TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) - Three Leon County lunchrooms are scheduled to receive a visit from the USDA.
Agriculture Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, under Secretary Kevin Concannon, visited Springwood and Ruediger Elementary schools Tuesday in celebration of National School Lunch Week.
Concannon met with school leaders and ate lunch with students and toured the gardens at Ruediger.
U.S. Representative Gwen Graham was also in attendance as part of a Roundtable Discussion on food and nutrition with faculty, parents, and students.
"If you have a program at a school site, where they can actually see food being grown, does it create more of a interest in eating those healthy food choices, and the answer to that question is yes! If you have an ownership of the food, where you participated in growing it, when it gets to the table you're more excited about eating it," said Graham.
According to the 2015 USDA Farm to School Census, 45 percent of Florida School Districts have farm to school programs.
Studies also showed that schools with farm programs are seeing reductions in food waste and an increased willingness of students to try new foods.
