Buy flowers for Mother's Day and support McKinley's School Garden

Check your child's school folder for this order form. Buy some flowers for someone special!

Thanks to our supporters

I just wanted to give a big THANK YOU to everyone that came to lunch Friday and everyone that has given time, energy, donations, and more to support McKinley's Farm to School program and our garden, Cultivating Curiosity. 

Salem-Keizer Food and Nutrition, 

especially Dave, Nancy & Anthony for an outstanding lunch!

Jeff and Carri from Pitchfork and Crow 

for an information-packed presentation and powerpoint about local farming and food.

Terra Gardens

 for watering cans and hand tools to use in the garden.

Salem-Keizer facilities 

for hog fuel for the garden so the paths aren't so muddy. (Will the rain ever stop??)

LifeSource

 for Territorial Seeds lettuce, carrots, peas and sunflowers, now planted in the beds.


Elizabeth from Minto Brown Growers
for coming to help Mr. J's class plant lettuce and peas in their raised bed, 
and all the starts she brought with her.

If you didn't make it Friday, you have another chance to come enjoy a local lunch on May 20th, same day as McKinley school carnival!

COME HAVE LUNCH ON FRIDAY!

Please come join us for our first

Farm to School lunch!

Friday, April 22, McKinley Cafeteria

10:55, 11:25 and 11:55 am

What is Farm to School?  Farm to School programs connect schools and local farms with the goals of serving healthy meals in school cafeterias, improving student nutrition, providing education opportunities, and supporting local and regional farmers.  We want to help students think about what they eat and where it comes from.

Salem-Keizer Food and Nutrition Services and Sodexo have prepared a special menu to highlight some of Oregon’s farmers and producers, many featured regularly in our school cafeterias.  Truitt Brothers is a company that is Food Alliance Certified, offering sustainable, responsibly-produced food.  Draper Valley Chicken and Painted Hills Beef provide meat that is always vegetarian-fed, humanely raised and sustainably farmed.  Don Pancho and EZ Orchards are two local companies that source from local farms, and provide local jobs.

What better way to celebrate Earth day than supporting our local farmers and producers who work hard every day to sustain the rich natural environment we have here in the Willamette Valley. We also have two local farmers from Pitchfork and Crow coming to speak at an assembly at 10:00 in the gym. They will show all the things done on a farm from A to Z. And what better way to emphasize the power of buying and eating locally. Come show your support and have lunch with your child!

Menu and Pricing:

*Draper Valley Baked Chicken Wings w/Honey Mustard served with a black bean corn salad

*Painted Hills Meatballs with whole wheat Spaghetti served with lemon pepper green beans.

*Truitt Brothers Vegetarian Black Bean Tacos served on Don Poncho flour tortillas, with lettuce, tomatoes, and Tillamook cheddar cheese. Served with Spanish rice.

Also available: Truitt Brothers beans, and pears, EZ Orchards apples, and Oregon Mushrooms

Students:         $1.75 (regular price; free and reduced prices apply)

Adults:             $3.00



Look what's growing!

Room 11 Strawberries

Roots & Shoots planted an herb garden

Important Dates! Mark your Calendars!

Do you want to learn more about McKinley's Farm to School program and school garden, Cultivating Curiosity? 

Well, mark your calendars for these upcoming events:

Farm to School Lunch

April 22nd, 11:00-12:30

McKinley Cafeteria

Salem-Keizer food service will be serving a locally sourced lunch to celebrate Earth Day and celebrate local producers and sustainable practices. Look for a menu and pricing in the next McKinley messages.

May (date to be determined)

Farm to School Lunch #2

This lunch will involve a partnership between a local chef and the Salem-Keizer food service.

Take this opportunity to come have lunch with your child, and support the Farm to School program and local producers.

June 3rd

Garden Celebration

Come and join us for an evening of local food (maybe even from the school garden!), music, and activities. A great opportunity for all of us to come together as a community to celebrate the effort, energy and passion people have put into making a school garden at McKinley a reality.