Lakota partners with local farm for lunch

KANSAS — Lakota Local Schools recently partnered with J&M Fruit Farms of Clyde to bring fresh produce to students' lunch tables. Michelle Guzman, food service director at Lakota, said the idea came about when one of her co-workers brought in greens from J&M Fruit Farms, previously Eshleman Fruit Farm. At that point, Michelle reached out to owner of the farm, James Durst, and took a tour of his greenhouse in Kansas where the produce is grown. Guzman then picked out a variety of seeds for Durst to plant, and he grew lettuce and cabbage for Lakota to use within their school lunches. Because Lakota is in the USDA Department of Defense Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, meaning they are able to use USDA entitlement dollars to purchase fresh produce. Guzman, who has worked with Lakota Schools for 8 years, said her goal is to make mealtime special for the students and encourage them to try new flavors. She said the freshness of the food provided and having a staff that's willing to put in the work to create these specialty meals brings value to the students. "That's the thing that is unique about Lakota," Guzman said, "we have everybody in the same building … we're cooking for every grade level." Next year, Guzman said the school is looking to expand the produce served to the students. Since being involved with the school, Guzman said the menu has changed drastically. "When I first started working for Lakota, the lunches were more basic," she said. "The staff has worked together to upgrade the lunches since then. "There are a lot of new things to try and more choices for the students." A favorite meal of the students is the "dilly chicken sandwich," Guzman said, a chicken filet with pickles and shredded lettuce topped with a specialty sauce that became so popular amongst students they decided to call it their official "Raider Sauce." She said the BBQ chicken salad was also very popular amongst students during the school year, which became the "Raider Salad." The salad contains marinated BBQ chicken made in a combi oven, grilled corn, black beans, tomato, cheese and crumbled Fritos, served atop romaine and spinach. Other popular menu items include chicken noodle and Italian wedding soup, Guzman said. "We've tried a lot of different things this year," she added. "A lot of things were keepers and others weren't." In the future, she said the food service workers within the school will introduce cold brew and hot coffee with the high school breakfast. She also said they plan on continuing their partnership with J&M Fruit Farm, and look forward to trying out new recipes next school year. "It's a great community," she said.