Farm-to-School programs have progressively expanded across the state of West Virginia, thus stimulating the need to increase both local food supply and effective distribution. Greenbrier Valley Grown Food Hub provides a valuable support structure for farmers and school food service staff to increase the amount of locally-grown food in schools. Our efforts are paying off with Greenbrier County sitting proudly among the top 3 districts in West Virginia for farm to school participation (per USDA 2015 census). Turnrow works directly with school administrators and food service staff to show them how to take advantage of local food offerings, and how to do it in an economically feasible manner from the food hub. Local food connects students to the season, their locale, and their community and is a platform for education, nutrition, health, agriculture and gardening education, and economics. With Greenbrier Valley Grown, Turnrow offers collaboration with FFA school programs to foster student participation in helping supply product to their peers, while gaining agriculture business experience in real time. GVG and Turnrow Food currently provide locally sourced fruits and vegetables to Greenbrier, Monroe and Summers counties. We are happy to offer service to additional schools throughout Southern West Virginia.
How it works
2 ways to order farm to school products:
Standing orders are accepted for any school wishing to receive local products on a weekly basis according to the needs of the school. GVG offers individualized production planning and will coordinate with farms and schools to meet the needs of both parties. Products commonly purchased in the standing order system are items served daily or garden bar items such as romaine lettuce, spinach, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers.
Weekly orders can also be accepted to meet school needs. GVG provides a weekly list of product availability via email. Orders are accepted via email, text message or phone conversation according to school preference. Weekly ordering is great for specialty seasonal items or items not served on a regular basis, such as apples, pears, sweet corn, strawberries, sugar snap peas watermelon or cantaloupe.
Greenbrier Valley Grown and Turnrow have satellite aggregation centers to receive food from producers throughout Southern West Virginia. Food is then transported to a certified processing center in Greenville, West Virginia where food is washed, prepped, packaged, and stored at the appropriate temperature prior to delivery to each individual school in a refrigerated truck.
