Local Foods, Healthy Schools: Schoharie & Otsego Counties

08/21/2026

Wow, summer has just flown right by! Now that county fairs are over, Farm to School is keeping busy preparing for school to start up again. But before we all go back to school, join us NEXT Saturday for Family Farm Day! Check out the map and go visit some of your favorite farms or visit some new ones! https://cceschoharie-otsego.org/agriculture/family-farm-day

🌾 Family Farm Day is just TWO WEEKS away!

On Saturday, August 29, from 10am to 4pm, 38 farms across Schoharie, Otsego, and Delaware Counties will open their gates and invite you to explore local agriculture.

Meet farmers, see animals, discover how food is grown and made, shop for local products, and enjoy activities for the whole family. Every farm has something different to share, making it the perfect opportunity to explore somewhere new and connect with the people behind local agriculture.

Start planning your Family Farm Day adventure now! Visit FamilyFarmDay.org to explore participating farms, check out the interactive map, and plan your route.

Explore Local Farms. Discover Local Flavor.

06/04/2026

It's official, we've had our last taste test for the school year! Today students at Gilbertsville - Mount Upton Central School District tried out a caramelized onion and garlic dip, and they thought it was pretty good!

This recipe is a little time consuming due to having to cook the garlic and onions ahead of time, but I think it was worth it! This would be a great addition to any party table. Using whole bulbs of garlic, yellow onion and shallots, you definitely get a lot of flavor!

If you want to try this dip out at home, the recipe we used is linked below!
https://www.forkinthekitchen.com/caramelized-onion-garlic-dip/

We'll see you all again next year! But if you want to see what Farm to School does over the summer, give us a like and a follow so you don't miss out!

06/03/2026

It's June! Which means students are counting down the days until summer vacation, but before they go, students at Schenevus Central School had one last taste test today!

This month we are featuring Garlic & Onions. So today we had students try some homemade garlic hummus served with carrots! They thought it was pretty good, but I don't think it was their favorite taste test this year.

Hummus is a popular addition to veggie platters at a party, but have you ever made it from scratch? Hummus is ground up chickpeas that can be different flavors depending on what else you add to it. There are tons of recipes available, so if you are a fan of hummus, you can try making it at home!

Have a great summer! And be sure to like and follow our page to keep up with our summer adventures!

05/29/2026

We finished off the week with our last leafy green taste test at Sharon Springs Central School today. The students tried a spinach and blueberry smoothie that also had peaches, yogurt, milk, and apple juice!

This tasting was about a 50/50 split between thumbs up and thumbs down for the kids. But they got to learn about how the flavor and their opinions might change if adjustments were made to the recipe. Today we used frozen spinach, but it might be different with fresh spinach. And how different it would be if we used strawberries instead of blueberries. I think we'll be trying this again in the future with some adjustments to better suit their taste buds! But the one kids who liked it thought it was delicious!

We are happy they tried it even if it wasn't their favorite. If you want to try this version, there is a picture of the recipe below!

That's a wrap for this year, thanks Sharon Springs and Melissa Cronk Simpson for having me. I'm sure we'll be back with more things to try in the fall! But if you want to see what Farm to School does over the summer, be sure to hit the like and follow buttons to stay tuned in! Have a great summer!

05/28/2026

Sadly, today was our last taste test of the year with Worcester Central School, but we ended on a high note with this recipe!

The kids absolutely loved the spinach, strawberry and peach smoothie! Out of the ~200 students that were willing to try it, only 4 said they were not fans! This smoothie will definitely be used again!

With summer just around the corner, it's a great time to make smoothies with all the fresh produce available. Here's how you can make this one at home!

Spinach Strawberry Peach Smoothie - makes 6 10oz servings

Ingredients:
1 lb spinach
1 lb strawberries
2 cups vanilla yogurt
1 cup canned peaches (drained) or 1 fresh peach
1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 cup pineapple juice

Instructions:
Blend spinach and juice together to reduce spinach. Then add strawberries, peaches, and yogurt. Blend again until smooth and enjoy!

School might be out soon, but our Farm to School program will still be busy this summer. So, be sure to like and follow us so that you don't miss a thing!

05/27/2026

We were at Gilboa-Conesville Central School today for our monthly taste test. To use some leafy greens we had kale, orange, and banana smoothies!

The students thought they were pretty good! So, if you want to make it at home, here is the recipe!

Kale, orange, and banana smoothie (1-2 servings)
Ingredients:
1 orange
1/2 cup of apple juice
1 banana
1/2 cup baby kale or chopped kale (packed)
1 cup of vanilla yogurt

Instructions:
Blend the orange until it's mostly juice. Add apple juice and kale, blend again. And banana and yogurt and blend it all until smooth and enjoy!

If you don't want apple juice, you can use water for less sugar or milk for more protein! The kale could be swapped for spinach if you prefer, and using greek yogurt will have more protein (you can also make it without the yogurt)! I think adding a few strawberries would also be a great alteration!

I know I'll be making these to add more kale into my diet this summer. How about you, would you try this?

05/21/2026

Yesterday was our monthly taste test at Edmeston Central School! Students tried some leafy greens in the form of spinach banana muffins!

The flavors of banana, apple sauce, and cinnamon combined with a shade of green thanks to the spinach, these muffins managed to get a stamp of approval from almost everyone! So what are your thoughts, would you try them?

05/13/2026

We were at Cooperstown Central School today to try this month's harvest - leafy greens! Today's dish was a classic and easy to make, we had Caesar salad!

This salad is a great addition to any meal, or it can become the main course with the addition of some protein! But the base recipe is simply romaine lettuce, parmesan cheese, Caesar dressing, and some croutons!

The kids thought it was pretty good. How about you, are you are fan of Ceasar salad?

05/07/2026

It was a try day at Gilbertsville - Mount Upton Central School! Students gave their guesses as to what all was in our "green smoothies", and it was harder than they thought!

I heard a lot of kale, grass, broccoli, and cucumber before we made it to the right answer, spinach! These were Spinach and Pineapple Smoothies, and the kids were a bit split on if they liked this recipe. It was interesting to see that most of the older students liked it, while a lot of the younger elementary students were not big fans. But they tried it and a some wanted the recipe so here it is!

Ingredients:
1.5 apple juice
1.5 cups of water (can use ice if you prefer)
6 cups baby spinach (packed)
3 cups pineapple (frozen/canned/fresh)
1.5-2 cups yogurt
juice of 1/2 lemon or lime

Put it all in a blender and mix until smooth! You can also add in an apple or a banana for some extra flavor!

Would you make this smoothie? Let us know your favorite way to eat leafy greens!