu.

“I loved seeing the reaction of the farmers to the kids eating their products. We wanted our students to have a chance to meet the farmers and give the assemblywoman, farmers and producers an opportunity to see the students enjoying their products,” she noted.

Smith said the district had started talking to local farmers before funding from the “Drive to 25” grant program in the North Country became available.

“We had started with apples from a local orchard. Then the grant came out. Now we have locally grown lettuce, radishes, scallions and tomatoes. Our hamburgers and pork sausages came from animals raised on local farms. The maple syrup we use with our pancakes is local,” she added.

Smith said she is hopeful they will continue to expand the farm to school program Assemblywoman Jenne has brought to the North Country.

“I'm passionate about the farm to school program. I think every school in the state should be able to participate, but without additional funding there are many schools that can't take the chance to add local foods to their school cafeteria offerings,” she noted.

Hermon-Dekalb School Superintendent Mark White said the opportunities generated by the grant have benefitted the district, its students and local growers and producers.

“It's allowed us to expand offerings of local foods in our building, and our students are embracing it as well. We have our salad bar with locally produced food, and it is changing the diet at lunch for a lot of our kids. We hope to be able to keep it,” he stressed.

Eighth graders Ryley Hale, Paige Martin and Allison Shorette count themselves among the big fans of the salad bar at their school.

“The salad bar just offers so many options. It's good salad. It's healthy, and it tastes good. The other food you get at school usually isn't as good,” Ms. Shorette suggested.

Hale said she brought her lunch to school in the past, but the salad bar option means she is now getting her lunch at school.

Martin, noting her family has three gardens, said she has grown up eating locally produced foods. She said she enjoys the opportunity to eat local products at school.

The young women also said they have been surprised by the popularity of the salad bar with their male classmates.

“At first all the boys were like - salad?” Ms. Hale said, noting they didn't seem overly impressed by the new option for school lunches. “But after about the first week they started loving it. I told 'em, 'There you go,’” she recalled.

“A lot of the guys were packing their lunches every day,” Ms. Martin added. “Now they are eating salads every day.”

Assemblywoman Jenne said the trip to Hermon-Dekalb served as further proof of the merits of the farm to school program.

“It was amazing seeing all the kids grabbing salads for lunch. The school started selling two salads a day when they first started offering the salad bar, and they are already up to 50 salads a day. That's a third of their junior high and high school population. It's clear the kids are getting more excited and interested in eating fresh, local foods. It's healthier for the kids, and it's benefiting our local growers and producers, and our local economy,” according to the assemblywoman.

She said the $300,000 for the pilot program is part of over a $1 million included in the budget for farm to school initiatives around the state that will help schools purchase more food from local farmers and expand access to healthy local food for students.The pilot program for the North Country is being administered by the Adirondack North Country Association.