Students dining on North Dakota food in school lunches

(KNOX) – Students across North Dakota are dining on food products from their own state during “Fresh from North Dakota School Lunch Week,” through October 4.

The week encourages schools to source foods from local sources.

“Highlighting North Dakota food products grown by our farmers and ranchers and processed by local businesses helps students learn how their food is raised and produced,” Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring said. “School lunch programs can also help local economies and the state’s economy by buying these locally produced and processed foods. A wide range of North Dakota food products are now available for school lunch programs in addition to the high-quality raw commodities produced in the state.”

“A student who has had a nourishing breakfast or lunch is a student who is ready to learn. No one does a better job of providing the essentials for our meals than our North Dakota farmers and ranchers, and Fresh from North Dakota School Lunch Week gives our students some tasty affirmation of the importance of our food producers,” said Kirsten Baesler, North Dakota state school superintendent. “It is helpful for our students to learn that what they eat comes from our agricultural producers, and there’s more to the food supply chain than a grocery store.”

The North Dakota Department of Agriculture and Department of Public Instruction provided posters and sample menus to participating schools.

October is also “Farm to School” month nationwide.