MADRID – Assemblywoman Addie J. Russell, D-Theresa, recently hosted school officials from around St. Lawrence and Jefferson counties at Madrid-Waddington Central School so they could get a first-hand look at the district's farm-in-school program.

Russell, whose district includes all St. Lawrence County towns along the St. Lawrence River plus the towns of Canton, Potsdam, Rossie, Macomb, said she wanted school officials from around the region to see the produce being grown in the Madrid-Waddington school greenhouse using terraponic technology sold by 2445 Organics of Massena and patented by local businessman Andy Maslin.

Greens grown in the greenhouse, including lettuce and basil, are used in the school's cafeteria.

"It's been good for our school, and our students are eating it," Madrid-Waddington School Superintendent Eric Burke said.

Russell said the tour allowed schools that received funding through the $300,000 grant she secured for a farm-to-school pilot program to see how the grant money could be used.

She said the timing of the state funding cycle and the time it took to set up the mechanism for the pilot program created some barriers for producers because that timetable was at odds with the North County growing season.

"A number of our schools were unable to make relationships with farmers to get produce for this year so we have opted to expand the guidelines to allow the purchase of the tray unit growing system being utilized at Madrid-Waddington with the funding allocations remaining from the farm-to-school pilot program," Russell said.

"This technology is affordable, there is great potential for school gardens and the business producing these units is located right here in the North Country. The quality of the produce being grown in this

greenhouse is obviously much higher than something triple washed and bagged in> California and sitting on a shelf for who knows how long," she added.

"I wanted these school officials to see first hand they have an opportunity to grow fresh greens and herbs on site to supply their cafeterias so they could determine if this is a viable option for their districts," Russell said.

The Madrid-Waddington school superintendent said the district purchased its first three-tier growing system in September 2015.

"It is awesome. We immediately saw the benefits. Our kids are eating fresh greens and drinking green drinks. Kids started getting involved. We initially thought it might take three to five years to get to full capacity. But we are seeing strong interest from students and the food service manager. It did not take long to grow," Burke noted.

He said the district grew from one rack to three, then five and now eight units.

Mr. Maslin said 2445 Organics has developed a 100 percent organic grow system that is based on utilizing a primitive soil and a lighting system and eliminating environmental factors.

He said the produce being grown on the racks - ranging from a variety of lettuces to basil - is ready to harvest in 18 to 22 days, approximately 50 percent quicker than the time it would take to grow that same produce in a garden. Madrid-Waddington is continuing to expand the varieties of greens being grown at the school.

Russell also invited Assemblyman-Elect D. Billy Jones to the event. She said Assemblyman-Elect Jones has expressed interest in the farm-to-school pilot program.

He is also expected to be on hand early next year for a demonstration at a school in his assembly

district that is purchasing grow units from 2445 Organics.

Assemblyman-Elect Jones said the visit to the greenhouse at Madrid-Waddington was very informative.

"It touches so many different areas - agriculture, learning about the science behind growing produce, lessons about nutrition and teaching our kids about the value of eating healthy, locally grown foods. I think it is a win-win. I'm very interested in seeing this spread into the school districts I represent in the North Country," he said.