MOODY, Texas — Moody Independent School District is one of a network of schools across Texas taking part in the state's agriculture department's 'Farm Fresh Initiative' this October, providing students with locally grown fruits and vegetables in their daily lunch.
"Our beef is Welch Farms here in Moody, we get our lettuce from True Harvest in Belton, our milk comes from Oak Farms which is distributed out of Houston," said child nutrition director Sherri Vann.
Moody ISD has been part of the state's 'Farm Fresh Initiative' since 2019.
"We can choose to pick the fresh fruits and vegetables and that's usually what we do," Vann said.
When supplies do run thin, Vann said the school lunch servers will make a trip to the local HEB to buy fruits like watermelon and grapefruit for students to try.
"This year has been a bit of a challenge to get kids to eat because we have a lot of lunch box kids, but they seem to be enjoying this kind of food," Vann said.
Their apples come from Idalou, and students who choose to order their food from the cafeteria have been able to receive prizes this week which is National School Lunch week.
Vann said this is a concerted effort to serve locally grown products and hopes students take the practices of eating local to heart.
"We want the to be happy and healthy and food is a big indicator to that," Vann said. "To make sure they're well taken care of so they can learn."
Vann said this partnership with the state agriculture department is not for the recognition awards given out by the department to participating schools, but rather to teach their kids an appreciation for the dedication of farmers and ranchers across the state to provide them the food they eat.
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